The Connect Current
by Connect
Latest episode
Building a New Safety Net For Families featuring Jordan Epstein
Building a New Safety Net For Families featuring Jordan Epstein
About this podcast
The Connect Current is your inside look at the people and ideas shaping San Diego’s innovation ecosystem.
Produced by Connect, a nonprofit supporting founders and investors for over 40 years, the podcast builds on a legacy of helping high growth companies, including alumni like Cloudbeds, ClickUp, Inhibrx, and NanoCellect Biomedical, grow and scale from San Diego to the global stage.
Each episode features relaxed, thoughtful conversations with founders, investors, and community leaders across life science, tech, climate, defense, AI, and more, sharing the stories shaping San Diego innovation.
If you’re building, investing, learning, or simply curious about the future of San Diego’s innovation economy, this is your place to stay connected to what’s happening now and what’s next.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 35 episodes
- Building a New Safety Net For Families featuring Jordan Epstein · 14 min · Episode 34In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Jordan Epstein, Cofounder and CEO of Juno, to explore how Juno is bringing child disability insurance to American…
- Inside Connect’s Strategic Plan: How San Diego Innovation Will Move As One · 24 min · Episode 33In this episode of The Connect Current, Austin Robertson interviews Connect CEO James Zanewicz about the strategic plan guiding Connect, positioning it to be the clear choice for…
- Building Bioengineered Kidney Tissue for Patients Living With Kidney Failure featuring Ben Shepard · 19 min · Episode 32In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Ben Shepherd, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Trestle Bio, to explore how bioengineered kidney tissue could create new…
- The State of San Diego Innovation According to James Zanewicz · 24 min · Episode 31In this episode of The Connect Current, our regular host—James Zanewicz, CEO of Connect—moves to the guest seat for a conversation with Austin Robertson, Connect’s Marketing and…
- How Founders Can Connect with SDSU’s Research and Innovation Engine featuring Hala Madanat · 23 min · Episode 30In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Hala Madanat, Vice President for Research and Innovation at San Diego State University, to explore how universities can…
- What Reef Haven Ventures Looks for in Founders, Science, and Scalable Companies · 22 min · Episode 29In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Dr. Garrett Smith and Dr. Nick Mourlas of Reef Haven Ventures to unpack what it really takes to move from strong science…
- Building Better Animal Health Innovation in San Diego featuring Denise Bevers · 14 min · Episode 28In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Denise Bevers, Co-founder, President and CEO of VETmAb BIO, to explore what it really takes to build an…
- Accelerating Innovation Through AI, Non-Dilutive Capital, and Smarter Pathways to Market featuring Rupak Doshi · 18 min · Episode 27In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Rupak Doshi, Co-founder and CEO of OmniSync, to explore how better systems can accelerate innovation…
- Unexpected Pathways and the Next Wave featuring Debbie Chen · 25 min · Episode 26In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Debbie Chen, Founder and CEO of Hydrostasis, to explore how nontraditional journeys are shaping the…
- Early Detection, Accessible Diagnostics, and the Future of Health Innovation featuring Adam Jacobs · 21 min · Episode 25In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Adam Jacobs, President of Xzom, to explore how early disease detection and accessible diagnostics are…
- Gene Editing With a Personal Mission · 16 min · Episode 24In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz is joined by Courtney Young, PhD, Co-founder and CEO of MyoGene Bio, one of Connect's 2026 Cool Companies. MyoGene Bio…
- Turning the Ocean Into a Sensing Network featuring Graeme Rae · 24 min · Episode 23In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Graeme Rae, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of HyperKelp, to explore how the company is turning the ocean into a sensing network…
- Advancing a New Treatment Path for Gout featuring James Mackay · 19 min · Episode 22In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with James Mackay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Crystalys Therapeutics, to explore how the company is advancing a new treatment…
- Spectral Encoding, Molecular Screening and the Future of Connected Data featuring Ramesh Ramji · 17 min · Episode 21In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Ramesh Ramji, Founder and CEO of SpectralTx, to explore how spectral hyperplexing technology could help reshape molecular…
- Solving the Delivery Challenge in Genetic Medicine featuring Niren Shah · Episode 20In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Niren Shah, PharmD, MBA, Co-founder and CEO of Cove Therapeutics, to explore one of the biggest challenges in genetic…
- Targeted Cancer Therapies and the Fight to Make Treatment Less Fearful featuring Stanley Lewis · 22 min · Episode 19In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Stanley Lewis, MD, MPH, Founder and CEO of A28 Therapeutics, to explore how targeted cancer therapies can create better…
- Connecting National Security, Startups, and San Diego’s Innovation featuring Scott Tait · 20 min · Episode 18In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Scott Tait to explore how San Diego can better connect national security needs, university research, dual-use startups…
- How TL Foundation Turns Community Capital Into San Diego’s Innovation Future featuring Kris Lichter · 20 min · Episode 17In this episode of The Connect Current, we sit down with Kris Lichter, CEO of TL Foundation, to explore a different approach to investing in innovation. The conversation dives…
- Building the Lab Infrastructure That Helps Biotech Startups Move Faster featuring Abubakar Jalloh · 20 min · Episode 16In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Abubakar "Abu" Jalloh, Site Director of BioLabs San Diego, to explore the infrastructure, community…
- Advancing New Hope for Fibrotic Disease featuring Gian Luca Araldi · 16 min · Episode 15In this episode of The Connect Current, host James Zanewicz sits down with Gian Luca Araldi, PhD, PharmD, MBA, PMP and Founder/CEO of Avanti Biosciences, to explore the challenge…
