Leaving the corridors of Google behind in February 2023, Colby DeRodeff made a bold move into the startup world with Abstract, a cybersecurity platform aimed at empowering enterprises to detect and thwart breaches. 

Transitioning from the comfort of a tech giant to startup co-founder and CEO, DeRodeff’s commitment to safeguarding businesses from cyber adversity underscores his dedication to innovation and security in an ever-evolving landscape. 

After working generally in the cybersecurity space for 11 years and acquiring valuable knowledge in the field, DeRodeff wanted to start his own company focused primarily on cybersecurity.

“This problem space is near and dear to my heart,” DeRodeff said. “I think there’s better ways to do cybersecurity these days than has been done in the past, and so I figured I’d give it a shot.”

Abstract boasts a team of 15 professionals spread across the globe. DeRodeff focuses primarily on technical aspects, while Ryan Clough, co-founder and chief product officer, oversees product development and engineering. They have an international go-to-market worker in London, another in Dubai for the Middle East and three team members in Colombia, handling development. The remainder of the team is based in the U.S. spread across New York, Atlanta, Texas, the Bay Area and San Luis Obispo.

“I think the reason customers tend to look to us is because we’ve been doing this for a long time, and we’ve seen a lot of the mistakes that have been made in the past,” DeRodeff said. “A lot of the newer companies that don’t have that experience are repeating some of the mistakes that we made back in 2005/2006, so we’re trying to take all those lessons learned and roll that into the cybersecurity platform that customers are looking for that’s going to leapfrog the current solutions that are out there now.”

Joining the CIE Incubator program in 2023, through the virtual track, has been invaluable to Abstract, DeRodeff said.

The CIE Incubator helps develop early-stage startups into financially secure and scalable enterprises. Entrepreneurs in the program are provided with mentorship, funding opportunities and other resources to develop their business. 

 “The sense of community and seeing the struggles other people are having also helps a lot with your own mental state as you’re doing this, because it’s pretty crazy and a lot of pressure,” DeRodeff said. “Being able to get out of the house and get into an open environment with lots of founders who are doing different things is super motivating.”

The program has connected Abstract with a diverse range of professionals who have played a pivotal role in guiding the startup through the intricacies of the landscape.

“Our lead mentor Jeff Erramouspe is great to work with. I think of our relationship as an accountability check,” DeRodeff said. “We’re running fast, and he reminds us to hold on, take a step back, and see if we actually did the things we knew we were supposed to do. It’s also a relationship where we collaborate on different ideas like go to market, sales and financials.”

Unlike many of the interactions in business, DeRodeff said he was pleasantly surprised and grateful with the CIEs staffs’ genuine willingness to assist without any hidden agendas. 

DeRodeff recounted an instance when he used the wrong template for employment offers, causing issues with state laws. Unsure how to fix it, he turned to Judy Mahan, Cal Poly CIE Senior Economic Development Director, who promptly connected him with someone to revise the offer, ensuring compliance with California law and other state regulations. Notably, there were no hidden fees involved; DeRodeff explained how their sole intention was to provide genuine help—a rarity in his experience, he said, where most interactions come with ulterior motives.

When asked “what’s next for Abstract?” DeRodeff quickly replied “Well, a lot.”

Abstract has reached their minimum viable product (MVP) stage in their product design and are working on installing it with their design partners.

“It’s an interesting and tough process. We’re taking software that’s been developed in our labs and tested on our own systems, and now we’re trying to convince an enterprise customer to go install it into their environment. We can plan and plan, but when it gets to that day, there are things that happen that we couldn’t have planned for, so you have to readjust and go back to the drawing table.”

The startup is also planning the launch of the company and the general availability (GA) of their software in April. As the company keeps progressing and hitting new milestones, DeRodeff said it’s important to “celebrate the little victories” to maintain morale and momentum.

Meet Karen Tillman, the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s newest employee as the Interim Executive Director. Tillman formerly worked as Chief Communications Officer at Oracle, Cisco, GoDaddy and Brex and brings more than 25 years of experience from the tech world. Growing up in San Luis Obispo and traveling through work, Tillman has found her way back to her community. 

Tillman recently sat down with us and discussed her passions and excitement for her new role: 

Q: You’ve had some big roles: Vice President at Oracle, Chief Communications Officer at Cisco, Senior Vice President at GoDaddy, and Chief Communications Officer at Brex. So, what intrigued you about working within Higher Education and why did you choose San Luis Obispo? 

In my tech career, I traveled a ton and I lived in the Bay Area for a little. But, for the most part, I’ve always lived in San Luis Obispo. The reason I wanted to change to this role specifically and work in higher education was that even though I worked on some amazing projects, I always felt pretty disconnected from where I lived. I’m pretty extroverted — when I go downtown, I love running into everyone I know. But, I wanted to understand what it felt like to work and live in the same community. I hope that some of my previous experiences will help shape the work that I do here on behalf of the University and local region. I always knew that I wanted to work at Cal Poly and I sort of rattled through the years’ different iterations of what that could look like. But this ended up being such a great fit.

Cal Poly has such an awesome community, the institution is so impressive. What the CIE is doing has to be one of the best in the U.S. and I think that the best days of the CIE are ahead of us!

Q: What is something that has surprised you about working in higher education? 

This wasn’t necessarily surprising, but when you actually experience it, it’s pretty amazing, which is the depth of knowledge in different areas at Cal Poly. I’ve sat in on some talks around campus, attended classes on various topics, and learned about so many different things — it’s totally mind-blowing. Every time I go to a talk, I always come out thinking: why didn’t I major in that, why didn’t I major in Social Science? It’s so eye-opening, the schools of study are so immense and fascinating. Where people specialize – how they do it and how people find their niche also fascinates me – I just love that part of the process. 

Q: What does the future look like for economic development in San Luis Obispo? 

The University has had pockets of economic development for years and some really cool projects. When President Armstrong made my role a position out of his office, it was because he saw there was so much opportunity in our region right now. For instance, the Morro Bay wind area and the three wind developers that are looking to build the first deepwater offshore wind installation in the US. We need to think, how do we as a community come together to not only shape these opportunities in alignment with our regional goals and values but also drive economic growth? We always have to think about how we can keep our community vibrant, innovative and alive. A lot of that comes from economic development. So, when you think about projects even in other spaces like Space Commercialization, Precision Manufacturing and Ag Tech, these are huge opportunities that could create massive jobs in our region which is also a huge opportunity for Cal Poly. 

In some respects, it’s an embarrassment of riches and I don’t know which amazing opportunity to focus on first because there are so many that have so much benefit for us! This is a very rich area to develop and over time it will become clear what paths are going to be the most beneficial. 

Q: Describe your perfect day. 

My husband and I wake up at five every day, by design. We love it because we sit and have coffee for an hour and stare out the window at Madonna Mountain. Then, I would go take my dog Frida out to run — we usually go to Madonna Mountain or Poly Canyon. Then, I would come back and have brunch somewhere yummy. After that, I would take a nap — a perfect day would have a nap. Then, in the afternoon, I would go up to our horse ranch in Creston and take my horse and maybe another horse out on a ride. Then, I would sit out with some friends, have wine in the backyard and look at the sun going down in Creston. That would really be a perfect day.

Q: What do you admire most in other people? 

Authenticity. I don’t know how you have a real relationship with somebody who isn’t authentic to who they are. I’m not interested in someone’s status. People who are completely themselves are fascinating and I love learning about who they are, what motivates them, what they love and what they don’t love. So, I think authenticity and vulnerability — vulnerability is kind of necessary to be authentic — are the things I deeply admire and am attracted to. I enjoy it when things don’t feel produced or forced. 

Q: What is something that you are passionate about and why? 

That’s part of my problem, I tend to swing back and forth between a few different passions. My family is an obvious one, I have a 19-year-old daughter at the University of Oregon. We have that kind of relationship where we just click and I cannot say how much I have loved being her mom. It’s been the best thing I’ve ever experienced. 

I’m also extraordinarily passionate about anything outdoors. I work with a nonprofit horse rescue that rescues Mustangs, so that’s probably where I spend the vast majority of my concentrated time. Our ranch has over 20 rescues right now and we adopt them, train them, then adopt them out to other homes. It’s pretty heartbreaking what we do to wild horses and so wild horse advocacy is something that I’m super interested in. 

I’m also really interested in women in technology issues, women’s rights issues and social activism. 

Q: What is a movie you could watch every day and why?

Pride and Prejudice. If I wake up too early and I can’t go back to sleep, I watch Pride and Prejudice. I was a literature major in college and I love the story. I love the way it budges around social classes and the role of women. It’s an extraordinarily progressive concept, especially for when it was written so I love that. 

Q: If you started a business, what would it be?  

I used to want to run a cheese shop. I love understanding what people are doing and how they are looking for cheese to be in their life. Then, I like matching them with the right cheese. In fact, at some point, I registered a domain called The Cheese Algorithm, which was basically matching somebody to cheese. 

The other thing I started at GoDaddy was a reverse mentorship program. I was blown away by how beneficial it was for people earlier in their careers to mentor more senior people. I always thought that would be just an amazing nonprofit to start in some capacity. 

Q: What makes you passionate about entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship defies logic in so many ways. I do not have an entrepreneur’s brain myself — I think I have an innovator’s brain but not an entrepreneur’s. The bravery and courage it takes to become an entrepreneur, it astounds me. I have an insane respect for those who are willing to walk that path because it’s not an easy one and it takes a special human. 

Spending almost three decades in Silicon Valley and seeing the actual impact and results of those who are brave enough to walk that path is amazing. When I started at Oracle, it had 40,000 employees and when I left Oracle, it had 120,000 employees. Cisco had 75,000 employees when I Ieft. You don’t know how people will do it but they make it work and end up employing hundreds of people around the world and powering governments, cities and corporations. It’s just mind-boggling what entrepreneurship and technology can do.

I have never lost my passion for the transformational power of technology. I think the pure nature of what many people try to do through entrepreneurship and in technology specifically is a marvel.

This March was National Women’s History Month, a time dedicated to honoring women’s achievements and contributions throughout history. This year, we had the privilege of speaking with several remarkable female entrepreneurs and all-female teams in the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) community. Let’s take a close look at these inspiring women: 

Maureen (Mo) Vasquez, Founder and Creative Director of Pipsticks 

Our first female entrepreneur highlight of Women’s History Month was Maureen (Mo) Vasquez, founder and Creative Director of Pipsticks! Mo, sticker lover, designer and mother of four, founded Pipsticks back in 2014 and, years later, is still growing her business through hard work and bright ideas! Pipsticks is the world’s largest sticker subscription service with subscribers in over 60 countries. They bring creative and unique stickers to the mailbox of collectors every month.

Mo works on an all-female team with Abby Fulton and Penny Kippe. Fulton and Kippe said Mo has a wonderful ability to balance the chaos of running her own business and being a mother of four. 

“It is inspiring to see a hardworking, creative powerhouse who is so down to earth as a leader,” they said.  

Pipsticks breaks the glass ceiling with a predominantly female team. A simple glance into their day-to-day operations shows how Pipsticks defies the negative stereotypes of women in business and embodies a culture that is innovative, motivating and supportive, Fulton explained. 

Pipsticks challenges stereotypes about women in business, proving that they are nothing short of empowering. 

Judy Mahan, CIE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Senior Economic Director

Our second female entrepreneur highlight of Women’s History Month is Judy Mahan, Cal Poly CIE SBDC Senior Economic Development Director. Judy has been a part of the CIE for more than 13 years and has created a huge impact! ⁠

Mahan leads a talented team of women who all consider themselves fortunate to be under her leadership.  

“Judy is such a wonderful role model; she inspires me every day to work harder and aspire to do great things. She is unapologetically herself and amazing at what she does,” Libbie Stone, SBDC Videography Intern. 

Furthermore, Lynsey Fowler, SBDC Admin and Graphic Design Coordinator, said, “Working with Judy as a leader, I feel freer to be myself and I can talk to her about anything. She makes people feel very comfortable and included and brings great energy.” 

Mahan’s positive addition to the CIE, alongside her remarkable leadership and influence on her team, establishes her as an inspiring figure in the world of economic development and entrepreneurship. 

Penny Lane Case, CEO and co-founder of Nexstera Tech

Our third female entrepreneur highlight of Women’s History Month was Penny Lane Case, CEO and co-founder of Nexstera Tech. Nexstera tech is revolutionizing material detection with Artificial intelligence (AI) – driven radar technology. Penny Lane Case leads an all-female team and is currently working on her startup through the CIE Incubator, a program that provides early-stage companies tools, training and infrastructure to develop into high-grown enterprises.  

Case explained her experience as a female founder in a male-dominated field: “In the startup world, it is more common to find male presence and success, but it makes it much more impactful to make it as a female founder. I look forward to the day when I can support other women starting their founder journey.” 

Much of Case’s success is attributed to her co-founders Stefany James and Kylene Landenberger. They work tirelessly to create and bring their entire beings into everything they do, she said. 

“Working on an all-female team alongside these two compassionate and brilliant women breeds true transcendent innovation,” Case said. “It gives me an advantage because the communication and desire to understand each other is our top priority.”

Case’s leadership at Nexstera Tech and collaboration with her all-female team exemplifies the power of female entrepreneurship and proves the importance of diversity in driving innovation. 

McCall Brinskele, founder and CEO of Mense

Our fourth female entrepreneur highlight of Women’s History Month is McCall Brinskele, founder and CEO of Mense. Mense is a period care company on a mission to destigmatize and elevate the conversation surrounding menstruation. They have been apart of the CIE Incubator for almost a year and participated in the CIE Summer Accelerator program during 2022.

On top of running Mense, McCall also recently started a position as a Orfalea College of Business lecturer for both Business 310: Intro to Entrepreneurship and Business 461: Senior Project, alongside Assistant Professor and CIE Director of Academic Programs, Thomas Katona.

Additionally, she is also a woman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) having received her Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering and Masters in Engineering Management at Cal Poly.

Her students describe her as “an excellent instructor” and “very approachable and extremely enthusiastic”. They note that McCall’s incorporation of her own entrepreneurial journey into her teaching has significantly enhanced their learning in the classroom

Along with all of the above, McCall is the daughter of an entrepreneur and has a strong passion for the theater and arts. 

Karen Tillman, Cal Poly CIE’s Interim Executive Director

Our final female entrepreneur highlight of Women’s History Month was Karen Tillman, the CIE’s Interim Executive Director
(check out the Q&A we had with her here).

Tillman formerly worked as Chief Communications Officer at Oracle, Cisco, GoDaddy and Brex and brings more than 25 years of experience from the tech world. Passionate about entrepreneurship and the opportunities in our region, she looks forward to the future of economic development in San Luis Obispo. 

“We always have to think about how we can keep our community vibrant, innovative and alive,” Tillman said. “There are huge opportunities that could create massive jobs in our region which is also a huge opportunity for Cal Poly.” 

Tillman is “extraordinarily excited” for San Luis Obispo’s future and says, “there’s a lot ahead of us.” 

On top of her work accomplishments, Tillman works with a nonprofit horse rescue where she adopts Mustangs, trains them and adopts them out to other homes. 

Tillman’s impressive background in the tech industry coupled with her passion for entrepreneurship and commitment to community development positions her as a valuable asset to Cal Poly and the San Luis Obispo region as a whole. 

These are just a few of the many hardworking female entrepreneurs in the CIE community who inspire us every day. Women’s History Month is a reminder to respect and celebrate women’s contributions to society, economy, innovation and beyond. Together, we can amplify women’s voices and support these trailblazers who are paving the way for the future of women in business.

While pursuing their MBAs at Oxford University, the brains behind Little Place Labs brewed up their startup idea over pints of Guinness. It all kicked off with one, then turned into five, and soon enough co-founders Bosco Lai, acting CEO, and Gaurav Bajaj, acting CTO, were deep into brainstorming. Fueled by laughter, camaraderie, and a dash of liquid courage, these co-founders turned pub banter into a startup known as Little Place Labs.

Little Place Labs, a space tech company, specializes in developing solutions for near real-time space insights. In a world heavily reliant on space data collected by satellites, their innovative approach involves implementing software that operates directly on satellites, enabling the transformation of space-collected data into actionable information delivered quickly to ground stakeholders. Their software is particularly crucial in situations where real-time decisions are imperative.

At the heart of Little Place Labs’ narrative is the profound significance of relationships and engaging with individuals.

“One of the key elements of why Little Place Lab exists is because I met my co-founder and some of the team members,” Lai said. “When you meet the right people, everything just kickstarts.”

The theme of relationships continued, as it was through a coincidental interaction that the Texas-based startup came to join the Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship  Incubator program. 

The CIE Incubator helps develop early-stage startups into financially secure and scalable enterprises. Entrepreneurs in the program are provided with mentorship, funding opportunities and other resources to develop their business. 

In 2022, while attending a space event in Los Angeles, Lai said he crossed paths with Judy Mahan, Cal Poly CIE Senior Economic Development Director. Their casual conversation delved into the essence of Little Place Labs and Mahan’s role within the organization.

Quickly captivated by the Incubator’s diverse support for various startups beyond space tech, Lai said he immediately recognized the unique prospect the program offered. More than just a chance to immerse Little Place Labs in California’s dynamic ecosystem, Lai saw it as a golden opportunity to foster profound connections with a program deeply connected to a university that encourages collaboration between startups, academia, students and professors.

Little Place Labs joined the Incubator in 2022 and participates in the program virtually from Texas.

Through the CIE Incubator, Little Place Labs was introduced to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) professor Barry Lieberman, which they credit to be one of the best opportunities utilized from the program.

“Interaction with the personnel and people with Cal Poly really, really helped us,” Lai said. “Working with the professors, students and directly with the university, helps us think through things not just from a commercial way, but also from a technical way.” 

Lieberman runs a commercialization of new technologies course at Cal Poly, structured around grouping his students to research for an emerging company in an under-researched market. Little Place Labs has collaborated with the students in this course the last two years.

Their participation in the course has proved to be a beneficial experience for both the students and Little Place Labs.

“We are able to really leverage the students during their time with Professor Liberman to do market research on Little Place Labs,” Lai said. “There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of work that we were able to leverage from the students during their time with us. We were very happy to use their work and merge it with our own.”

As the 2024 year begins, Lai said Little Place Labs is focusing on their business development. Specifically, working on partnerships, contacts, increasing exposure and planning seed ground fundraising events in the upcoming months. 

In line with their commitment to fostering relationships, they plan to continue working with Professor Lieberman and interacting with Cal Poly students.

“We really enjoy working with the professor and the students. We learned a lot, and I think that’s really valuable. Not all programs can provide us with that kind of exposure and interactions,” Lai said. “The Incubator is fantastic because it really provides you support in many different ways. The program is open to your imagination.”

Taylor Jenisch’s transition from the solitude of remote work to the vibrant atmosphere at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) HotHouse in Downtown San Luis Obispo (SLO) was more than a mere change in location; it was a transformative experience that reenergized his professional life. 

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread shift to virtual, at-home work, Jenisch, founder and CEO of Burning Boat Films, found it difficult to deal with working remotely and its lonely quality. Despite the flexibility and freedom remote work offered, Jenisch felt a drop in productivity and the weight of isolation, he said. 

“I came to the HotHouse and immediately felt the energy of other people, especially the entrepreneurs,” Jenisch said. “Productivity picked up massively and I had a better mood from the people around and being able to talk to others.”    

Jenisch started Burning Boat Films, an entertainment company focused on creating documentary and narrative films, in Copenhagen. Eventually, he shifted his company’s base to SLO, engaging with independent contractors both locally and globally. 

Jenisch discovered the HotHouse through a mutual friend who was actively involved. Intrigued by the space, Jenisch decided to give it a try for a day, which has led to nearly a year of coworking. 

“The community and the people in the HotHouse were the biggest selling factor — they’ve got a really nice group of people,” Jenisch said. “Every day you get to meet someone new, which has helped me build solid business connections.” 

About a month after joining the HotHouse, Jenisch attended the CIE’s monthly Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) Coffee and Conversation where the SBDC brings in a guest speaker to provide advice about a specific expertise ranging from sales to marketing to general business strategies. Following this event, Jenisch received a full investment in one of his films. 

“Through one of the Coffee and Conversations, I received a full investment for a film, which is insane for that short of time at a coworking space,” Jenisch explained. “I realized there are a lot of untapped resources here,” Jenisch said. 

Having grown up in Europe, Jenisch initially struggled with how to structure a business in America. However, Jenisch said he received a lot of help from the CIE staff and other connections within the HotHouse. He described transitioning to the HotHouse as a “180-degree turn for the better.”

“If you’re finding it difficult to motivate yourself to put in a full day of work because you’re working in a room or have kids at home and are getting distracted, it’s a nice opportunity to come into a coworking space,” Jenisch said. “Get some socialization in and become fed by the motivation of other people.”

Logan Jennings’s routine in San Francisco was a balancing act between grueling hours at a hedge fund and workout sessions alongside his friend, and soon to be co-founder and chief results officer, Jacob Hubert. However, a sudden health scare ultimately rewrote his life’s trajectory. 

A blood clot in his shoulder threatened his life. It took a close friend’s plea to prompt Logan’s visit to the hospital –– an action that proved to be a critical, life-or-death decision. The forced pause from his usual workout grind and prospect of losing his active lifestyle triggered a profound realization: he didn’t want to keep working for others. The experience ignited a desire to create something more aligned with his passions of fitness and health.

It was during regular hospital visits and recovery support that Hubert and Jennings came up with the idea for their startup, Intersect Executive Performance.

“I started visiting the hospital and thereafter he would come meet me for hours and we would talk and understand what the holes in the fitness industry were and where we could fit in,” Hubert said. 

The startup works to provide top leaders with a personalized, data-driven plan on how to best improve all aspects of their health without drastically changing executive’s already busy schedules. 

Intersect Executive Performance has a two-part process, which allows them to curate the optimal plan for their user. First, they collect the user’s parameters of work schedules, home life, stress levels, sleep quality, health history, gym accessibility and dietary restrictions. Then they analyze the results of the user’s blood biomarker and gut intelligence testing results.

Afterward, the team works with experts to create a personalized plan to enhance the team’s seven pillars of peak performance: energy, sleep, stress, daily habits, movement, nutrition and focus.

Like Jennings, Hubert was fully immersed in the corporate world after graduating, being employed at a consulting firm and sharing a passion for health and fitness. 

“[Fitness] was the only way I was able to stay sane with the amount of hours I was working,” Hubert said. “I was having success in my role, but I wanted that opportunity to grow. I knew that my potential wasn’t going to be as a cog in the machine. My potential was going to be in a place that required me to struggle and not have a safety net.”

Given their shared passion and solace in fitness, the two knew they wanted to do something in health and fitness performance, Hubert said. And their experience working in corporate America provided them insight into their target market of top leaders and executives. 

“We found there’s a hole in the assumption around these top leaders having everything figured out. But in reality, they need help balancing,” Hubert said. “When I was working in my consulting firm, a lot of my leaders seemed like they’re handling everything, but they’re struggling to balance it all. They might have been fulfilled from a work perspective, but they felt other aspects of their life slipping as a result of the burden that they take on by being a leader in their business and community.”

Their services are provided primarily virtually, with weekly touch points and opportunities for phone calls and direct messaging to allow executives to continue focusing on their responsibilities.

“Our goal is really not to take up time or add things to an already crowded plate but really be able to blend into their lives,” Hubert said.

With a clear goal in mind, the two California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo graduates turned to the Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Incubator program in the fall of 2022 to gain knowledge in entrepreneurship and startups.

The program helps develop early-stage startups into financially secure and scalable enterprises. Entrepreneurs in the Incubator program are provided with mentorship, funding opportunities and other resources to develop their business. 

“Although we both graduated from the school of business, we realized that we don’t know what we don’t know,” Hubert said. “There’s so many different stones that need to be turned, and every time you untorn a new stone, there are 1,000 more stones underneath that.” 

Beyond providing resources and knowledge, the Incubator has also provided the startup with a community. 

“The killer of startups is a lack of focus. There’s a lot of noise, and the CIE provides a community that has gone through and heard the noise before,” Hubert said. “Even though not every person in the Incubator is in the same industry or solving the same problem, [the Incubator] allows us to learn from each and grow alongside other people who are struggling and growing and learning.”

The team was also introduced to consultant Mitch Emerson, who is now a part of the team’s advisory board. 

“Mitch Emerson has had the biggest impact on our growth and success,” Hubert said. “Mitch has technical background, but his operation skills and understanding of what matters what and what doesn’t and how to shift your focus and how to prioritize has been instrumental to our ability to grow and succeed.” 

The Incubator program, Hubert said, perfectly embodies the saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together,” Hubert said. “The CIE really provides that sense of togetherness.”

Four Cal Poly students attended the 40th annual Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Global Conference & Pitch Competition held in Tampa, Florida, immersing themselves in Cal Poly’s practical learning approach known as ‘Learn By Doing.’ CEO is a global network for collegiate entrepreneurs and innovators with more than 250 college and university chapters; they support and inspire the growth of any student that seeks to be entrepreneurial. 

Out of the 600 startup teams that applied, Cal Poly business administration seniors Benjamin Arts and Mathew Reis made it to the top 25 as finalists with their startup Té Piña. 

Té Piña is a pineapple-based beverage that provides consumers with a healthier alternative to energy drinks. 

Arts attended the CEO event in 2022 as a spectator, having been recommended by faculty as a student who would effectively represent the Cal Poly entrepreneurship program. This year, after feeling confident in their startup, Arts and Reis decided to apply to the competition.

Prior to the CEO event, Arts and Reis participated in the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Summer Accelerator, a three-month program that provides Cal Poly students and recent graduates with the resources needed to turn their startups into real, scalable businesses.

“During the Summer Accelerator, every Friday you are pitching and receiving constructive criticism. After going through an experience of 12 weeks of pitching, it’s really hard to be put in a scenario where you’re not ready to go under fire,” said Reis. 

Because of their involvement with the Summer Accelerator, Arts and Reis felt more equipped talking about their business than other teams pitching, Arts said.  

“With general pitching and answering certain questions, it showed that we have [pitched our business] 100 times,” Arts explained. 

Joining Arts and Reis were the President and Vice President of Cal Poly Entrepreneurs (CPE) Michelle Wu and Jacob Boyd who are both business administration sophomores. CPE is a student-run club that unifies entrepreneurs on campus. 

Each year the CEO organizers invite the President and Vice President of entrepreneurship chapters in their organization to enjoy the event as spectators. 

The CEO conference was a great opportunity to network and get more involved in the startup culture, Boyd said. 

“Seeing other leaders involved and being so passionate about what they’re doing motivates me as well,” Wu explained. “It’s a reminder that we are all in this together.” 

Going into the conference, Boyd was concerned that compared to other entrepreneurship chapters, CPE would be lacking as a club. To his surprise, members of other chapters came to CPE for advice and “being able to help them out was pretty cool,” he said. 

Reis, Arts, Boyd and Wu all found the CEO event to be invaluable in terms of meeting mentors, participating in workshops, expanding their network and taking advice from keynote speakers, they said. 

“The whole experience was ‘Learn By Doing’ and it showed us what it is like to be a real entrepreneur,” Wu said. “I’m grateful to have experiences like this coming out of Cal Poly.” 

At the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) we tend to highlight success stories of companies who follow the path of our programs. While these startup journeys are undoubtedly inspiring, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for success. The road to it is not a one-way path; it’s more like a complex network of intersecting routes — you just need to find yours. 

The following five Cal Poly alumni are examples of entrepreneurs who forged their distinctive paths to success. Their stories remain untold, not because they didn’t succeed but because they didn’t follow the traditional CIE success narrative. Nevertheless, we want to celebrate them because they are prime examples of resilience and the essence of entrepreneurship. 

By sharing their stories, we hope to inspire individuals who resonate with their journey. Maybe you are not a Business major or concentrating in Entrepreneurship but want to pursue building a startup — Esha Joshi demonstrates that it’s possible! Maybe your first startup doesn’t scale like you’d hoped — Kaitlyn Henry shows that the skills obtained from entrepreneurship will open the door to more opportunities. 

Becoming an entrepreneur is simple and where entrepreneurship can take you is limitless. 

Esha Joshi | How majoring in computer science led to a successful startup venture

Cal Poly College of Engineering (CENG) alumnus Esha Joshi had a passion for startups, leading her to explore entrepreneurship. 

“I was definitely very interested in doing something with startups — potentially even starting my own company — in college,” Joshi said.

In 2016, during her senior year, Joshi joined the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Hatchery. Her first startup, Repay, aimed to tackle the problem of inefficient reimbursement processes between businesses and their interviewees.

Joshi described this phase as both fun and educational, serving as a small precursor to running her own company.

The entrepreneurial skills she acquired during her time at the CIE became instrumental in her journey. Today, she is the co-founder of Yoodli, an app that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help users to build confidence while public speaking. 

“The CIE helps students acquire the tools, develop the skills and cultivate the mindset of an entrepreneur,” Joshi explained.

Joshi’s remarkable journey to Yoodli led to her receiving prestigious awards, such as GeekWire’s Youngest Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022 and Forbes 30 Under 30: Consumer Technology in 2023. She and her co-founder have successfully raised more than $7 million from investors, including Madrona Venture Group and Vulcan Capital.

Kieran Scandrett | How a horticulture startup led to a career in sales

Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business (OCOB) alumnus Kiernan Scandrett pitched his innovative idea during iQ in 2018 and won second place. His startup Clove was a pre-seed, consumer product, subscription box and premium cooking content company aimed at becoming the HelloFresh of gardening. 

After winning second place in iQ, Scandrett joined the Summer Accelerator.

Despite Clove’s inability to secure sufficient funding to continue, Scandrett considers running the company one of his “proudest moments.” 

Inspired by his experience at the CIE, his co-founder encouraged him to pursue a career in sales, recognizing that entrepreneurship is inherently about selling ideas and solutions.

“As an entrepreneur, you are always selling. That’s your life: selling people on your products and your solutions, but most importantly, just selling yourself to people,” Scandrett said. “So it was there and then, almost immediately after that meeting, that I decided that I was going to pursue a career in sales.”

With his entrepreneurship education and horticultural experience, Scandrett successfully progressed to the position of Head of Sales at Habitat Horticulture, a role he held for nearly four years. 

Scandrett’s message to aspiring entrepreneurs encourages those to believe in themselves and to not allow good ideas to go to waste.

“Believe in yourself and if you have trouble doing that, think about the person in your life who believes in you the most,” said Scandrett. “Try to bring that energy or manifest that same (confidence) in yourself.” 

Kaitlyn Henry |  How following her curiosity led to success with a career in investing

In 2016, Kaitlyn Henry, Cal Poly OCOB alumna, was involved in both the CIE’s Innovation Quest (iQ) and Summer Accelerator where she explored her AgTech startup, SpotDrop. 

Henry said the Summer Accelerator played a pivotal role in their startup. It allowed them to move swiftly and learn from their failures, Henry said. She described her time as “the most amazing experience.”

Her experience in the Summer Accelerator expanded her knowledge about Venture Capital.

“Everything that I had done up until that point — being the business counterpart to a technical founder or technical team — venture capital and investing in startups felt like an extension of that… It took the parts that I loved about both (of my prior) jobs, and I got to experience all of that on a broader scale every single day,” Henry explained.

In 2016, she was recognized as the Entrepreneurship Outstanding Senior of the Year among more than 300 students for her remarkable achievements in cross-disciplinary entrepreneurial collaboration within the CIE’s Incubator program.

Although SpotDrop didn’t achieve product-market fit, Henry emphasized that she “learned a lot along the way.” 

With the help of the entrepreneurial skills Henry developed during her time with the CIE, she is now the Vice President at OpenView, a venture capital and private equity firm, a role she has held for five years.  

Patrick Pezet & Matt Canepa | How free pizza led to the start of a successful business

Cal Poly OCOB alumni Patrick Pezet and Matt Canepa stumbled upon an idea that would revolutionize Major League Baseball—an innovative coffee pouch as a healthier alternative to chewing tobacco.

After Pezet and Canepa came up with the idea, they saw a flier on campus that read: “Have a Cool Idea? Free Pizza!” Not thinking too much into it and hungry for some free pizza, they decided to go and present their idea.  

To their surprise, people took a keen interest in their product, leading them to pitch their idea, Grinds Coffee, at iQ. They won the competition and received a $15,000 check.

Soon after, Grinds Coffee took off. 

“Free pizza literally got us in the door. That’s why we walked in. And then that community — the small community and mentorship around it — that’s why we exist today. That’s why we gave it a shot,” Pezet shared. 

In 2013, Pezet and Canepa pitched Grinds Coffee on Shark Tank, a popular reality show where wealthy investors calculate startups who pitch for funding. Grinds Coffee was featured in ESPN the Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and Fox Business Channel that same year.

Today, Grinds Coffee is a successful business with a product used in Major League Baseball and beyond. As of September 27, 2023, they had sold over four million cans.

“Don’t hold back a question, or a thought, or an idea because you’re unsure or not confident,” Pezet said. “Get involved and give it a shot.” 

CEO and founder of TractorCloud, Morgan Swanson, is plowing through conventional agricultural practices to cultivate a new era of efficiency with a tech savvy twist where crops meet code.

TractorCloud is developing a software, equipped with complementing hardware, which aims to provide farmers the ability to detect and predict maintenance needs to increase farming efficiency, Swanson said. The startup is creating a fitness app for tractors, allowing farmers to collect data on their tractors to ensure they are running effectively.

“I’m the type of person that if I see something in the world that I don’t think is right, I’ll generally do something about it,” Swanson said. “When I heard that farmers were having difficulty accessing the computers on the tractors they had purchased, that didn’t feel right to me. So I started trying to get access to those computers on the tractors that were at Cal Poly while I was a student there [and continued my journey to improve agricultural technology since].”

To make his vision into a successful business, the startup is participating in the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Incubator program, and he has long been familiar with the CIE. TractorCloud has been involved with the CIE and Cal Poly CIE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) since 2021 when TractorCloud joined the CIE Summer Accelerator program and became an SBDC client. Swanson said joining the Incubator after completing the Summer Accelerator did not feel like a decision; instead it felt more like a natural sequence.

The Summer Accelerator acts as a prerequisite to the Incubator Program, Swanson explained. Specifically, Swanson said the Summer Accelerator provides entrepreneurs a strong foundation on how to start and grow a business, which translates into knowledge on how to use the plethora of resources provided to them in the Incubator Program.

“When you’re in the Summer Accelerator you’re like a little kid running around and you don’t really know what things are, but by the end of the Accelerator you start to understand the way this world works,” Swanson said. “In the Incubator program you’re not going to have people telling you what to do. You’re ready to use their [CIE’s] resources and figure out how that’s going to fit in your journey. [To do that] you have to be comfortable with your identity as a company, and the Accelerator can help you develop that.”

One of the beneficial resources provided to startups throughout the program are the weekly meetings with lead consultants, each with varying areas of expertises, assigned to every startup to help guide and resolve issues and needs they are facing that week, Swanson said.

“I was really grateful that they [the consultants] were there when I was stuck on something. Having that person checking in with you is like something to keep you on track every week,” Swanson said. “All the mentors I’ve talked to have their own perspective they can help you with. I had a mentor named Ulrika Lidstrom, and she was awesome. Then when I didn’t feel like that was what I needed, I was able to transition to a different lead mentor. The Incubator is like insurance – something you can fall back on when you get stuck.”

Beyond supplying resources to help kickstart and propel startups into the market with networking opportunities, consultants and a physical work space, the Incubator program provides a community among entrepreneurs, Swanson said.

“If you’re struggling with finding people that are gonna give you emotional support and engagement with your company,” Swanson said, “you will find that the Incubator is a place where just by you being an entrepreneur is enough for you to get care and respect from the people that are involved.”

September marks the start of National Self-Care Awareness Month. While this is a reminder to reflect on the importance of self-care, mental health is important all year long. As an entrepreneur, it is easy to forget to prioritize oneself when in the midst of prioritizing a business.

Meeting one’s goals as an entrepreneur takes a lot of time and effort. Entrepreneurs often deal with unusual working hours, stressful decision-making, financial uncertainty, risk of failure and more. Prioritizing self-care is an integral part of creating a work-life balance, avoiding burnout and staying on track to sustained success.

Even during the busiest of times, entrepreneurs should carve out time to take care of themselves. Refocusing energy on oneself and revisiting the activities that provide joy can help create new energy, ideas, and productivity. 

Here is what the CIE community enjoys to prioritize self-care and avoid burnout: 

“Self-care is when I take 20-minute walks throughout my day,” Lynsey Fowler, SBDC Administrative Graphic Design Coordinator. 

“After work, I will do some kind of activity because I’ve been sitting still all day. I’ll go climbing, surfing or hiking,” Sydney Harrison, CIE Marketing and Communications Coordinator. 

“Making sure to take time for yourself and not get swept up in the hustle and bustle of doing your job. As entrepreneurs, we are very passionate about what we are working on. But at the end of the day, it’s still work, so it is important to do things that reenergize you and bring you joy,” Mccall Brinskele, founder and CEO of Mense.  

“Self-care means doing things that make me joyful throughout the day. That could be eating ice cream, dancing or talking to my parents and my brother,” Sarah Hirst, CIE Graphic Design Intern. 

“Being outdoors, being in nature,” Cory Karpin, CIE Interim Executive Director. 

“Clearing my social calendar and making sure that I have time to myself, at least an hour a day whether that’s scrolling on social media, listening to music or taking the long route to work from my car and just being outside,” Stephanie Zombek, CIE Marketing and Communications Manager. 

“Take a day off, plan it and make space for it. I try to get eight hours of sleep and go on runs if I feel antsy,” Avi Peltz, founder and CEO of TensorMaker. 

“I try and get some meditations in throughout the day. It definitely clears the level of thoughts that are circulating in my mind,” Ryan Meffert, founder and CEO of Double Helix Design.  

“Usually if I am working on projects or school work, I always make sure to take a break. I like to eat a lot of snacks while I’m working. Sometimes I like to go out and watch the sunset and spend time at the beach,” Abby Yue, CIE Videography Intern. 

“As a student, I like to prevent burnout by practicing meditation and breath work at home – that’s what I like to do to stay centered,” Libbie Stone, SBDC Videography Intern. 

“I try and get into this concept of anti-rivalry – not try and compare myself to others constantly. I need to show up for myself and achieve the things I set for myself. As soon as I compare myself to others, that is when the danger happens of burning out.” Kevin Meffert, Life Coach.  

“It is good practice to set reasonable hours to work. We usually have to work more than most people, but you should still set your work hours and when you are not available to be contacted,” Taylor Jenisch, founder and CEO of Burning Boat Productions. 

“Self-care means getting good rest, exercising and eating healthy food so that you can have energy to go about your day,” Samantha Moberly, co-founder and CEO of Social Spark.