More AI, IRL and Clippers Final Game

This Week at Ponto Beach Club - March 17th Edition

Author

Jeran Fraser
March 18, 2025

If it’s your first time here, welcome to the Ponto Beach Club.

If you’re not familiar with the name, it’s a beach in South Carlsbad and one of my favorite surf spots.

I am on a mission to connect great humans to create successful outcomes. IRL or In Real Life is my Modus Operandi…

Read on for my weekly slice of sneakers-on-the-sidewalk insight into the SD business community.

👇Where My Heads At This Week 👇

Thanks to a couple of very intelligent friends, I was able to put together some building blocks of AI and it leads me to believe we are on the precipice of something absolutely game changing…

Last week I briefly discussed the pros and cons of artificial intelligence in society. I am here to say there are some short term advantages, but I will go on record to say that I am quite bearish on its long term implications to the US economy.

I like to think of myself as an eternal optimist with most things. With my head down and very late nights, I am convinced what I am learning will lead us in to a different place in 18-24 months.

We have been in a digital revolution the last 20 years. I believe that digital revolution is about to be completely automated. And that’s going to provide you with two choices, adopt it or ignore it.

You ability to build and scale from a low code or no code perspective is a real thing. Granted, I have some development skills, but they are rusty at best. So I spent some time brushing up those skills and working on some ideas last week. What I built over the weekend blew my mind. I became a full stack engineer with a set of ideas and some great prompts. And ChatGPT was only a very small piece of the equation.

Then I spent time at a conference, the last couple of days, learning about a number of technology companies raising capital. While listening to many of these CEO’s I realized that only a small percentage of people are really paying attention.

We are at the beginning of a new era.

I will continue to stay on top of what’s happening in San Diego, specifically in North County. I am building a bit of a hit list of events in the coming days and weeks.

The No Agenda Event Series is in full force in 2025. I’ll be your host with one goal to make it a great experience. Each event series will have a focus on categories from sports tech to operations to marketing to AI. Each event has a cap and is industry specific, meaning we’re pretty strict on attendance to keep conversations at a high level.

📆 WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME THIS WEEK📆

🤔 LinkedIn Thoughts 🤔

I took the path of most resistance because it was the path that provided me the ability to control my internal compass.

There are two types of entrepreneurs, one that has tunnel vision chasing financial success, and the other that focuses on winning as a collaborative effort.

Those that win by themselves tend to struggle with post success syndrome. Those that see the value in people that have helped them get there, tend to live a much more prosperous life. As a seasoned entrepreneur I’ve seen both types.

Outside of building and selling my own ventures, I have personally been a conduit to many local success stories. I’ve raised tens of millions, helped multiple companies get to an exit through sales channels/buyers and have opened doors for dozens of people to meet their future business partners and become successful.

Many of those connections didn’t come with a financial reward, but it came with the ability to know how important it is to value those around you.

My journey isn’t one for the weak, but as I continue to navigate, I realize how blessed I truly am. I have an extremely powerful network of human capital that can literally solve any problem. And through that network, I’ve been building some of the more unique think tanks in San Diego.

If you need help navigating, don’t hesitate to reach out. I likely have someone in my network that can help you, from real estate to tech to CPG.

It’s some of the oddest times in my life where I realize how vast my network is. I was with my son in Point Loma jumping off some rocks into the ocean and this lifeguard kindly shared with us that our cliff jumping wasn’t allowed.

It just so happened that lifeguard was a man I grew up surfing with in Point Loma, none other than local big wave legend Rodger Eales.

Deals don’t get done alone!

He loved his check in role!

🏅 North County, San Diego Spotlight 🏅

This week I am highlighting my close friend, Grace Saari. Grace and I have known each other for almost 30 years. She was managing a surf shop and I was the surf shop grom at South Coast Surf Shop in Pacific Beach. Since then, we’ve keep in touch and worked on several projects together. She’s helped scale 9 figure companies and is a marketing and branding genius. I highly recommend you connect with Grace or say hi if you see you around town.

🌴What’s Next at Ponto Beach Club?🌴

I’m hosting a private meet up with friends of the Ponto Beach Club. Mark your calendars.

📅 DATE: March 27th at 5:30pm - 8pm

📍 LOCATION: TBD

No sales pitches. Just good drinks, better stories, and maybe a wig if the mood strikes.

Until next week,

Jeran Fraser
Ponto Beach Club Ambassador

jeran@pontobeach.com