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.
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Episode #28
Building Better Animal Health Innovation in San Diego featuring Denise Bevers
Sep 29, 202614 min
In 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 animal health biotech company in one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems. Denise brings decades of experience in drug development and company building, and she shares why animal health remains an underexplored but critical frontier for innovation. From identifying unmet needs in veterinary medicine to making key decisions around timing, capital, and execution, this conversation offers a candid look at the realities of building a science-driven startup. The discussion also highlights how San Diego’s strength in human biotech can extend into adjacent fields like animal health, and what it will take for the region to continue creating new categories of impact. Whether you’re a founder, operator, investor, or simply curious about where innovation is heading next, this episode is a reminder that some of the most meaningful breakthroughs happen in places people aren’t looking yet. This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market. Learn more about VETmAb Bio: https://www.vetmab.bio/
Accelerating Innovation Through AI, Non-Dilutive Capital, and Smarter Pathways to Market featuring Rupak Doshi
Sep 22, 202618 min
In 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. Rupak shares how OmniSync is helping founders and organizations navigate funding, market intelligence, and commercialization through AI-powered tools, and why the path from idea to traction is still more fragmented than it should be. He also offers insight into where innovators lose the most time and how smarter infrastructure can unlock faster progress. This conversation is a focused look at the systems behind innovation and what it takes to move more ideas from concept to real-world impact. This podcast was recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market.
Unexpected Pathways and the Next Wave featuring Debbie Chen
Sep 15, 202625 min
In 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 next generation of innovation. Debbie shares how Hydrostasis is advancing hydration science through wearable technology, and why better understanding hydration as a vital sign could unlock new opportunities in health and performance. She also reflects on her own path into entrepreneurship and what it means to build from outside the traditional mold. This conversation is a thoughtful look at how lived experience, access, and perspective are expanding who gets to innovate and what gets built next in San Diego and beyond. Episode was recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market. Learn more about Hydrostasis: https://hydrostasis.com/
Early Detection, Accessible Diagnostics, and the Future of Health Innovation featuring Adam Jacobs
Sep 8, 202621 min
In 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 shaping the future of health innovation. Adam shares how Xzom is building point-of-care solutions designed to make diagnostics faster and more accessible, and what it takes to stand out in a complex, competitive space. Drawing from his background in athletics and entrepreneurship, he also reflects on balancing commercial reality with mission-driven impact. This conversation offers a concise look at building meaningful health innovation in San Diego and turning big ideas into real-world solutions. Recorded at UC San Diego Park & Market. Learn more about Xzom: https://xzom.com/
Turning the Ocean Into a Sensing Network featuring Graeme Rae
Aug 24, 202624 min
In 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. Graeme shares how HyperKelp’s Kelp Smart Buoy is designed as an open marine platform that can carry a wide range of sensors and deliver ocean data in near real time for environmental, commercial, port, and defense applications. The conversation dives into Graeme’s journey from ocean engineering and Surfline to HyperKelp, what it takes to build hard technology that can survive at sea, and why the company’s next chapter as one of Connect’s 2026 Cool Companies reflects San Diego’s growing strength in ocean technology, dual-use innovation, and the blue economy. Recorded at Kiln Rancho Bernardo: https://kiln.com/communities/rancho-bernardo/ Learn more about HyperKelp: https://www.hyperkelp.com/
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