Leading Edge with Lorenzo Gomez sponsored by Schriver|Carmona and Marsh

Lorenzo Gomez III

Lorenzo Gomez III is an expert in ecosystem development, a CEO, a public speaker, and author.  He has successfully helped convert a dormant urban sector of San Antonio into a thriving entrepreneurial hub. Over the last 10 years, he has effectively engaged others in his vision and orchestrated their skills and strengths to create a new contemporary community of technology companies.

Under Gomez’s direction, Geekdom became the #2 coworking space in Texas (2016), the  #3 coworking space in the US (2015), and one of the top 25 coworking sites in the world (2016).  Geekdom has grown from its humble beginnings as a small coworking space, to its current membership of over 1800 entrepreneurs, businesses, and freelancers from around San Antonio.

In 2011, Mr. Gomez was tapped by Graham Weston, co-founder of Rackspace, to be Executive Director of The 80/20 Foundation, a philanthropic organization that works with and funds new and emerging nonprofits whose focus is on building the San Antonio technology ecosystem. In the last ten years, The 80/20 Foundation has given grants to nonprofit programs as Venture for America, Students Plus Startups, and The Open Cloud Institute.

As the current Chairman of the Board for Geekdom and board member for The 80/20 Foundation, Mr. Gomez has had a positive impact on the tech industry in San Antonio, the city’s economic growth and revitalization of the area. Within the five-year development period, Geekdom, at the heart of the downtown tech district, has experienced a 1000-percent membership growth, and those members have generated 658 new jobs and $70 million in capital.

Mr. Gomez, a compelling storyteller, is the author of The Cilantro Diaries:  Business Lessons from the Most Unlikely Places, the story of how he went from the stockroom of a grocery store to the boardrooms of two private companies, without a college degree.  In his inspiring and humorous style, readers have found a story of hope and accomplishment, dedication and success.  In the first week of publication, The Cilantro Diaries was ranked #1 in four separate categories on Amazon, including Vocational Guidance, Careers, Schools & Teaching, Career Development.  The audio book was the #1 New Release the week it debuted on audible.com, and it continues to be a top pick in the business categories, for both print and audio.

In his second, best-selling book, Tafolla Toro, he reaches back in time to share stories of his turbulent, traumatic, and often violent middle school years in one of San Antonio’s most crime-riddled neighborhoods. He opens up to reveal the fear, anxiety, and hopelessness he felt as a teenager and how those forces shaped his life until he began taking steps as an adult to improve his mental health.

Lorenzo’s driving passion is his love for his city, San Antonio, Texas. It is truly a city on the rise. His goal is to enable others to see the vision and help advance the seventh largest city in the United States into a world-class center for startups, especially in the tech industry.