It is no coincidence that Seqster was born in San Diego, a city with an underdog culture where small startups transform into large enterprises that address giant markets. Perfect weather drives innovation—always sunny, 72 degrees, and 70 miles of beaches. Perhaps the combination of unique culture and weather has drawn innovators from Dr. Jonas Salk to Dr. Seuss to do extraordinary things for the future of humanity.

I moved to San Diego in 1986 when I was 6 years old and even then my family knew how special of a place it was. Out of all of the great American cities, we chose to come to San Diego when others were choosing to go elsewhere. I recall how I was inspired, while walking down Prospect Street in La Jolla and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, by the abundance of opportunity that existed. As I grew older, that feeling was amplified exponentially. San Diego provides the setting for complete work-life balance like no other place, even for Southern California. While tremendous work happens here, it is accompanied by a sense of calm and relaxation that lets you zen out in your own way.

Most people think of San Diego as a tourist destination, but I see San Diego as a biotechnology hub. In recent years, we have led the world with groundbreaking discoveries such as the polio vaccine as well as becoming the genomics mecca. Half of the innovation in Boston and San Francisco, particularly within the life sciences, would not be possible without the genomic technologies founded in San Diego. San Diego taught me that you don’t need to be a scientist to change science and you don’t need to be a doctor to change medicine. Seqster brings together everything that is San Diego for me—health, genetics, lifestyle—so that everyone can seek health data. Without San Diego, Seqster wouldn’t exist.