By: Lauren Arendt

Online shopping has become a major part of many people’s lives, but second year business major Tiffany Yeung wants to add a whole new layer to the experience of buying and selling clothing and lifestyle items over the web: philanthropy. That’s why she created WearToGiv, an online retail store that works as a profit share with other companies to give them money for their philanthropies and charities.

Through her online platform, Yeung partners with companies and runs campaigns. When products are sold through the campaign on WearToGive.org, a percentage of the profit goes back to the philanthropy or charity they choose. To date, WearToGiv has partnered with more than 100 organizations around the country and donated thousands of dollars to organizations such as Autism Speaks, The Alzheimer’s Association and the Arthritis Foundation.

“We wanted to create a place where people felt good about donating but also received something in return,” said Yeung.

Yeung has been invested in entrepreneurship from an early age. She launched her first company in seventh grade where she sold custom-made T-shirts. In highschool, as an active member of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), she launched a website selling corsages and boutonnière.

“I have always loved startups,” said Yeung. “My whole life I have always known I wanted to do entrepreneurship.”

She is now a member of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Hatchery, an on-campus program where students come together to build entrepreneurial teams, develop their ideas and learn from mentors.

“The Hatchery has given so many opportunities not only for my professional growth, but personal growth,” Yeung said.

Finding her mentor and growing a network are two of the most impactful takeaways experienced by Yeung in the CIE Hatchery. She encourages other students to visit the Hatchery, regardless of what major or interest they have, because of the unique experiences found there.

“I am really excited to be a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in San Luis Obispo,” said Yeung. To learn more about getting involved with entrepreneurship on the Cal Poly campus, join our community on Instagram @ciecalpoly, follow us on Facebook and get to know our programming at https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/blog/whats-on-campus-the-hatchery/.

By: Lauren Arendt

Imagine feeling like you can’t move a muscle; as if your feet are glued to the floor. This is what freezing of gait feels like, one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

The CIE Incubator company De Oro Devices is dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease and their first product is a device designed to manage freezing of gait.

“Freezing of gait is an incredibly debilitating symptom,” De Oro Devices Founder and biomedical engineering senior at Cal Poly Sidney Collin said. “It creates a lot of anxiety, creates fear and anxiety and is the leading cause of falls.”

Freezing of gait is caused by a lack of communication between the brain and the body. Collin found, however, that research shows this communication can be jump started using a series of audio and visual cues. This is what inspired the De Oro Devices product designed to counteract freezing of gait.

“We put the most effective audio and visual cues, put them into a small, portable device that fits onto any cane or walker and allow someone to regain movement and overcome freezing of gait episodes wherever they are,” Collin said.

The team has developed a prototype of the product that has already made a difference in people’s lives. It will be the least expensive and most portable device on the market designed to mitigate freezing of gait and the anxiety that comes with it.

“My intention as a person is to use the technology in the world to improve people’s quality of life and this company is an amazing way for me to do that,” Collin said. “Success for us is making products that have a real impact on people’s quality of life.”

De Oro Devices got their start in the Hatchery in Spring 2018. After building a team and solidifying their idea in the on-campus space, the company applied for the accelerator program and were admitted into the Summer 2018 class. After ten weeks of intensive preparation, De Oro Devices launched at Demo Day and continued their journey into the incubator.

“The CIE has been amazing,” Collin said. “There is no way I would be where I am without this program.”

Collin said the support of mentorship, funding, workshops and even office space made the CIE an invaluable experience for De Oro Devices.

By: Lauren Arendt

1. You clean everything in your house before starting your work

Who knew you were such a diligent cleaner? Or is it more likely, you are a diligent procrastinator. Everyone has less motivated days, but when your home is your work and your work is your home, it is easier to blur the lines and get distracted.

2. You actually aren’t that great at multitasking

You think you can watch TV, complete your work and eat a sandwich at the same time, but that probably doesn’t help your productivity much.

3. You can’t stop snacking

Are you eating because you’re hungry, or because you’re bored? You may be having more frequent snack-attacks because you can, not because you should.

4. You have the attention span of a five-year-old

There are five tabs open on your computer and Instagram is up on your phone. You’re probably working for 20 percent of the time and online shopping, scrolling through social media and checking your email for the other 80 percent.

5. Work is getting in the way of the enjoyment of working from home

Working from home probably sounded so great, but when you were envisioning this greatness, were you considering the actual work? More likely, the vision included sleeping in, wearing pajamas all day and being your own boss to some extent. The actual sitting down, getting your computer out and doing work may not have fit into the work from home fantasy, but it is very much the reality.

6. Your coworkers have four legs and a tail

Sometimes you just need someone to talk to about work stuff. Not only are second opinions valuable, but also work drama happens, and your four-legged-friends may not be able to level with you the way you need them to.

7. You wore the same shirt three days in a row

Working from home means you don’t have to shower, right? Wrong. Personal hygiene is important for productivity and professionalism, even if you the only “coworker” you have is your four-legged friend.

8. You take your work home with you… because your home is your workplace

Sometimes, boundaries can be important. The work-life balance is crucial to mental health but when your work and life happen in the same environment, the lines can blur.

If any (or all) of these points sound like you, it may be time to consider transitioning from the work from home lifestyle to something more concrete. The CIE HotHouse is an option that offers a diverse, energetic community that exists to support your professional goals. You might need to change out of your pajamas, but you’ll be feeling right at home with the space’s top-notch amenities, free coffee and relaxing spaces. Learn how you can sign up today here: https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/coworking/

The central location of San Luis Obispo between Los Angeles and the Bay Area draws many to live in the area. David Figueroa, the co-founder and director of projects for DCR Designs, chose to work remotely in San Luis Obispo for this very reason. Figueroa partners with transportation agencies in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, meaning he is required to travel to both metropolitan cities frequently.

“We have projects in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles,” Figueroa said. “I might as well be in between the two large areas, right?”

While living in San Luis Obispo became an obvious choice, working remotely in a less metropolitan area presented a challenge. Figueroa wanted to be surrounded by more like-minded people in order to gather inspiration, network and grow. That’s where coworking at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) HotHouse came in.

“I really wanted to be with more people,” Figueroa said. “If you’re a small firm, you can easily get locked into isolation. You don’t have to do that here at the HotHouse.”

The variety of different people around him was another draw to the CIE HotHouse. Professionals, students and everyone in between make the coworking space a unique melting pot of ideas and innovation.

“I like being in a mixed group,” Figueroa said. “Especially the younger people who have all these awesome ideas and a lot of great experience already in their lives.”

Aside from the energy supplied by those around him, Figueroa said the CIE HotHouse offers plenty of other perks. Educational and social events offer even more networking opportunities while the large kitchen and a variety of different lounges create a comfortable, productive environment.

Those interested in following in joining Figueroa at the CIE HotHouse coworking space can schedule a free tour, claim a workspace, or purchase a day pass. Membership amenities include WiFi, educational and social events, access to the Small Business Development Center consultants, lounge areas, kitchen, easy access to downtown San Luis Obispo and all the free coffee you can drink. Sign up today here: https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/coworking/

By: Lauren Arendt

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) very own Faculty Fellows, Lynn Metcalf and David Askay, presented a study in conjunction with Unanimous AI showing that when connected by artificial intelligence (AI), business teams make better decisions when working together as opposed to working as individuals.

The AI tool used to connect these teams is referred to as “Swarm AI” is created by Unanimous AI. It connects networked teams over the internet and allows and empowers them to share their combined insights in real time.

Sixty small teams took a standard social intelligence test best known as “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” (RME). This test has historically served as a strong predictor of team effectiveness and overall collective intelligence. All team members took the test individually, but then again together connected online using the Swarm AI tool.

When team members took the RME test individually, they averaged 68 percent accuracy. When they came together to work together as an AI-powered “hive mind,” the teams average 85 percent accuracy. Even more, the average team connected by AI outperformed 93 percent of all individuals.

“These results are exciting because they reveal that human swarms are capable of making accurate decisions without explicitly communicating with each other,” Askay said. “Rather than sharing information, they are sharing intent based on the information they possess.”

These significant results lead to many possibilities for the application of Swarm AI when applied to business teams. From making optimized decisions and more accurately forecasting how customers will react to messaging, to product features and sales statistics, the study shows how powerful teams can truly be in comparison to the individual.

“Artificial swarm intelligence enables groups to make smarter decisions, because it incorporates and integrates the tacit and explicit knowledge of all group members,” Metcalf said. “The results of our research demonstrate that human swarms enable groups to arrive at a negotiated consensus that is more accurate than decisions made by vote.”

Alex Waddel, a Cal Poly student who interned with Unanimous AI as a data scientist, says that an interesting part of the research findings is the fact that they can be applied in infinite settings.

“The most exciting part was seeing that the algorithm and Swarm intelligence system that they used can be applied in so many different disciplines in order to make good decisions,” Waddel said. “You can make a prediction, but what’s even more valuable is when you make a prediction and can say how confident you are in that prediction. That’s how you reassure people that it really works.”

The CIE Faculty Fellow program hosts influential faculty from every college at Cal Poly. This powerful group introduces innovation and entrepreneurship to students in their respective fields while pushing their students outside of the traditional classroom experience.

By Dylan Grant

HotHouse coworker Alisa Reynolds has revolutionized the desk to improve wellness while doing office work. Founder of the company Buddhi Boxx, Reynolds invented the world’s first floor-sitting to a standing desk to combat health problems associated with stationary living. Innovative and mindful of holistic wellness in the workplace, Reynold’s attributes some of her best ideas to inspiration drawn from the HotHouse coworking space.

“I don’t think I could do what I do without the interaction that I find in the coworking space,” she said.

The CIE created a community coworking space with the goal of providing an exceptional work environment for entrepreneurs. Local professionals are guaranteed to maximize productivity with access to business consulting and a collaborative atmosphere.

“My reason for coming out of the home office and into the HotHouse coworking space was to be a part of the community that I am serving and that I work with,” said Reynolds. “There’s no reason to be in my house while I’m doing my work instead of interacting with the amazing minds of people in this city.”

Join a community of entrepreneurs in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo by becoming a HotHouse coworker. Any business professional regardless of their affiliation with Cal Poly or a startup is more than welcome. Explore all-inclusive membership amenities and become a coworker. https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/coworking/

By Dylan Grant

Brett Foreman created a mobile app that offers rewards for being real-world social. CIE Incubator Company Kick-it Points allows users to claim deals from local businesses for engaging in activities exclusive to San Luis Obispo.

Trekking up Bishop Peak, taking a jaunt through Avila Beach or hunkering down to study in Kennedy Library can unlock various rewards and discounts from San Luis Obispo vendors. Users can download the Kick-it Points app for free on the App Store and scroll through an interactive map to find prime deals and activities. After paying a visit to select Kick-it locations, they can then redeem premium discounts from local favorites such as Woodstock’s Pizza, House of Bagels, Frog & Peach and Bull’s Tavern.

While Kick-it Points provides great options for those operating on a budget, the app also offers local businesses a unique opportunity to connect with consumers.

“One of our vendors actually just reached out to me saying that he would like me to move the structure of his deal to a different location in the real world,” Foreman said. “He was actually getting too much traffic.”

Foreman hopes to bring people together by motivating app users to engage with their community. Plans for future development include automating his app to make it easier for business owners to become Kick-it Points merchants. Such advancements could soon spur Kick-it Points rewards in both Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

“Being in the incubator has been a wonderful experience,” Foreman said, comparing the HotHouse to a human Google. “It’s helped my company grow immensely.”

The HotHouse provides the resources and mentorship needed to launch a startup. Join a community of entrepreneurs and apply to be a HotHouse incubator. https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/launch/hothouse-incubator/

By Dylan Grant

A rough idea is the foundation of even the most successful businesses. Transforming innovative concepts into a reality often forces startups to run with minimal resources. SLO entrepreneurs know how to make things work on a budget. We’ve provided a list of 20 things you can do in SLO for $20 or under this summer. Pull from the activities below and make high-priced memories on a bootstrap income.

SLO County Farmers Market

Support our local farmers and enjoy fresh fruits, veggies and artisan goods at the market of your choice this summer. Munch on corn-on-the-cob while taking in the sound of vendor chatter and eclectic instrumentals. To pinpoint your favorite merchants and place your orders at farmers markets around SLO County, download the Arkitu app courtesy of our CIE incubator company.

Beer at the Pier

Monday evenings just got a little more fun. From 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Baywood Park comes alive with live music, food and drink, a dancing lawn, fire pit and more. With bands and artists ranging from Roots Reggae to Afro Latin Groove to the keyboardist for U2, Beer at the Pier is for everyone. Grab your family, your friends and your lawn chairs for an evening of fun, free of charge.

Tour Mission San Luis Obispo De Tolosa

Come explore one of SLO’s most renowned landmarks! The Mission San Luis Obispo De Tolosa offers free, docent-led tours Monday through Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Founded in 1772, this Spanish mission is located right in the heart of downtown SLO.

Morro Bay Skateboard Museum

Take a trip from the early 1930s to the present day. The Morro Bay Skateboard Museum’s collection of over 200 skateboards showcases every era in the sport’s history. Stop in and explore the evolution of skateboarding.

Sunset Drive-In

Warm summer nights in San Luis Obispo might be best spent tuned into a double feature at the iconic Sunset Drive-In. New films play seven nights a week at this charming outdoor theatre for a ticket price of $9. If you’re an early riser, swing by on Sunday mornings for a swap meet of goods and vintage knick-knacks.

Art After Dark

Wander through downtown SLO on the first Friday of every month to ponder the work of local artists. Beginning at 6:00 p.m. and wrapping up at 9:00 p.m., Art After Dark is a wonderful way to experience SLO culture and community.

Central Coast Kayak Rental

Hit the glassy waters of Shell Beach with the help of Central Coast Kayaks. Spend $20 for an hour of beautiful rock formation and aquatic exploration. Rentals open at 9:00 a.m. so bundle up for a tranquil paddling experience.

Full Day Surfboard Rentals

Spend the day catching waves on the shores of Pismo Beach for $20. Full-day surf and boogie board rentals are available at Pismo Beach Surf Shop. Enjoy chasing waves and swimming out to sea on a budget. Slip into a wetsuit to combat the Central Coast chill for an extra $10.

Morro Bay Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Test your balance with an hour of paddle boarding around Morro Bay’s four miles of smooth waters. If kayaking or surfing isn’t for you, stand up for $20 an hour paddleboarding.

The Central Coast Aquarium in Avila

Home to dozens of species, the Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach offers visitors a hands-on approach to marine appreciation. Take a few hours to meet a giant Pacific octopus along with sea stars, rock crabs, smooth hound sharks and a gumboot chiton. General admission is $8.

Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero

Walk up to a flamboyance of flamingos this summer at the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero. Hundreds of species call this zoo home. Come give a warm hello to animals ranging from a Malayan tiger to the colorful Gila monster for the price of $7.

Moonstone Hunting

Get in touch with your inner treasure seeker on the shores of Moonstone Beach in Cambria. Hunt for rocks and enjoy the sight of harbor seals sunbathing on the coast. Venture downtown for an array of antique stores finds and grab a lunch to remember in The Cafe’s succulent garden.

Morro Bay Harbor Cruise

Bring your sea legs for a cruise around Morro Bay Harbor. Otters, sea lions and schools of jellyfish welcome you to climb aboard a Sub Sea Tour this summer for $20. Narrated tours last 45 minutes and offer below deck views of the harbor.

Piedras Blancas Light Station

Drive north for a self-led tour of the Piedras Blancas Light Station, a historic park and wildlife sanctuary. The light station is open to all hikers from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on July 25 and August 29. Click the link for more information on hiking guidelines and directions.

Avila Ridge Hike

Grab a sandwich from your favorite local deli and fill up your hydroflasks. Once you climb to the top of Avila Ridge, this steep hikes ocean views will keep you enjoying the sights for hours. Indulge in a picnic this summer at the top of one of SLO’s natural wonders.

The Pad Climbing Gym

Join SLO’s climbing community with a $ 15-day pass to the Pad Climbing Gym. Enjoy a work out at your own pace at this indoor rock climbing center. Plan your visit during staff hours from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort and Spa

Hop on the phone and book yourself a private mineral hot tub under the stars in Avila. Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort and Spa provides a therapeutic outdoor experience for $15 a person Monday through Thursday. Rates rise to $20 a person over the weekend.

Avila Valley Barn

Fresh produce and delicious baked goods are waiting for you at Avila Valley Barn. Slurp up some homemade ice cream before catching a hayride this summer. This homestead offers fun for all ages with charming goodies and a petting zoo.

Chase a Waterfall

Take a trip to Big Falls Trailhead in Arroyo Grande for a serene waterfall vista. Close to four miles in and out, this brief hike yields a serious reward. Enjoy the natural sights but watch out for poison oak on your stroll towards roaring waters.

Oceano Beach Bonfires

No late night snack can beat an oozing marshmallow stuffed between graham crackers. Break out some kindling for a summer bonfire on the shores of the Oceano Dunes. Driving your car onto the sand costs $5, but entry is free for those willing to carry their wood onto the beach from the street. Beach hours are limited to 11 p.m. in Pismo and Grover.

Enjoy the entrepreneurial lifestyle on the Central Coast this summer without breaking the bank! Lack of funds can’t hold our innovators back from embracing the SLO entrepreneur lifestyle.

By: Lauren Arendt

Have you ever found yourself reading the same line of text over and over again, procrastinating a task you’ve been dreading all day, or in a midday slump where you just can’t seem to get anything done? If so, this may be a sign that you need to make some changes to get more productive at work.

Working as an entrepreneur pulls people in many different directions and requires high levels of productivity day in and day out, however, this draining lifestyle easily leads to fatigue. Entrepreneurs know, however, that this slip in efficiency is simply not an option in the fast-paced, make-it-or-break-it lifestyle they lead.

We have some tips and tricks that entrepreneurs can incorporate into their everyday routine to get more productive and avoid fatigue at work.

1. Set clear, attainable goals

It is very difficult to get started when you don’t know where you are going. Setting reasonable goals and outlining the steps to accomplish them helps focus your day and jumpstart productivity. If you are too overwhelmed with tasks to complete, getting started on any which one is daunting. Rather than taking on too much at once, simply pick a handful of tasks for the day and give them your all.

Setting goals can be as simple as writing them down on a piece of paper. Writing or typing them out is important to get more productive, however, because you are forced to define them. Your goals feel much more tangible and less impossible once outlined in writing.

Make sure to cross your goals off and reward yourself once they are complete to incentivize yourself to move onto the next project. Take a walk outside, get your favorite lunch, or go spark up a conversation with a coworker or friend to gear up for the next item on your to-do list.  

2. Set goals of different sizes and scopes

Don’t simply focus on the next few hours or days in front of you. Rather, keep the big picture in mind at all times. You aren’t putting all of these hours of work in just for the sake of it, but for an overreaching mission to make a change in your life or in the life of others.

Make that overreaching mission the goal that guides all subsequent goals. This will add meaning and value to even the most monotonous daily tasks.

3. Surround yourself with inspiration

You might have a goal or mission guiding your work as an entrepreneur, but you might lose sight of it when working on tasks from day-to-day. Feeling like your work is meaningless or unimportant is a gateway to losing motivation and subsequently becoming less productive.

Surrounding yourself with reminders of the bigger picture is a key way to get more productive. Whether it is a quote that reminds you why you started out on your entrepreneurial journey, a sketch of your product prototype, or a photo of your team framed on your desk, keep something in plain sight that reminds you that every menial task is leading up to something great.

4.  Avoid Multitasking at all costs

A little-known fact is that multitasking in biologically impossible. You might think you are negotiating over the phone, answering an email, and watching Netflix all at the same time, but chances are, you aren’t giving any one of those tasks your full attention. Multitasking severely limits creativity and oftentimes causes many more errors. The number of thoughts and ideas a person can process is limited at any given time, meaning that when you multitask, new, creative ideas will be blocked out and errors will be missed much more easily.

“Monotasking,” or doing one task at a time, serves you better in the long run. You will not only complete tasks more quickly, but the tasks will be completed with more quality. Rather than doing everything at once poorly, do one thing at a time to the best of your ability.

5. Go outside as frequently as possible

Let’s face it: offices can be pretty bleak, especially after spending hours on end in them. Make sure to get up and go outside to get refreshed. Taking frequent breaks might seem counterproductive, but the reality is that by resting the brain and eyes and moving the body, you will be much more productive during the time you are working.

Spending too much time indoors working will lead to fatigue and slower brain processes, but getting up, going outside, and hitting the reset button helps you come back to work more productive, creative and positive than before.

6. Get a change of scenery

As said before, spending too much time in one dreary place can suck the life out of a person. One way to combat this is to change up the setting every now and then.

If your office is near a coffee shop, park, or library, take advantage of the mobile technology of today and spend some time getting out of the office and into a new, more exciting location. You will likely find that this new setting is not only free from the distractions of your office but offers new inspiration for creativity.

Check out these great lunch spots around San Luis Obispo to peak your inspiration.

7. Take note of what distracts you

Awareness is the first step in creating change. There are likely things all around you in your work space that distract you–some of which you can change, and some you cannot. Maybe social media is your main distractor, or maybe it’s your coworker’s conversations in the next room. No matter what it is, take note of when you are distracted so that you can work to stay focused in the future.

If the distraction is something you can change, don’t go cold turkey. For example, if social media or your cell phone serves as your largest distractor, rather than turning it off completely, set a timer and only allow yourself to use it in intervals. This will serve as an incentive to get more productive when you’re supposed to, as you know your designated social media time (or whatever else distracts you) time is just around the corner.

Next time you are feeling distracted or fatigued at work, simply make small changes throughout your day to get more productive. Write down your goals, big and small, complete one task at a time, go outside and take breaks on a regular basis, get a change of scenery from time to time, and make sure to take note of your main distractors to have more productive days that lead to a more productive entrepreneurial journey.

by: Lauren Arendt

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Faculty Fellows exist at Cal Poly to help foster entrepreneurship throughout the Cal Poly campus by connecting with students across multiple disciplines. One of these education innovators, Ahmed Deif, incorporates not only entrepreneurship and innovation into his industrial technology classes but games, too.

Ahmed Deif works as an assistant professor of industrial technology and packaging in the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly, teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. He first became interested in becoming a CIE Faculty Fellow when he realized that the marriage between business and engineering that industrial technology embodied was similar to the marriage between technical thinking and business found in entrepreneurship.

The classes revolve around creating a hands-on approach to educating that gets students excited about innovation in supply chains and the new trend in transforming supply chains from cost centers to value centers.

Deif achieves this lofty goal through gamification or creating games out of otherwise less engaging lesson plans. He said that he uses this strategy because, statistically, using the hands allows students to access untapped knowledge otherwise impossible to reach.

“Instead of just speaking for two hours and getting [the students] bored and sleepy, I introduce the problem for 10 to 15 minutes and then we play a game,” said Deif. “This robust education approach keeps students very engaged.”

A graduate student in the Cal Poly MBA program, as well as a student in one of Deif’s innovative industrial technologies classes, Christiaan de Nysschen, agreed that the gamification approach creates a more interactive and engaging educational experience.

“One reason I would recommend this course and this professor is first of all the unconventional approach,” said Nysschen. “Case studies are the norm in other classes which is nice, but also very theory-based where the games incorporate a new element with something that is both memorable and applicable.”

Deif said that there is one problem that comes with introducing games into the classroom: over enrollment. Students have heard about these game-centric courses and enroll in his classes in large numbers. He now has a cap on many of his courses.

While Deif introduces innovation and entrepreneurship at the intersection between business and engineering, numerous other CIE Faculty Fellows bring the entrepreneurial spirit of innovation to their fields of study across all six colleges at Cal Poly. Learn more about the impact these CIE Faculty Fellows have on the Cal Poly community, as well as how to become a CIE Faculty Fellow here.