Community Highlights: Meet Josue Romero of Silicon Oasis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josue Romero.

Hi Josue, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I didn’t discover the world of tech until 2021, right after undergrad, when I pivoted from mass communications and marketing into finance during grad school. That path led me to working at a venture fund based in New York and San Francisco, where I gained invaluable exposure to thriving tech ecosystems.

When I returned to Arizona, I noticed something missing: while entrepreneurship groups were everywhere, there wasn’t a true tech‑focused community. So I began hosting meetups to bring tech people together — every event oversubscribed, proving the demand was real.

In 2024, I encountered Ink’d Greetings at a pitch night. While local investors dismissed them, I saw their potential and joined the team as quickly as I could, even quitting a job in finance to join them. Since then, we’ve attracted major backing from Draper Associates, the co‑founder of Instacart, and other top funds from New York and San Francisco.

Around the same time, I invested in Revolut Robotics, a mobility drone startup that later won challenges at the Mass Challenge in Boston, raised $1.2M, and relocated to Boston. These experiences convinced me Arizona had untapped talent that deserved recognition.

That conviction led me and Kyle McDonald to launch Silicon Oasis in late 2024 — transforming a simple LinkedIn page into one of Arizona’s largest tech media and events nonprofits. In just over a year, we’ve hosted historic gatherings like Arizona’s first Hacker House, published newsletters, podcasts, and a magazine, and helped local startups secure funding from national investors.

My mission is simple: to make sure no great Arizona tech startup ever goes unnoticed again.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not smooth, as the organization has been largely bootstrapped since we founded it 2 years ago!

Also, it’s a part time endeavor, which means we pour a ton of PERSONAL time outside of our regular jobs to help the Arizona ecosystem.

It’s been a phenomenal grassroots effort, with legacy organizations finally starting to understand what we provide to the tech scene in Arizona

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am an investor turned operator who used to work at a fund based out of NYC and SF. Since getting involved in Arizona tech, we’ve built the largest tech media and event organization in the state, on a SHOESTRING budget compared to other organizations.

1000x the impact in tech, with -100X the budget.

My experience has also led me to beat notable bay area and NYC based investors to tech opportunities in Arizona, well before most investors knew they existed at all.

I’m known for helping founders freely without expecting anything in return.

Our organization hosts FREE events for tech founders, investors, and operators, and also provides ALL of its media coverage for free to them. I also just help them and don’t charge them consulting or equity fees.

I love Arizona and want to see it win in the world of tech.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was an extremely introverted child, up until about 19 years old! I loved sports and music, and still do to this day! My dream when I was 9 years old was to be a concert pianist, then when I was 15 I wanted to be a journalist. But, up until 19, i was embarrased and too shy to say hello to even our next door neighbors! It was that bad, you can ask my mother.

At 19 years old, I put myself through trial by fire and talked to 50 new strangers every single day to break my introvert mold. I would do this in the grocery store, coffee shops, school, etc.

I might have overshot on that, but now i absolutely love meeting new people and seeing what makes them tick 🙂

We host tons of events now with different people in tech around the valley, but to tell the truth, I would prefer to be at home, playing with my kids than being the host of events.

If I were to pick my favorite place I’ve ever visited, it’s the scottish highlands. It’s dark, green, in the middle of nowhere, and peaceful. I VERY much love my alone time, but have ironically built a career that’s anything but hahaha

Pricing:

• Our tech events are free to tech founders, investors, operators
• If you’re a service provider who sells to tech companies, our sponsorship packages are EXTREMELY affordable. I can list those below
• $3000/month – exposure in ALL of our events and media
• $2,400/month – exposure in some media, limited events
• $1,500/month – exposure mainly in media

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesiliconoasis.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silicon_oasis_az/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-silicon-oasis/
• Twitter: https://x.com/silicon_oasisaz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SiliconOasis-AZ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/58TW9MrwJ4C0xmZ2AzSWew