The Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet (GEM) is a collaboration between the City of Goleta and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The early stages of GEM were solidified in early 2012 with the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and its formation was announced at the Goleta State of the City event in May 2012. GEM opened its first facility (4,500 square feet of furnished office space and conference rooms) in July 2014 at 600 Pine Avenue in Old Town Goleta. GEM has pivoted its business model to focus more heavily on supporting businesses and no longer has a physical location.
GEM’s mission is to strengthen the local economy by supporting new and growing technology entrepreneurs. GEM seeks to be recognized as a world-class regional center of excellence for entrepreneurial technology development and growth for technology-focused startups.
The City, as one of the founding entities, provides financial support to GEM and has three representatives on the Board of Directors.
