A note from our Vice President

The nobility of business

Dear EDC investors and partners,

Each year, EDC organizes a leadership trip to another metro in our country to learn about their economic development challenges and draw inspiration for tackling our own as we strive toward a more competitive, and inclusive San Diego.

Earlier this summer, we traveled to Chicago with a 40-person executive delegation where we learned about the City’s network of corporate philanthropic partners focused on systemic change and a university-led, multi-state collaborative competing for the jobs of the future through its Quantum and Microelectronics Park that has drawn $100M+ in federal funding—all culminating with a moving preview visit to the Obama Center and Presidential Library.

Yet, among all the exciting efforts we learned about and all the amazing speakers we heard from, the thing that has continued to resonate with me most nearly three months later is the simple but powerful statement from former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker: “Building a business and growing jobs, in and of itself, is a noble cause.”

As someone who has spent the past decade working to support businesses that want to grow and expand in our region, these were words that I needed to hear. Building a business…is a noble cause.

Doing business today is hard

Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our regional economy. Those with fewer than 100 employees represent 99% of businesses in our region and they collectively employ 60% of our regional workforce, which is nearly double the national average. Since the pandemic, we have seen a steady rise in new business formation while the job market has remained weak, and our economic engines have sputtered. Brave individuals have decided to take on the noble pursuit of forming their own enterprise with all the risk that it brings.

Choosing to start a business is a major endeavor. Building that business, while running that business, is a 24-hour job. Operating a business in the state of California is no easy task (insert your favorite scoff here). And with all the uncertainty that business owners face today, from tariffs to AI, growing a business has never been nobler.

Celebrating business impact

That is why last week we hosted the second annual San Diego Business Impact Awards. With more than 300 people in attendance, EDC and JPMorganChase celebrated businesses, and their owners, for continuing to persevere and for choosing to invest in growing here in San Diego.

But the Business Impact Awards go even further. We aim to not only honor businesses for growing, but also for how that growth is landing in our region.

We wanted to know: Is a business hiring local? Sourcing locally? Training the next generation of workers? Building something that draws on all the great assets that our region has to offer?

In just our second year, we received twice as many nominations as in 2025—and the quality of the submissions was remarkable.

What that tells me is that the San Diego’s business community is eager to be seen not just as growing companies (noble as it is) but also as good stewards of our region.

The ripple effects

Collectively, this year’s honorees employ more than 13,000 people. They generated more than $9 billion in combined revenue. They paid out more than $1.5 billion in wages and salaries in FY 2024-25. And year-over-year, they added more than 1,500 net new jobs to this region. Through their supply chains and labor income, these 100 businesses added more than $6 billion to the regional economy; that’s more than our Cyber industry, our RNA industry—and the equivalent of 38 Comic-Cons.

These are not just abstract statistics.

That’s 13,000 households with paychecks that contribute to local schools, dine at local restaurants—and in many cases, 13,000 people who chose to plant their careers here because one of those companies gave them a reason to.

When EDC talks about building a more competitive San Diego, a more inclusive San Diego economy, this is what we mean.

These companies represent every corner of our county—spanning life sciences, clean energy, technology, consumer brands, food and beverage, defense, and professional services. They are young companies and companies that have been around for more than six decades. But they all share a common thread: a genuine commitment to San Diego.

To our honorees, and to all the 100,000+ businesses across our region, thank you. Please keep striving, please keep investing in our region—your efforts are both noble and impactful. And we have your back.

With gratitude and respect,