SAN DIEGO - s4story -- IDEA Week San Diego begins today, opening five days of events that bring together the region's founders, researchers, investors, artists and cultural organizations. The week is hosted by Connect, the nonprofit that has helped build San Diego's innovation economy since 1985.

IDEA stands for Innovation, Discovery, Expression and Art. Rather than one conference in one room, IDEA Week is a shared regional platform, with programming led by partners across the city and built around those four pillars, from startups and capital to research, storytelling, music, film and performance.

"San Diego usually tells its science story, its startup story and its creative story separately," said James Zanewicz, CEO of Connect. "IDEA Week puts them on the same calendar and, a lot of the time, in the same room. No single organization could build this alone, and that is the point."

IDEA Week hosts include LES USA & Canada, La Jolla Playhouse, the City of Escondido, Frictionless Intelligence, FemTech Pathways, UC San Diego IGE, Founders Live San Diego, Founders First Capital Partners, Scripps Research, Village Up San Diego, BioLabs San Diego, UC San Diego FORGE, Genentech San Diego, Space 4 Art and Wells Fargo. Additional support comes from Kiln, Cleantech San Diego and SCEIN.

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The lineup spans a regional theater, a city government, a research institute, university programs, life sciences companies, founder networks and capital partners, reflecting the range of people and places the week was designed to connect.

The week also includes Connect's inaugural Founders Forum alonside the 23rd annual Venture Summit on Oct. 21, an invite-only gathering focused on curated startup exposure and investor networking.

For more than 40 years, Connect has supported technology and life sciences founders through education, advising and access to capital, without taking fees or equity. Founded as one of the nation's first startup accelerators, the organization has long served as a meeting point for founders, investors, researchers and industry leaders.

IDEA Week extends that convening role in a new direction, bringing the artists, cultural institutions and community partners who shape San Diego's identity into the same conversation as its scientists and entrepreneurs. The result is a fuller picture of the region: one where creativity fuels discovery, and discovery fuels innovation.

Explore the full IDEA Week schedule at https://sandiegoisbetter.com/.