Procore CEO Craig “Tooey” Courtemanche

Courtesy Photo

As Santa Barbara’s tech companies continue to grow in number and size, so do the lucrative career opportunities; with a quick search online, pages and pages of job postings from Procore, QAD, Yardi, ShipHawk, LinkedIn, and more appear. And that growth is expected to continue.

“What we’re seeing is the result of thoughtful nurturing and investment that’s been taking place in our community for decades,” explained Nathan Kelly, CEO of TrackR, which makes Bluetooth trackers used to keep track of belongings. He gives credit to “visionaries in this town who built companies, then reinvested the money that they made back into new companies, our schools, and our universities” and to teachers and professors “who take the time to develop their students in ways that go way beyond what’s required in their job descriptions.”

Procore CEO Craig “Tooey” Courtemanche agreed, explaining, “The pool of talent in Santa Barbara has grown, and I think that what we’re going to see are more companies being started by the people currently working in tech who have good ideas that turn into business opportunities.” For example, said Courtemanche, “at Procore, we’ve already had two employees make their next career move to start their own development company that sells into our current client base.”

Another major trend is the dedication to creating fun and unique work cultures. At TrackR, said Kelly, “Employees should be able to look back at their time at [at the company] and feel like it was the highlight of their careers, not because of the free snacks or free drinks but because they were able to bring the best of themselves to work and make a huge impact through their work.”

It’s the same at Procore, the Carpinteria-based company specializing in construction project management software. “Procore’s culture is essential to our business,” explained Courtemanche. “Our customers see it—they continually tell us that our culture is a big part of why they partner with us.”

If free food, surf breaks, and a job in tech sound good to you, make sure to “study hard, work harder, and be smart with your network,” stressed Kelly. “Tools like LinkedIn give young people unprecedented access to jobs and contacts, but in the end, nothing beats tenacity, diligence, and resilience.”

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