Alcohol misuse costs U.S. employers an estimated $249 billion per year in lost productivity, healthcare expenses and workplace incidents. Owen Works, founder and CEO of Horizen Tech, is on a mission to help individuals and companies make more informed health choices regarding alcohol use. Horizen Tech provides corporate wellness solutions focused on alcohol accountability and behavior change, helping businesses reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and support employee well-being.

His entrepreneurial journey began in 2022 when Works saw a flyer for an Elevator Pitch Competition hosted by the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), and decided to try his luck.

Brainstorming an idea that could be presented at the competition and possibly carried on afterward, Works took inspiration from his own experiences and identified a growing movement: sober curiosity. He wanted to develop a solution that supports individuals looking to build healthier drinking habits and explore a lifestyle with less alcohol.

“I think I was terrified because deep down, I knew this is something I really wanted to do, and I was worried I was going to screw it up. But it’s better to try it and possibly screw it up than to never try at all,” Works reminisced.

At the time, public speaking was not a strong suit for Works, but he pitched his idea for an alcohol-detection patch. He won first place in the competition and the grand prize of $1,000. 

Following the momentum from his successful elevator pitch, Works participated in Startup Launch Weekend, an event where entrepreneurial students work for an entire weekend to advance and develop a tangible business.

That following spring, Horizen joined Innovation Quest, an innovation-centered showcase for Cal Poly entrepreneurs to pursue their ideas and gain funding.

As a fifth-year Cal Poly Industrial Engineer minoring in entrepreneurship, Works was able to leverage his academic network and resources. Horizen has collaborated with students across both the business and engineering colleges, working with over 30 student interns to develop the product and refine the business model. These students have played a critical role in research, product design, and software development, helping drive the startup forward.

Horizen Tech was accepted into the 2023 Summer Accelerator, a 12-week intensive program where Cal Poly students and recent graduates transform their business ideas into startups with the help of a $10,000 in seed funding and local resources.

Upon the conclusion of the Accelerator, Horizen Tech joined the CIE Incubator Program in November 2023, a 2-year full-time program that provides resources in all aspects of early-stage companies to develop into high-growth enterprises; including a dedicated desk in the CIE HotHouse coworking space in downtown San Luis Obispo. Works spotlights the importance of this, mentioning the significance of a sense of community in the field of entrepreneurship, which can be so isolating for founders.

 “When we were in the Accelerator, we knew for sure that the Incubator was the place that we wanted to go after that,” Works adds.

In May 2024, Horizen Tech was one of six startups to pitch at AngelCon, an event hosted by the Cal Poly CIE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) that brings together tech-based startups who receive training and mentorship from expert business advisors and a group of dedicated angel investors.

Works remarked that during AngelCon, “the access to consultants and mentors in different areas, whether that be customer development, finance or marketing, has been instrumental.”

Horizen Tech’s first product, Pulse, is an app designed to support sober-curious individuals by providing accountability, connection and resources. The app pairs with the Pulse Patch, a wearable device that detects alcohol levels in sweat, helping users track their drinking habits and make informed health decisions.

Over time, the wearable patch has evolved into a continuous monitoring device, much like a glucose monitor, that enables individuals to make informed choices about their health. Through Pulse, users can share achievements and goals with their trusted inner circles, providing viable proof of abstinence to sponsors, family or employers.

Eventually, Horizen Tech intends to integrate data with Fitbit and Apple Health, allowing users to correlate their lifestyle choices with well-being practices, such as quality of sleep and impacts of caffeine intake.

In January 2025, Horizen Tech hosted its first-ever SLO Dry January Challenge, attracting over 100 participants. The initiative encouraged community members to abstain from alcohol for the entire month, offering incentives such as cash prizes, yoga sessions and gifts from local businesses. The impact was significant: 97% of participants rated the challenge as successful or very successful, with 69% stating they would participate in a future challenge. Most participants successfully completed the month, reinforcing the effectiveness of structured accountability in fostering healthier habits. 

Works has organized this event to “encourage better health decisions in the community and really make it a fun experience. It is kind of like a preview of what’s to come with our challenges that will be part of the platform.”

With the Pulse Patch now in manufacturing and software development accelerating, Horizen Tech is expanding its corporate wellness offerings. The startup is focused on helping individuals and businesses create healthier environments around alcohol consumption and is on track to make a lasting impact on workplace wellness and personal health.