In March 2010, Joe Kennedy of Pandora, Patrick Hurley of Skytide, Alex Bernstein of North Social and other Oakland business leaders came together to figure out a cool way to connect innovative technology companies in Oakland. “InOak” was born.
As a group of volunteers, our first two years were focused on hosting a variety of networking and educational events. In late 2011, we realized we had outgrown our inwardly focused InOak brand and sought to find a new name that clearly reflects our intentions to connect technology companies. In March 2012, we launched our new 2.Oakland brand at the Pandora headquarters and have never looked back!
Today, 2.Oakland is an organization comprised of companies and individuals working and living in Oakland, California who are dedicated to creating a thriving tech ecosystem for Oakland and the East Bay. Through programs and events, 2.Oakland supports existing tech companies as well as those organizations seeking to relocate here. Founding member companies and organizations include Pandora, Skytide, Oakland Local, Techliminal, North Social, the Downtown & Lake Merritt Community Benefit District, IDotConnect and a variety of Oakland-based professionals.
The Steering Committee (not all members are pictured above!) are a passionate group of volunteers who are committed to grow 2.Oakland into a financially sustainable organization. Through 2013, our key activities will be:
- hosting public tech events (networking / workforce recruiting) and educational
- building a tech network of Oakland and East Bay tech companies to become ambassadors in our Business Attraction efforts
- advocating with City of Oakland and other public organizations to resolve issues that impact a tech-friendly business environment.
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