Technology hub Bitwise has big goals for downtown Fresno

By Tim Sheehan

The Fresno Bee

January 12, 2014 

As Bitwise Industries prepared to open its doors in a remodeled building at the edge of Fresno's Mural District last summer, workers were scrambling to ready space for up to 10 fledgling tech companies and an upstairs classroom to teach the basics of software coding and website development.

Today, the 8,000-square-foot building at L and San Joaquin streets is jam-packed with 24 small companies on its first floor — and 26 more on a waiting list.

Upstairs, the Geekwise Academy has trained more than 100 students, including a couple dozen who have been hired into tech jobs after finishing their classes.

The budding technology hub also has attracted a pair of out-of-state companies — one from Washington, the other from France — whose owners hope Fresno can become a launch pad for future success.

The early surge of interest that has filled the Bitwise building also has CEO Jake Soberal envisioning even bigger things for Fresno's burgeoning technology industry — and for downtown Fresno itself.

With the combination of freelance developers, a cadre of established and growing software and technology companies scattered around Fresno, major companies that employ their own in-house crews of programmers, and entrepreneurial startups like those at Bitwise, "the companies needed to create a robust industry in Fresno already exist in Fresno," Soberal said.

"We've got 24 small technology companies here, and 20 of them were not in downtown Fresno before we started," Soberal said. "There are 58 people who are employed here, and 20 of those are brand-new jobs that didn't even exist before we started Bitwise."

That, he said, shows the growth potential as well as the commercial demand for software and application development in Fresno.

Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley, long rooted in agriculture, food processing and service industries, are far from the Silicon Valley that traditionally is viewed as the epicenter of the American technology industry.

Silicon Valley giants like Google and Facebook are recognized for their hip, casual, unorthodox working environments that foster a culture of innovation, collaboration and experimentation among employees.

It's that kind of community that Bitwise is striving to create for technology entrepreneurs and aspiring software developers in downtown Fresno.

"We're putting these companies in an environment where they are thriving by virtue of who their neighbor is and the shared intellectual capital that's here," Soberal said.

"They're thriving because the employees we've got in this building don't have to dream about how cool it would be to work in Silicon Valley — where they can have a beer at their desk, work whenever they want, and be surrounded by other technology companies. It's in Fresno, and these employers can deliver that space."

That was a major attraction for Billy Sheng, the founder of Minyawns Inc. Sheng is relocating his startup from his parents' garage in Seattle, where he attended the University of Washington, to Bitwise.

Sheng was looking for a college town to expand his website, minyawns.com, which strives to pair up local businesses needing short-term help for odd jobs, occasional office chores or basic tech tasks with college students who are looking for a little extra cash to make ends meet. In effect, it's the online version of the campus bulletin board.

"What really sold me is that Fresno is ramping up its tech and startup culture," Sheng said. "It's fun to be in on the beginning of that type of movement."

"Bitwise is a really cool place because where you're with other like-minded people, it increases energy and drives creativity," he added. "When I first visited the space, it seemed like an awesome culture and a great place to work."

Sheng said he anticipates building a Fresno-based team of three employees this year and expanding to as many as 10 in 2015.

Bitwise's creative atmosphere, Fresno's proximity to Los Angeles and the Silicon Valley, and access to a talented and growing pool of programmers and software developers were major considerations for Vincent Weyl, co-founder and president of Taiaut Inc., who is relocating his company from France into the Bitwise building.

Weyl was an executive for French telecommunications firm Alcatel-Lucent and worked in Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. before he and his partners developed Taiaut's signature product — a corporate brainstorming, innovation and idea management software application called Ideafy.

Weyl, his wife and their two children moved to California last year after she landed a job with the district attorney's office in Madera County.

"Coming from France, I wanted to be in California because for my business, there are two things that matter right now: Finding money and investors, and finding skills," Weyl said. "Our application uses the latest technologies, and you don't find many people in France who are skilled in these outside of Paris."

Bitwise Inc. appealed to Weyl because it surrounds him with other tech-savvy entrepreneurs. "I was part of an incubation program in France, so I know the value of being with other startups and being able to network," he said. "Bitwise was the only place I found like that in Fresno."

Weyl added that being in Fresno is no limitation to finding either the investment or the skilled developers he needs to grow the company. Fresno's central location in California, and the ability to conference online with anyone across the country or around the world, means he still can pitch his software to major would-be clients and, in turn, attract investors.

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