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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80/100
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The Connect Current is a entrepreneurship podcast hosted by Connect, with 27 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
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Connect hosts The Connect Current, a entrepreneurship show with 27 episodes published.
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Episode #26
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/
Advancing a New Treatment Path for Gout featuring James Mackay
Aug 17, 202619 min
In 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 path for people living with gout. James shares how Crystalys is developing dotinurad, a next-generation, once-daily oral URAT1 inhibitor, and what the company’s recent $130 million Series B financing enables as it moves through late-stage global clinical development and commercialization preparation. The conversation dives into why gout remains an underserved treatment area, what it takes to execute at this stage of biotech development, and how experienced leadership, strong science, and committed capital can help move promising therapies closer to patients. Recorded at Kiln Rancho Bernardo: https://kiln.com/communities/rancho-bernardo/ Learn more about Crystalys Therapeutics: https://crystalystx.com/
Spectral Encoding, Molecular Screening and the Future of Connected Data featuring Ramesh Ramji
Aug 10, 202617 min
In 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 screening and the future of connected data. Ramesh shares how SpectralTx is developing tools like Spectra-Gel and SpELs to improve encoding depth, speed and data fidelity, giving researchers richer information for drug discovery, diagnostics, deep learning and broader biotech innovation. The conversation dives into why better molecular screening matters, what it takes to build a deep tech life sciences platform, and how SpectralTx’s journey as a Connect Springboard Company reflects San Diego’s strength in turning complex science into real-world opportunity. Recorded at BioLabs San Diego: https://www.biolabs.io/san-diego/ Learn more about SpectralTx: https://spectraltx.com/
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