Storytelling Software Company SoCreate Finds an Ideal Home at the Cal Poly Tech Park
"Screenwriting for Everyone."
San Luis Obispo-based SoCreate is a screenwriting software company that founder Justin Couto created with the vision of making screenwriting more accessible and fun for people around the globe.
Justin tried his hand at screenwriting for movies when he was in college and found the process and software archaic and uninspiring. After graduation he embarked on a software development trajectory, and through the ups and downs of the dot-com crash and the tech-related impacts of the September 11 attacks, Justin gained experience in dealing with both the good times and hard times associated with software development.
Fast forward 15 years or so, and Justin found himself with the right expertise and experience to address the problems with screenwriting software he identified while in college. SoCreate was born, and its flagship software release is right around the corner.
SoCreate's SLO offices
One of the factors that enabled SoCreate’s growth thus far is its unique location: on campus at California State Polytechnic University’s Tech Park facility in San Luis Obispo.
"Everyone is showing up to the Cal Poly Tech Park ready to use technology to change the world. Occupying a space in a building with like-minded companies is inspiring," said SoCreate Founder Justin Couto.
The Tech Park is surrounded by beautiful views, is easy to access, features convenient on-site facilities including plenty of parking, some shared workspaces, and outdoor space to take in the surroundings. SoCreate chose the Tech Park as its headquarters because of its proximity to constant technological innovation at Cal Poly, its bucolic and convenient setting, and its high-end facilities.
SoCreate's main conference room
This proximity to university resources has also enabled unique and beneficial collaboration for SoCreate. Students at Cal Poly are learning, experimenting, and inventing within state-of-the-art facilities and from pioneering educators. "As a technology company, we strive to be at the forefront of what's possible and what's new, and Cal Poly does, too," said SoCreate Founder Justin Couto, “Just steps away, we can draw from a pool of technological talent at Cal Poly that is unmatched in this region, allowing us to build unmatched software.”
Stormtrooper greeter inside SoCreate's main lobby
It is invaluable to be in constant earshot of what students want in storytelling software and which tools writing instructors need to do their jobs. SoCreate will provide students and instructors across many universities, including Cal Poly, with the mechanisms they need to optimize education for content creators and facilitate the next generation of exceptional screenwriting. Cal Poly’s Tech Park has been an ideal facility for SoCreate in this regard.
SoCreate's main entrance
SoCreate's beta list for its software release has over 20,000 screenwriters signed up who are highly anticipating the upcoming release. SoCreate will be far more visual and interactive than staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen, which is most writers' experience right now with the writing software that's on the market. SoCreate won't just focus on the process and format of screenwriting, but rather on storytelling.
While currently bootstrapped, SoCreate is interested in talking to investors or other people who are motivated by its mission and want to come along for the journey. SoCreate sees itself taking over the storytelling space globally in the next five years. Initially offered in eight languages (with many more to come), their software will be the only one on the market built specifically for writers in their home countries.
Meanwhile, SoCreate offers educational content on the topic of storytelling for free on its screenwriting blog, translated into eight different languages for writers globally.
Soon there will be movies, TV shows, web series, podcasts, and more that originated on SoCreate software, and it all started as a small Cal Poly Tech Park startup! SoCreate envisions its space at the Tech Park as a hub for creatives, students, instructors, and more to visit to be inspired by what they've built and help them build what comes next.
Follow along at socreate.it and sign up to be notified of their beta release, coming soon!
Acknowledgement Statement: This project was made possible by the work of the units in the Cal Poly Division of Research, Economic Development & Graduate Education to support student research, Learn-by-Doing, the Teacher-Scholar Model, proposal submission, award negotiation, compliance review, and post-award management. See more at research.calpoly.edu.