
Chemical Attraction
Acuity with Micromidas’ John Bissell
In 2008, John Bissell co-founded Micromidas Inc., a West Sacramento biotech company that has developed a process to convert carbohydrate feedstocks like cardboard into higher-value chemicals, including renewable plastics. The company incorporated in 2009. Bissell, a UC Davis grad who also serves as CEO, was recently included in Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30,” a tally of the brightest stars in 15 different fields, and has helped raise more than $20 million in financing for his company.

Easy Access
Banks are swapping teller lines and velvet ropes for digital kiosks and coffee machines
Whether it’s newly designed branches or banks without branches at all, the banking industry is undergoing a physical transformation as consumers seek improved customer service and more digital options.
Sponsored

A Better Way to Build Websites
Digital Deployment empowers communication and connects communities
This company is not ordinary. And neither are their employees, clients or projects, for that matter.

Start It Up
Sacramento's second Startup Weekend is almost here
Thinkers, tinkers, social-changers and entrepreneurs: These are the ingredients necessary to make successful Startup Weekend. On July 18th-20th Hacker Lab will host the area’s third Startup Weekend, connecting local designers, business developers and technical experts who will work together to shape their ideas and compete for prizes. Winners have a chance to win legal advice for their startup, brand consultation or free coffee for those long days.

Relationship Troubles
Are state workers the best pick for upgrading California’s massive IT systems?
In 1984, California’s Department of Technology didn’t exist. Information technology consultants were rare, and there were fewer contractors involved in state services. For the most part, the state developed government systems with in-house resources. From development and analysis to budgeting and implementation, it was a full-service operation.
That was then.

Mind Games
Tech darling Mark Otero hit it big, then almost hit restart
Bright orange walls and ergonomic chairs. A black conference table flanked by a half-dozen scruffy-chic men (zip-front sweaters, double-pierced ears, turn-of-the-millennium tattoos) and three times as many digital devices (nobody brought just one).

The Robots are Coming
Technologies of tomorrow are making their way onto the crop fields of today
Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are racing to give farmers tools to boost agricultural productivity. These five technologies — some big, some small — could change the face of farming.