Quick Take

In this week's local business roundup, Jessica M. Pasko brings more on a Santa Cruz High grad's work in microfinancing renewable energy projects, reminds us about Metro's change of scenery and covers other notes and numbers around the county.

Each week, we’ll be taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries, and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday. Please note: The column will be paused for two weeks and will return Feb. 28.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Born out of the global climate strikes, Santa Cruz-based Climatize works to fund renewable energy projects

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about how a local company, Climatize, was in the running for a global environmental award started by Prince William of the United Kingdom. To learn more about this company’s efforts to help fund renewable energy projects, I recently sat down for a deeper dive with co-founder Will Wiseman.

Will Wiseman developed an interest in the environment at a young age, often traveling with his marine biologist father. After graduating from Santa Cruz High School, he spent summer breaks from college working to help install solar panels with Day One Solar. But it wasn’t until the 2019 climate strikes in Barcelona that the idea for Climatize really started to take hold.

Inspired by the mass of people coming together to call for global action on climate change, he and Alba Forns started surveying their fellow protesters for ideas of how they could take this momentum and turn it into action. They wanted to do something that would go beyond marches and demonstrations, to enable almost anyone to play a role in making a difference. That sparked the idea for a way to crowdsource renewable energy projects and in May 2023, the Climatize platform launched. 

The idea is simple: Using the Climatize app, users can review renewable energy projects around the country that are in need of funding and “microfinance” them with small loans starting as low as $5. These small loans can quickly add up and provide significant money for the project. Since its launch, five such projects have been fully funded and more than $2 million has been raised through the platform, according to Wiseman.

The team of seven, led by Wiseman and Forns, is located around the globe, but the company is headquartered in Wiseman’s hometown, where he returned after graduate school. He believes the region is ideal for supporting green and climate tech projects, and he points to the success of similarly driven companies located here like Ambient Photonics, SupplyShift, Joby Aviation and Cruz Foam, among others. 

Climatize has already earned some major accolades and gained some high-profile investors, like the co-founder of GoFundMe. As the company continues to scale, it’s launching the Android version of its app on the Google Play store later this month. 

Read more about Climatize and my conversation with Wiseman here.

Santa Cruz Metro relocates transit operations and customer service

The customer service booth and ticket sales at Metro’s Pacific Station complex at 920 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz will close Thursday. Transit operations will be temporarily moved to the agency’s River-Front Transit Center, starting Monday. The agency will also open its new customer experience center that day, at 603 Front St.

The move comes as the city prepares for demolition and redevelopment of the Pacific Station complex. To help ease the transition, Metro is offering free bus fares from Feb. 12-25.

Ch-ch-changes: Openings, closings and other developments

  • Pretty Good Advice opens downtown store: Vegetarian burger and breakfast joint Pretty Good Advice has opened its second location at 1319 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz, in the old Pacific Thai spot.
  • Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture seeking nominations for annual awards: Nominees are being accepted for the organization’s annual awards program in the categories of man, woman, business, event and organization of the year. The deadline is April 11. Nomination forms and details can be found here.
  • New survey will help evaluate local surfing locations: The Save the Waves Coalition, Black Surf Santa Cruz and other organizations are conducting research on local surfing areas, in terms of both economic value and climate vulnerability. Take the survey here.
  • Second Harvest Food Bank names new board chair: Cameron Haste, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Bay Federal Credit Union, has joined the food bank’s board. He takes the reins from Michele Bassi.

Got hires, promotions or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

Save the date

  • 50%: That’s how much bigger the new Aptos library is than its predecessor. The new $14 million building opened Sunday. Aptos had been without a library for over two years during the construction. Wallace Baine has more here.

Save the date

  • Saturday, Feb. 10: Watsonville officials will host a meeting to discuss potential growth scenarios for the city. This is part of the city’s general plan update, which includes developing guiding principles and options for improving the city through 2050. The public is invited to attend the discussion from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the community room of the Civic Plaza, 275 Main St., Watsonville.
  • Thursday, Feb. 15: The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce will host its economic forum brunch at Hotel Paradox from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Panelists include Visit Santa Cruz County CEO Terence Concannon and Marshall Delk, vice president and senior business banking officer at Santa Cruz County Bank. Registration and details here.
  • Monday, March 4: Apple alum, Watsonville resident and current Canva chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki has a new book out called, “Think Remarkable: 9 Extraordinary Habits That Will Transform Your Life and Illuminate the World.” He’ll be speaking about the book at Bookshop Santa Cruz at 7 p.m. Details and registration for the free event are here.
  • Thursday, April 11: The Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce will host its annual event honoring individuals, businesses and organizations for their contributions to the community. “A Night of Stars” takes place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Cocoanut Grove Ballroom at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Register here.

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

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Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...