This Is SoCal

Our communities are making the world a better place and helping people in a multitude of ways. It’s time to bring those communities together as one, and let the world know that our region is a powerhouse of innovation.

These are six truths about the Southern California innovation ecosystem. It captures the breadth, diversity, and awesomeness that infuses our unique, special blend of breakthrough doing and inspired thinking. Use the Six Supporting Pillars to express your own innovation or your community. The key is to express to others what is often difficult to articulate — hopefully this helps.

We’re the region that thinks and acts differently in everything we do. Through our global as well as regional and local perspectives, we see things differently, spotting the challenges that face the people and planet, and without limitation, developing innovative solutions.

We think bigger than any other region, making us the innovation beacon for the world. From Santa Barbara to San Diego to Orange County and the Inland Empire, we have the most progressive consumers in the country, demanding sustainable and environmentally friendly products, meat alternatives, pet health monitoring, petroleum-free plastics and alternatives to textiles made from animal products. We listen to them, and we act because we care.

Our people and our sectors are more diverse than anywhere else in the world, enabling us to spark collisions and collaborations that no other ecosystem can. As an example, our obsession with healthy living has sparked convergence between bioscience and fitness wearables to create sustainable and fashion-forward products. We’ve brought together tunes and tech and merged agriculture with medical imaging science like no other region has. We have all of the essential ecosystem components and so much more.

The culture—one of a kind. The climate—perfect. The standard of living—high. Our research, education and incubatory establishments are setting the course for national tech innovation. We’re the gateway to Asia and Latin America, and our two primary seaports (the largest in the Western Hemisphere) are ground zero for energy- efficient logistics. Our trailblazing leaders are setting the most progressive agenda in the nation because, in living in SoCal, they acutely feel the impact of the challenges around them. From the impact of climate change to mobility challenges to health crises and homelessness, they see these problems first hand and are fully motivated to drive the region to find solutions. Also, our unique personality and lust for life enables us to capture the attention of the world—and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.