About CIE | Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Innovation Quest (iQ)
Founded Cal Poly alumni, Carson Chen, Richard Boberg, and Laura Pickering, iQ has already awarded over $350,000 in support of Cal Poly innovators and entrepreneurs who have used the program as a platform to launch successful businesses.
Entrepreneurship Concentration
The entrepreneurship concentration is opened to business administration and economics majors in the Orfalea College of Business. The entrepreneurship concentration aligns with a plethora of resources in CIE.
Cal Poly Entrepreneurs Club
Formed by students and entrepreneurship professors, CPE is a student-run organization that enables aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their passions by providing valuable resources such as weekly meetings, workshops, trips, events and communal support.
Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Opened
Since its inception in 2010, the CIE opened a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members, and promotes regional economic development throughout the region.
1st Elevator Pitch Competition
First-ever CIE Elevator Pitch Competition Forum where students have 90 seconds to pitch their product ideas, innovative services or startups for the chance to win $1,000.
Launched Summer Startup Accelerator
The Startup Accelerator is a 13-week summer program designed to give students everything you need to launch a real, scalable company.
1st Startup Weekend
Held once a year, this competition empowers students and community entrepreneurs from all disciplines to come together and build a startup in 54 hours.
SLO HotHouse Opens
The SLO HotHouse is a community space created through the efforts of Cal Poly, the city and county of San Luis Obispo, the business community, and the CIE.
Cal Poly CIE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Opens
The Cal Poly CIE SBDC offers a wide variety of services for both startups and established companies.
Faculty Fellow Program Started
The CIE Faculty Fellows are growing the entrepreneurship culture at Cal Poly. Within each of Cal Poly’s six colleges, CIE Faculty Fellows incorporate innovation, and entrepreneurship into their coursework.
Launched Incubator Program
CIE’s two-year Incubator program includes everything needed for early-stage companies to develop into financially stable, high-growth enterprises by providing the tools; training and infrastructure that helps facilitate smarter, faster growth.
The Hatchery Opens
The Hatchery is an on-campus program that provides an entrepreneurial experience to students and allows them to cultivate the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in any business.
1st Hackathon
Held annually, the Hackathon highlights the best of Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing motto, giving students across campus the opportunity to create, design and build with fellow students and mentors.
Innovation Sandbox Gets Dedicated Space
Innovation Sandbox is a shared on-campus workspace for students to play with the latest prototyping/ideations tools, explore new subjects, develop technologies and share knowledge.
New SLO HotHouse Opens
The SLO HotHouse is a community space created through the efforts of Cal Poly, the city and county of San Luis Obispo, the business community, and the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The HotHouse is home to the CIE programs that support students and community members as..Read More
Entrepreneurship Minor Established
Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business new entrepreneurship minor opens to students from all colleges allowing students to develop the entrepreneurial mindset.
CIE Opens Incubator Program to Community Startups
For the first time, the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) will accept community startups into its SLO HotHouse Incubator program.
First Angel Conference
Startups have the chance to win $100,000 in angel-backed investments by applying Angel Conference and pitching to a panel of judges.
HotHouse Annex Opens
CIE opens a new facility to expand opportunities for new products, ideas and companies on the Central Coast.

Impact Stats

COMPANIES LAUNCHED

CAPITAL RAISED

ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSES OFFERED

JOBS CREATED

ALUMNI MENTOR HOURS

Mission

CIE Short Story

CIE Staff Bios

Interim Co-Executive Director | Senior Director of Development

Interim Co-Executive Director | Asst. Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Senior Economic Development Director

Director of Finance and Operations

Operations Manager

Assistant Director

Project Coordinator

SBDC Administrative and Graphic Design Coordinator

Marketing & Communications Manager

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

PR & Digital Marketing Intern

Videography Intern

Graphic Design Intern

Innovation Programs Coordinator | Summer Accelerator Intern

CIE Marketing & Event Intern

CIE & SBDC Marketing & Event Intern

SBDC Marketing & Event Intern

SBDC Videography Intern