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Cal Poly Student Founders Sweep Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition

SAN JOSE — Two recent Cal Poly graduates won the top prizes at the Sunstone Startup Launch Competition, a California State University (CSU) pitch competition with a total of $200,000 in prize money at stake, held at San Jose State University (SJSU) Friday, May 5. Competing teams are divided into three categories, including product, service and social enterprise.

Recent Cal Poly computer science graduate Emily Gavrilenko won the service track’s first-place prize of $25,000 with her startup Ryde, a travel marketplace for college students connecting drivers and riders for long-distance travel.

“When I was pitching, I felt really confident because we’ve come so far in the past year. I was pitching a business, not just an idea,” Gavrilenko said. “I was more nervous for the awards ceremony than the actual pitch because I didn’t want to let my co-founders down. I really wanted to call them and tell them we won — so it was really exciting to hear the good news.”

Gavrilenko plans to use the prize money to fund Ryde’s upcoming expansion to a new college campus.

Manufacturing engineering graduate Evan Lalanne won the product track’s second-place prize of $10,000 for X-Adapt, a startup building a compact, capable and intuitive mobility device by modifying commercially available electric unicycles for adaptive riders. 

Lalanne is planning on introducing the product to early adopters later this year.

Both winners participated in the 2022 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 startup ideas into real, scalable businesses.

“The Summer Accelerator made a world of difference,” Gavrilenko said. “It really helped me on my pitch. I became confident up on stage and also had quality content to put in my pitch. The Accelerator really taught me how to talk about my business.”

Two pre-qualified students or recent graduates from each CSU campus presented an eight-minute pitch to a panel of judges. The pitch was followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Judges evaluated the pitches based on desirability, feasibility and viability. 

The Sunstone Startup Launch competition was held for the first time in 2021 at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), and only five of the 23 CSU campuses participated. Eighteen campuses participated this year, including Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Fresno, Fullerton, Humboldt, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Pomona, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos and Sonoma.

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu

Contact: Stephanie Zombek
805-225-4738; szombek@calpoly.edu

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Cal Poly CIE to Host Demo Day Entrepreneur Event on Sept. 14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cal Poly’s top innovators will present their startup ideas after three months of preparation.

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) will host its annual Demo Day to showcase nine startups in-person at SLO Brew Rock and online on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

The event culminates the 2021 CIE Summer Accelerator, an intensive, three-month program that helps Cal Poly students and recent graduates develop their startup ideas into sustainable businesses. Representatives from each of the companies will pitch their startups and show what they’ve accomplished with the help of dedicated CIE mentors and staff.

“Our student entrepreneurs have been working hard all summer on exciting new ventures,” said Jose Huitron, the CIE’s director of student innovation programs. “Demo Day is our chance to showcase what these teams have been working on and give the greater community an inside view into the next chapter of Cal Poly innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The Summer Accelerator program provides teams with $10,000 in seed funding to build their startups, as well as access to mentorship from industry experts and tailored workshops that delve into the details of building a business.

Demo Day will give the 2021 Summer Accelerator cohort an opportunity to show how months of hard work and collaboration prepared them to turn their startups into viable business endeavors.

“We wouldn’t be here without the tremendous time and effort the CIE faculty, mentors and guest speakers have invested into us,” said Russell Caletena, co-founder of Accelerator startup Slolar who received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in June. “Each programmed session and office hour gave us opportunities to apply our championed ‘Learn by Doing’ philosophy and ensure we’re on the right path leading up to Demo Day.”

This year’s Accelerator cohort includes a wide range of industries and disciplines, from renewable energy to postpartum care and footwear innovation.

“The overall teamwork, diversity of ideas that span global industries and truly interdisciplinary skill-sets (were) exemplified by a group of amazing student entrepreneurs and innovators,” Huitron said. “I anticipate we’ll see some groundbreaking results in the very near future.”

This year’s cohort includes:

ARTIFEX is creating a drawing tool that will save architects time and money. It was founded by Elijah Williams of Berkeley, California, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, and Anna Baytosh, a graduate business student from Gold River, California.

For Mom is building a postpartum recovery platform that provides holistic support to ensure mothers properly heal after birth. It was launched by Christina Grigorian of La Crescenta, California, who earned her master’s degree in biomedical engineering, and Camila Monchini of Santa Monica, California, who is a graduate biomedical engineering student.

Intego Technology, formerly Intego Sports, is working to create the most durable and sustainable footwear on the market with a patent-pending manufacturing process. It was founded by business administration junior Alexandra Joelson of Carlsbad, California and environmental management and protection junior Samuel Andrews of Boulder, Colorado. As a freshman, Joelson won the 2019 Cal Poly CIE Elevator Pitch Competition with a 90-second pitch for Intego Sport’s Cleat Guard, a silicone-like mold that adhered to the bottom of a cleat to prevent wear-down.

Kit & Sis, formerly AG Sisters, is helping children explore hands-on crafting through subscription craft boxes, in-person and virtual summer camps, special events and more. It was founded by twin sisters Madeline and Gabrielle Pollock, both business administration juniors with concentrations in entrepreneurship, and their childhood friend Kate Lally, who is a business administration sophomore at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. They are all from Los Gatos, California.

OdinXR is developing an educational virtual reality sandbox that engineering students can use to conduct experiments. It was founded by electrical engineering senior Tessa Luzuriaga of Temecula, California and computer engineering senior Ali Mohammad of Escondido, California. 

PowerMove, formerly FEARLESS Fitness Kids, is developing immersive video games with exercise as the core component to keep children active. It was founded by Sara Glaser, a 2021 business administration graduate from Calabasas, California and business administration senior Madison Lewandowski of Santa Barbara, California. Glaser and Lewandowski won the 2021 Cal Poly CIE Innovation Quest competition with their idea for FEARLESS Fitness Kids.

Slolar is empowering residential solar panel owners to accelerate their return on investment. It was founded by Caletena of Glendale, California and recent graduates Paul Romano, mechanical engineering, of Los Olivos, California and Fernando Estevez, computer engineering, of Goleta, California.

TractorCloud is building a hardware-software solution to help farmers and operations managers monitor the maintenance of their vehicles. It was founded by computer science graduate student Morgan Swanson of Pleasanton, California, industrial technology and packaging graduate Harrison Whitaker of Carmel Valley, California and Roxanne Miller of San Ramon, California, who earned a master’s in computer science in June.

Zoetic Running, formerly Muscle Ninja, is developing wearable technology to help runners move without injury. It was founded by Ivet Avalos of Moorpark, California, who graduated in June with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, and computer science graduate student Zeeshan Khan of Los Gatos, California.

Demo Day general admission tickets to attend in-person are available for $10. In-person seating is limited due to COVID regulations. SLO Brew Rock is at 8555 Aerovista Lane.

Virtual tickets are free to watch the event on YouTube Live.

Register for in-person or virtual tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/demo-day-2021-tickets-162570792617?aff=CIEWebsite.

About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu.

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Contact: Stephanie Zombek
805-225-4738; szombek@calpoly.edu 

Cal Poly Student Startup Teams Win Big at Innovation Quest 2021

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Four student startup teams won from $35,000 in prize money at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) annual Innovation Quest (iQ), a high stakes competition where Cal Poly students pitch their innovative business ideas and prototypes to a panel of judges in hopes of winning thousands in funding for their startup.

Business administration seniors Sara Glaser of Calabasas, California and Madison Lewandowski of Santa Barbara, California, biomedical engineering sophomore Clayton Pelz of Portland, Oregon and computer science senior Emily O’Neal of Scotts Valley, California won the first place of $15,000 with FEARLESS Fitness Kids. FEARLESS is a startup developing immersive video games with exercise as its core mechanic, to keep children healthy, active and entertained. 

“Winning Innovation Quest truly felt like a dream,” Glaser said. “When we heard we won, we were literally screaming, jumping up and down and crying in excitement and happiness.”

Glaser and her team began working on FEARLESS about a year and a half ago. In that time, they have participated in other CIE programs, like the on-campus Hatchery, and competed in other CIE-sponsored competitions. Innovation Quest was their first win.

“We learned from our downfalls and have been working extremely hard this year,” Glaser said. “To hear we had won Innovation Quest proved to us that our hard work paid off and that people really believe in us. We are truly grateful for this experience and for the support from the CIE.”

Graduated architecture graduate students Elijah Williams from Berkeley, California and Logan Kozlik from Hastland, Wisconsin and recent Harvey Mudd College graduate Nathaniel Diamant of Berkeley won the second place prize of $10,000 with ARTIFEX

ARTIFEX is a startup leveraging developments in machine learning and Light Detection Ranging (LIDAR) sensors, a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances, to create clear and usable drawings of the build environment. The startup is focusing first on small-scale residential renovations with Project Geronimo, a handheld measuring device that automates outdated, as-built and drawing workflows.

Agriculture systems management graduate Garrett Forbes from Atascedero, California won the third place prize of $5,000 with the Large Round Bale Handler, an implementation device which loads large round hay bales onto a standard flatbed equipment trailer for transport.

A fourth team, PERCH Sensing, won the $5,000 Brett & Leslie Eldridge Environmental Impact Award, a new honor awarded to the top team with a focus in environmentalism and sustainability. 

PERCH Sensing provides real-time wildfire weather and detection alerts to power utilities and first responders in high-risk areas. It was developed by electrical engineering senior Emil Erickson from Yuba City, California, business administration seniors Caitlin Maltbie from Santa Maria, California and Brooke Randolph from Nipomo, California, computer science seniors John Waidhofer from Scotts Valley and Richa Gadgil from Cupertino, California, graphic design senior Arthur Waidhofer of Scotts Valley, computer engineering senior Reed Slobodin of Lake Oswego, Oregon and electrical engineering graduate student Dominic Gaiero of Pleasanton, California.

iQ was held online via Zoom on April 24. The event included pitches from the 12 finalists, updates from past iQ winners and contestants and the event’s awards announcement.

This was the first year that Innovation Quest was opened up for public viewing. iQ was founded in 2004 by Cal Poly electrical engineering graduates and business leaders Carson Chen, Richard Boberg and Laura Pickering. Since its launch, iQ participants have received more than $400,000 in funding that helped them to launch successful businesses.

Hayley Pavone, founder and CEO of Pashion Footwear, created an adaptable shoe that can easily convert from a pump to a flat and pitched her idea at Innovation Quest in 2017. She was the top prize recipient that year.

Pavone founded the company as a junior business administration major at Cal Poly. In the years since, she has developed her product, assembled a team, secured patent-pending status in 30 countries and raised more than $3.5 million in seed funding. She formally launched Pashion Footwear online in June of 2019.

This year, Innovation Quests finalists introduced a plethora of new concepts. In addition to the five winners, the 2021 finalists included:

Ovubrush, a saliva-based ovulation predictor device in the form of a toothbrush. The device was developed by general engineering senior Janis Iourovitski of Palo Alto, California, biomedical engineering junior Tina Vo of Chula Vista, California, blended bachelor’s and master’s biomedical engineering program student Grant Coe and recent graduate of the same biomedical engineering program Grace Boyes of Ventura, California.

Business Outsider, an online source for satirical business and technology news created by Ross Levine, a manufacturing engineering senior from Redondo Beach, California, and Sean Riley, a recent aerospace engineering graduate from Sunnyvale, California. 

Intego Sports, an innovative sports shoe company that creates footwear expected to be three times more durable than any market competitors. The company was founded by business administration sophomore Alexandra Joelson of Carlsbad, California, environmental management and protection sophomore Samuel Andrews of Boulder, Colorado and aerospace engineering sophomore Jack Browers of Sammamish, Washington.

Framework, a dignified tiny home community equipped with facilities and services that invite the homeless to change their lives for the better, founded by Boulder’s Sarah Holland, a business administration senior, and mechanical engineering seniors Nash Elder of Salt Lake City, Utah and Bowen Schwoerer of San Luis Obispo.

SLOLAR, a robot that cleans solar panels and an accompanying app that provides data to help keep solar panels operating at maximum efficiency. The product was developed by seven Cal Poly seniors: mechanical engineering majors Paul Romano of Los Olivos, California and Chris Linthacum of San Jose, California, computer engineering majors Fernando Estevez of Goleta, California and Yash Desai from Fremont, California, electrical engineering major Russell Caletena of Glendale, California, manufacturing engineering major Alex Garcia Cruz of Goleta and business administration major Camila Fuenzalida of Gilroy, California.

Limbotics, one of the only prosthetic bionic arms with powerful microprocessors and a full sensor suite to improve grip functions. The device was developed by aerospace engineering junior Jared Bell of Royse City, Texas, electrical engineering sophomore Mark Wu from Ontario, Canada and UC Irvine student Heath Muskat and Cal State Sacramento graduate student Altia Picott, both from Vacaville, California.

Instamoov, a property technology company eliminating security deposits with small subscription payments, founded by computer science juniors Mukhammadorif Sultanov of San Francisco, California and Andrew Doud of Belmont, California and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign graduate Oybek Olimjanov.

Mezzrow Energy, a solar cell composed of hemp waste fibers and other organic materials to generate affordable and environmentally friendly solar power, developed by Greenville, South Carolina’s Matthew Kilbride, a liberal arts and engineering student.

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HotHouse and HotHouse Annex Reopening Plan

Dear Members,

We miss you! We look forward to having everyone back when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Your health and safety, as well as our employees, is our top priority. In anticipation of our reopening of the HotHouse and HotHouse Annex, we want to share with you the steps we are taking in preparation and to help set expectations for what you will experience upon return.

Keep in mind that we will reopen once the current shelter order is lifted and in compliance with the START Guidelines issued by the County (https://www.emergencyslo.org/en/start.aspx#Phase-One).

In summary, we will be reopening and operating within restrictions that provide for social distancing, sanitation and personal hygiene.

General Restrictions
• Upon your first return to the HotHouse or HotHouse Annex, you will check-in at the front desk to sign an agreement stating that you have read and will abide by the guidelines.
• All visitors will need to check-in upon arrival, sign the agreement, and then be escorted by you to a reserved conference room.

Social Distancing
• All Members and their visitors must make every effort to remain 6 feet apart and wear a personal face mask when unable to do so.
• Assigned and Unassigned desks have been temporarily repositioned to allow for adequate social distancing. Do not move furniture without requesting assistance from a staff member.
• All unassigned desk Members must reserve a workspace prior to arrival.
• Conference room capacity has been temporarily reduced to allow for distancing (see signage posted on each conference room). Conference rooms will continue to be available by reservation.
• The Phone Booth and Wells Fargo Bank Phone office are available for use by reservation.
Bathroom capacity has temporarily been reduced to single-use. An interior lock has been installed to impose this restriction.
• The kitchen is only available to obtain water. Personal water bottles or single-use cups only. All non-disposable items have been temporarily removed.
• Private office capacity will be set at a level to meet distancing requirements. Accommodations will be provided to Members unable to work within their private office.
• Circulation arrows have been applied to hallway floors to mitigate clustering and maintain social distancing.

Sanitation
• Cleaning services have been increased in frequency and are utilizing increased strength supplies.
• Sanitation stations have been positioned immediately inside the Higuera Street entrance, at the top of the stairwell, in the kitchen, and inside each conference room.
• All Members are encouraged to use these stations upon arrival and throughout their day, as necessary.
• Wipe down surfaces and utilized items after the use of any common area.
• Staff will be sanitizing high touch surfaces throughout the day at 2-hour intervals or immediately upon vacating conference rooms.

Hygiene
• Do not come to the HotHouse or HotHouse Annex if you feel sick, exhibiting symptoms, or suspect you have been recently exposed to the virus.
• Non-essential travel is being discouraged. We appreciate it if you check back in with Staff upon return from any out of town travel.
• The staff has the right to prohibit access should any Member or Visitor exhibit symptoms or refuse to acknowledge and adhere to the guidelines.
• A face mask should be worn any time you are circulating through the office or occupying any of the common areas.

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Startup Companies Complete Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubator Program

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Nine startup companies with more than three dozen employees raised over $4.1 million in capital and successfully completed the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Incubator program. Seven of the companies plan to continue to grow their ventures in San Luis Obispo County.

“The CIE Incubator program was essential in helping us raise $1.25 million and in pairing us with consultants who provided invaluable knowledge on web development, marketing and financial matters,” said Haley Pavone, founder and CEO of Pashion Footwear. “Being part of the incubator allowed us to launch this company remarkably fast and on a remarkably tight budget.”

The CIE Incubator is a two-year program designed to help startup companies get off the ground and become financially stable, high-growth enterprises. The program is open to students and community members. It provides expert counseling, mentorship, workshops, monthly peer-to-peer roundtable discussions, an advisory board for each startup, participation in pitch events, and seed-funding resources.

“Startups play a critical role in the growth of our economy,” said CIE Economic Development Director Judy Mahan. “We are proud to drive entrepreneurship forward, and we are committed to building an environment that will help nurture innovative ideas and facilitate success. After working closely with these companies over the course of their development, we are excited to see where the future takes them.”

The companies graduating from the CIE Incubator program include:

— Arkitu, a software for farmers markets. (www.arkitu.co)
— DTE Materials, which manufactures hemp-based, high-performance, nontoxic and sustainable building insulation material. (www.dtematerials.com)
— Inspired Flight Technologies, a U.S.-based manufacturer of commercial unmanned aerial systems for industrial drone applications. (www.inspiredflight.com)
— Motoroso, a market network website to help automotive enthusiasts plan, build and share their dream vehicle projects. Motoroso helps enthusiasts find inspiration through content and purchase parts through the first dedicated marketplace for the $80 billion auto enthusiast segment. (www.motoroso.com)
— Pashion Footwear, an innovative fashion-tech company that has created the world’s first fully convertible high heels. (www.pashionfootwear.com)
— PolyRents, which bolts on to landlords’ existing tenant acquisition process, giving landlords the data they need to find the best tenants and avoid costly property damage and evictions.
(https://polyrents.com)
— Savvy Leadership Academy, an educational and retail company with a mission to empower today’s youth with the tools they need to become tomorrow’s leaders. Fun and engaging products help children develop social and emotional learning, build confidence, and reinforce life skills through peer interaction and mentorship.
— The Lens, which democratizes the news but tells global stories from local perspectives. (www.thelens.online)
— Wildnote, a platform that replaces manual processes with automation to better manage environmental compliance. (www.wildnoteapp.com)

Startups participating in the incubator program are able to utilize all CIE resources available in the SLO HotHouse and HotHouse Annex, such as office space, conference rooms, an invaluable peer network, and the Cal Poly Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which in 2018 helped companies raise $21 million in capital.

“The CIE gave us a place to work, along with crucial advice on how to go from an idea to an actual company, and helped us stay focused,” said Marc Stollmeyer, CEO and co-founder of Inspired Flight Technologies.

Startups interested in applying for the incubator program, should go to https://calpolycie.wpengine.com/launch/hothouse-incubator.

About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo. For more information, go to cie.calpoly.edu.

Contact: Candice Conti
805-756-5106, clconti@calpoly.edu

December 10, 2019

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How Tech Expanded From Silicon Valley to Bubblegum Alley

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — San Luis Obispo has a reputation for being a sleepy town in central California known for its laid-back charm. Top tourist draws are a nearby 18th-century Spanish mission and Bubblegum Alley, a walkway lined with chewed gum. But Rick Stollmeyer, the chief executive of MindBody, envisioned it as a bustling tech hub.

Nestled along the coast about 230 miles south of San Francisco, San Luis Obispo is far from Silicon Valley. The distance presented a challenge for Mr. Stollmeyer, who sought to lure talent to a small college town known by the acronym SLO, where nature buffs and health food junkies go to find their nirvana.

The New York Times | by Kathy Chin Leong

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Three New Companies Graduate From SLO HotHouse Incubator

2016’s Best & Worst Cities for Women-Owned Businesses

Entrepreneurship was once an opportunity accessible only to men. Save for a handful of audacious women who defied such strict gender codes, most females historically failed to break through the barriers of the male-dominated business space. But we live in the 21st century now, an era in which women are a powerful force in society, especially in our economy.

Today, it is not only common for women to be entrepreneurs, but it also means being part of an influential group. According to an American Express OPEN-commissioned report, more than 9.4 million women-owned businesses currently operate in the U.S. Combined, those firms account for nearly a third of all privately held companies, pull in annual revenues to the tune of $1.5 trillion and provide jobs to roughly eight million workers. What’s more, they’re among the fastest-growing enterprises in the nation — increasing at a rate 1.5 times the U.S. average and topping “the growth rates of all but the largest, publicly-traded firms” in the past 18 years.

WalletHub | by Richie Bernardo

View Article

2016’s Best & Worst Cities for Women-Owned Businesses

Entrepreneurship was once an opportunity accessible only to men. Save for a handful of audacious women who defied such strict gender codes, most females historically failed to break through the barriers of the male-dominated business space. But we live in the 21st century now, an era in which women are a powerful force in society, especially in our economy.

Today, it is not only common for women to be entrepreneurs, but it also means being part of an influential group. According to an American Express OPEN-commissioned report, more than 9.4 million women-owned businesses currently operate in the U.S. Combined, those firms account for nearly a third of all privately held companies, pull in annual revenues to the tune of $1.5 trillion and provide jobs to roughly eight million workers. What’s more, they’re among the fastest-growing enterprises in the nation — increasing at a rate 1.5 times the U.S. average and topping “the growth rates of all but the largest, publicly-traded firms” in the past 18 years.

WalletHub | by Richie Bernardo

View Article