“Psst…Don’t Tell Bill Walton! Seriously, it's a Secret!”

A note from our Executive Director

Question: So what do you do for a guy with this resume? (this is only the highlight reel)

• National all-time high school record for field goal percentage at 79%
• Number 3 all-time rebounder nationally in the history of high school basketball
• Won A LOT of consecutive basketball games beginning with 49 games at Helix High School, 20 games his freshman year at UCLA and was a part of the record-holding 88 game win streak at UCLA while winning two national championships.  This might be the best record in the history of sports.
• 3-time Academic All American 1972-74
• 3-time NCAA Player of the Year Award 1972-74
• 1973 James E Sullivan Award winner as the Top Amateur Athlete in the USA
• 2-time NBA Champion- Portland 1977, Boston 1986
• NBA Finals MVP 1977
• NBA MVP 1978
• Basketball Hall of Fame
• NBA 50th Anniversary Team
• A guy who says: “I love San Diego. I love my chair. My Bike is my gym, my wheelchair, and my church”
• Big time supporter of Challenged Athlete’s Foundation
• Patient Ambassador of “The Better Way Back”
• A New York Times Bestselling Author of, Back from the Dead
• ESPN/Pac-12 network announcer
• An all-around amazing person who loves San Diego above all else and does everything in his power to continue to make it a better place for all of us to live

ANSWER: You make a gigantic full sized statue of Bill with his bike, and you put it in a prominent place in San Diego where everyone can share the stoke called “Bill!”

That's what’s going to happen. It’s still a secret from Bill for now, but we would like to invite you personally to come to the unveiling May 14, 8:00 am Ski Beach at Vacation Road.  As long as Bill actually does not find out about this, he will be there to led the Three Wise Men (3WM) Memorial Ride. This is a great endeavor all by itself. The 3WM Foundation is a non profit organization led by Nathan Fletcher that addresses head on, the very troubling high rate of suicides among military men mustering out into our civilian world.

The 3WM Memorial Ride is one component of a super weekend centered around the Amgen Tour of California (ToC) which starts the very next day for the first time ever in San Diego. See the full weekend event details below.

Bring yourself and friends for the 8:00 am unveiling on May 13. Let’s try to give back to Bill just a little…there’s no way we can do more for our favorite San Diegan!

Bob

Amgen ToC Calendar of Events:

May 13, 1:00pm – Amgen ToC International Press Conference and San Diego Sport & Cycling Showcase. Press Conference will be viewable via Tour Tracker mobile app.

May 13, 5:00pm - Amgen ToC Team Presentation and Kick-off Celebration benefiting the Challenged Athletes Foundation, details and tickets here.

May 14, 8:00 – Unveiling of Bill Walton Statue at Ski Beach at Vacation Road

May 14 - Three Wise Men Memorial Ride lead by Bill Walton, details and tickets here

May 15-22 – Amgen ToC, details here

May 15, 11:30am – Amgen ToC Overall Stage Start, Mission Bay
               10am till race end – Race Viewing Party at Encontro North Park
               10am-4:30pm - Finish Line Festival & Expo, Marina Village
               3:40pm - Stage Finish, Marina Village​​​​​​

SDSI Welcomes new members Insperity, Funly Events and Voit Real Estate Services and renewing member Procopio

Insperity is pleased to join SDSI. New SDSI Advisory Board member Dana Tennis stays active in San Diego County through Pilates, yoga and is an avid hiker among all the trails with her family. She’s served as a Business Performance Advisor with Insperity for over three years. Insperity provides a comprehensive HR Service that gives you the freedom to focus on growth and opportunity. As your business grows, your challenges multiply. With Insperity, you don’t have to go it alone. With Insperity Workforce Optimization, our full service HR, you’ll get administrative relief, access to better benefits, reduced liabilities and dedicated HR support. With our experienced service team, you can spend more time doing what you love – growing your business. We solve problems in the areas of human resources, worker’s compensation, risk management, benefits and payroll. You’re probably outsourcing one of these areas now, and we believe we can show you a better way of getting it done with one strategic HR partner. Our goal is to help you save time, money and headaches. We help businesses succeed so communities prosper. Your affiliation with SDSI lets you take advantage of special pricing offered through the program. To learn more about the program, please visit: partners.insperity.com/sdsi.

FunLy Events runs corporate hospitality and organizes group travel and ticketing solutions for the best sporting and cultural events around the globe.  FunLy is currently offering travel packages for 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games, 2018 PeyongChang Winter Olympic Games, 2018 Soccer World Cup, October Fest in Germany, Palio in Siena, Italy, SXSW, San Diego Comic-Con and Burning Man. Led by Adam Dailey and Raffaella Cinti, FunLy boasts more than 30 year of sports experience on its executive team. funlyevents.com.  

Voit Real Estate Services is a regional, broker-owned firm that is in the business of helping commercial space users and investors develop and execute a customized real estate strategy. For an occupier, the space they use is a major cost component of their business. The right space in the right place with the right terms can have a major impact on the bottom line. So we look at every space for its potential as a profit center and match it to the unique needs of our clients to help them save money, save time and reduce their risk. We take the same approach with our investor clients. We know that one size does not fit all, so we couple our depth of experience with superior resources to help each investor create and execute a plan that takes them where they want to go. At Voit, our clients come first. voitco.com.

SDSI Springboard’s Slyde Handboards closes deal with the Sharks!
2015 SDSI Springboard Graduate Slyde Handboards hooked not just one, but two Sharks on their April 15 debut on ABC’s Shark Tank. Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, and celebrity investor guest, Ashton Kutcher, shared a $200,000 investment for a 22% stake in the company. The deal was sealed with a “Slyde Handboard High 5”, and Kutcher didn’t even try to contain his Happy Dance. As you can image the double decker deal has caused a wave of orders for the San Clemente company and the husband and wife team expect to make $1 million in sales this year. In case you missed it, the full episode is available for viewing here.  

SDSI was honored to attend the viewing party at the OC Tavern, where Steve and Angela gave huge kudos to SDSI, “We would not have gotten to where we are now if it wasn’t for SDSI Springboard”. Check out the photos from the viewing party. Read the follow-up interview with Forbes, and coverage on The New York Times, OC Registry, Business Insider and The Inertia.

SDSI Amazon clinic recap – April 6
The conversation among brands AND retailers regarding the ecommerce marketplace is not just an emotional conversation to have, but it is nearly impossible to have without also talking about Amazon. With the growing importance of this complex issue and our newest SDSI Board of Directors member serendipitously being experts at managing brands’ Amazon marketplace, we thought there was no better time to provide SDSI members with content that can help them make educated decisions about their Amazon Strategy. The clinic was held at SKLZ headquarters on April 6, and 51 SDSI members attended from several sports sectors including: cycling, nutrition, technology, sport training, apparel, footwear, triathlon, golf, surf, events, etc. The clinic was led by Quiverr’s Ryan Mulvany, Jed Rawson and Danny DeMichele and attendees left with actionable items to consider for their amazon strategy. And perhaps most importantly learned that not having a strategy, actually IS a strategy and it is one that will NOT end well.  View event photos here.

Walton's Back from the Dead makes New York Times best sellers list
SDSI Executive Chairman, Bill Walton can now add “NY Times Best Selling Author” to his ever-growing list of accomplishments. Bill has been busier than ever with the launch of his new memoir, Back from the Dead, doing signings in New York, New Jersey, Portland, Boston, Eugene, Los Angeles, Phoenix and (of course) San Diego. The book currently boasts a 4.5-star average (out of 5 stars) on Amazon’s customer reviews. Check out Bill’s latest article in The Wall Street Journal.

American Wave Machines powers first ever indoor wake surf contest
The world’s first indoor wake surfing competition held at Surf’s Up in New Hampshire, was powered by American Wave Machines’ (AWM) SurfStream technology and provided a venue for over 20 competitors from pro to amateur to showcase their skills. “With both amateurs and professionals competing, some of whom have never surfed in the ocean, the event highlighted how SurfStream continues to help grow the sport of surfing,” added AWM Founder Bruce McFarland. The SurfStream at Surf’s Up is the world’s largest standing wave machine with a 32-foot channel producing waves up to six feet high. Read more here.

ASSOS to outfit USA Cycling
Switzerland based cycling apparel company, ASSOS, is now the official cycling apparel partner for the USA Cycling Team. The partnership will begin this spring and will continue for the next five years outfitting Team USA at international cyclocross, mountain biking, road and track competitions. ASSOS will also be outfitting the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, as well as all World Championships and World Cup events for the next five years. Read the full press release here.

The Cedros Group now offering 3PL services
The Cedros Group (TCG) executes go-to-market strategies for consumer product companies. They place product at brick and mortar retail on a national level quickly, manage a national sales team on behalf of their clients and now also manage inventory and fulfill orders through their two warehouse locations in Carlsbad. TCG 3PL has  more than 30,000 sq. feet of storage available, fully integrated software with real time visibility for clients, direct connectivity to all major e-commerce platforms, top tier shipping and freight discounts and in house QC, assembly & special services. For more information contact Cameron Drown at Cameron@thecedrosgroup.com.

Estancia hosting Mother’s Day brunch
Treat the special woman in your life to a brunch in the sunshine and gardens at the beautiful Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. Enjoy live spanish guitars and a delicious buffet spread in the Olive and Caretaker’s lawns. To view the full menu and make reservations visit Estancia.

FlyDive featured on CBS News 8
FlyDive, a local hydro-boarding company, introduced their new X-BOARD to CBS News 8’s John Howard. The featured talked about the technology behind the new X-BOARD and how it makes taking “hydro flight” easy for beginners and experienced riders alike. See for yourself how FlyDive got John Howard up and flying on an X-BOARD in three minutes. Watch the full clip at CBS8.com.

Hookit and GoPro strengthen partnership for expanded multimedia analysis
Hookit is now providing its ground-breaking Hookit Valuation Methodology (HVM) platform for GoPro, allowing top camera and media company to track and understand the value driven by their sponsored athletes, events, resorts and music properties in the social and digital media space. “We take great pride in occupying such an important role for GoPro, and are excited to expand that role in helping them maximize the value of their substantial sponsorship strategy,” said Scott Tilton, Hookit CEO.  Read more at TransWorld Business.

Hookit and GoPro among San Diego Magazine’s cool companies
May issue of San Diego Magazines highlights some of San Diego coolest companies that are not just innovating their products and services but their work place too. Read about the cool things GoPro and Hookit are doing at San Diego Magazine.

TEN announces management team for 2016 Dew Tour
TEN: The Enthusiast Network, the media network of enthusiast brands, named their management team to lead the strategy and execution of the Dew Tour.  The networks “A” team include: Adam Cozens as Vice President and General Manager, Anthony Dittmann as Operations Director, Jessica Gray as Event Operations Manager, Coutney Gresik as the Business and Sponsorship Manger and Gerhard Gross as Content Director.  Dates, locations, course setups and designs, and content will be announced soon.  Read the full press release at TransWorld Business.

An inside look at SKLZ HQ with San Diego Magazine
SKLZ headquarters is enough to make anyone envious. The sport training equipment company shares their huge 174,000 square foot property with EXOS, a private training facility for pro athletes.  Employee’s enjoy regular fresh fruit deliveries, their own personal bobble head on their 5^th anniversary and access to in on-campus sprint track where professional athletes frequent and train. Check out the photos capturing the steel catwalk, portholes, an all glass cantilevered conference room and one of the largest swinging doors you have ever encountered.

Sun Diego’s Dave Nash on his new Sun Diego Beach at Petco Park
TransWorld Business caught up with Sun Diego President Dave Nash for details on the new Sun Diego Beach at Petco Park which celebrated its Grand Opening at the Padres home opener this month.  About 170 fans, industry executives, partners and professional surfers enjoyed the double deck, open-air space, ballpark snacks and flowing tap. Read the full interview with Nash and photos from the Grand Opening at TransWorld Business.  View additional photos at Shop-eat-surf.com.

VIOS Fitness secures patent​​​​
VIOS Fitness is offering the most powerful, versatile and dynamic cardio, strength and new hybrid fitness equipment ever - and at the same price as competitor's products. At the core of VIOS products is a simple to use yet versatile hybrid resistance system. It does traditional strength (like a weight stack), traditional cardio (resistance for ellipticals, rowers, hikers, climbers, bikes, etc.) and a hybrid blend of the two where users are able to accelerate through any motion, at any resistance and any speed, which allows for a much more dynamic and efficient cardio/strength/hybrid workout. Doug Habing, founder of VIOS Fitness, has been granted a US patent for this hybrid resistance technology, providing broad coverage of all aspects of the technology. This protection covers a full line of products from entry level direct marketing products, to specialty fitness, commercial, athlete training and medical products. For additional information or to try out the technology, contact: Doug Habing, dhabing@gmail.com, (562) 310-0080.

Bon Affair to air on ABC’s Beyond the Tank May 3
Tune in to ABC on May 3 at 10pm ET/PT to catch up with Jayla Siciliano, founder of 2011 SDSI Springboard Graduate, Bon Affair. Bon Affair is part of ABC’s new series Beyond the Tank and they will take you behind the scenes of what happens after appearing on Shark Tank. Bon Affair’s airing, follows Tower Paddles Boards’ January 28 episode of Beyond the Tank.

New men’s body care brand hits the market
Journeymen is a men's body-care brand that is designing premium products, better for humans and the earth. Journeymen will be sold in top tier retailers like Kinfolk, Blends, General Admission, American Rag, Sun Diego and Thalia Surf Shop and is now available online at wearejourneymen.com. Learn more at Shop-eat-surf.com

SurfAid Cup Santa Cruz raises $63M
The inaugural SurfAid Cup Santa Cruz, hosted by Big Stick Surfing Association (BSSA) was held April 23 at Pleasure Point.  The tag-team style event raised over $63,000 for SurfAids’ Mother and Child program in remote villages close to iconic surfing locations in Indonesia. Read full story here.

Apply to win $10,000 for going global
World Trade Center San Diego is now accepting applications for the MetroConnect Prize for 2016.  MetroConnect will give fifteen, $10,000 grants to San Diego companies who are working to expand into global markets. Four of these companies will be invited to compete for a grand prize of up to $50,000. Application period ends May 2. Apply here.
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Have you considered an Inside Sales team? I just returned from the annual AAISP conference in Chicago. For those of you who are not familiar with this organization, it is the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, with nearly 75 chapters around the world. Honestly, I had no idea this group existed 18 months ago, but as I spoke with the 1000+ attendees at the 8^th annual conference, it became quite obvious that change is in the air among the inside sales profession. The dominant trend was the discussion around the number of companies that are scaling back their outside/field sales team, and replacing a portion of this traditional structure with strong, technically savvy inside sales professionals. This is not simply a ploy to cut costs. Rather, it is a direct response to the new buying cycle and customers' expectations that the majority of sales can take place via Skype and the phone. Moreover, many buyers indicate that they care more about the technical knowledge of their account manager, than they do about the number of face to face interactions.  In fact, IBM just stood up its second 700+ inside sales office in the U.S. The San Diego and Orange County chapters of the AAISP are quite active, including the likes of Teradata, Kitedesk and Illumnia to name a few. 

Please contact me if you are interested in a copy of the slide decks from the conference presentations. 

Open TurningPoint Positions
Sales Enablement Manager, eCommerce, San Diego 
Call Center Manager, Technology, Los Angeles 
VP Marketing, Technology, San Diego 
Senior Business Development, IT Services, Southern California 
Sales Director, FinTech, San Diego 
Sales Manager, Design/Distribution, Orange County 
Senior Account Executive, Enterprise, Software, San Diego 
Senior Account Executive, Channel Sales, Software, San Diego 

TurningPoint Executive Search is SDSI's resident expert for hiring, retention and job search. A San Diego native with more than 16 years of recruiting experience, President and Founder, Ken Schmitt is available as a sounding board who can share industry “best practices” with SDSI members. Read their blog and contact Ken at Kens@turningpointsearch.net.

Challenged Athletes Foundation – SalesForce Administrator click for info

COR Surf – Business/Marketing Manager click for info

ElliptiGO – Operations Technician/Bicycle Mechanic click for info

Epic Series – Director of Sales click for info

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa – multiple positions available click for info

J!NX – Multiple positions available click for info 

KPMG - Multiple positions available click for info

RSM – Multiple positions available click for info 

Red Door Interactive – Multiple positions available click for info

SKLZ – Multiple positions available click for info

ZOIC - Inside Sales Staff click for info

ZOIC – Marketing & Community Coordinator click for info
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May 26 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, with Tony Finn, 3:30-6pm

Jun. 1 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Jul. 26 SDSI Board of Directors Meeting, 4-6pm

Aug. 3 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Aug. 30 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Oct. 5 Chat and Chew General Membership Breakfast, 8-9:30am

Oct. 25 SDSI Board of Directors Meeting, 4-6pm

Nov. 15 SDSI Advisory Board Meeting, 3:30-6pm

Dec. 13 SDSI Holiday Party
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​​May 6 Outside magazine’s Best Places to Work registration deadline click for info

May 6 VAVi Day at Petco Park click for info

May 13 Amgen Tour of California International Press Conference, Media Luncheon & SD Sport/Cycling Showcase click for info

May 13 Amgen Tour of California Team Presentation and Kickoff Celebration, Sea World, San Diego click for info

May 14, 8am Unveiling of Bill Walton Statue, Ski Beach, at Vacation Lane

May 14 Three Wise Men Memorial ride lead by Bill Walton click for info

May 15-22 Amgen Tour of California click for info

May 18-21 SIMA Surf Summit, San Jose Del Cabo click for info

Jun. 7 Team VAVi Running Club Kickoff click for info

Jun. 9-12 2016 Summer GoPro Mountain Games Vail, Co.

Jun. 18 San Diego County Fair 5k click for info

Jun. 29-30 Agenda Long Beach click for info

Jul. 29-10 Agenda Miami click for Info

Aug 3-6 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Salt Lake City, UT click for info

Aug 5-21 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games

Aug 15 -17 Agenda Las Vegas click for info

Sep. 7 Surf Park Summit 2, Orlando Fl. Click for info

Sep. 8-10 Surf Expo, Orlando FL click for info

Sep. 21-23 Interbike, Las Vegas, NV click for info