With the Bacara Resort & Spa as their backdrop, eight young business entrepreneurs stepped on stage to present their plans and pitches to more than 100 community members Tuesday afternoon.
Members of the Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet, a program that provides support and mentors to local startup businesses, kicked off the G2 Summer Accelerator Demo Day showcasing the diverse inventions.
GEM is a partnership of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, the City of Goleta and UC Santa Barbara.
During the seven-week G2 Summer Accelerator program, entrepreneurs were given the tools and networking to launch their ideas.
“They all have completed the curriculum on a variety of startup issues and spent the summer growing their idea,” said Vyto Adomaitis, Goleta neighborhood services & public safety director.
The night focused on the entrepreneurial mindset, startup techniques, selling tactics, product validation, business finance plans and pitch presentations.
“The priority is on launching and growing a startup,” GEM executive director Dave Adornetto said. “Our goal is to try to help them take the next step and help get them prepared for real life.”
Innovative businessmen and businesswomen had an opportunity to connect with professionals who could invest in the product or help them refine their plans and pitches during the event.
Six teams made a formal investor-like speech, followed by a product demonstration where the groups interacted with guests about their services.
“The teams range from a wide variety of industries and are at different stages of development,” Adornetto said. “We want to create an environment of networking and mentorship.”
Representatives from DermaChill, Dog Spot, EV Match, SoundCrutch, Urbavore and Vibe took the stage for a Shark Tank-style presentation.
Audience members were asked to choose their favorite pitches, with Vibe and Urbavore tied for the winning vote.
Dermachill
Chris Keane, a UCSB economics and accounting student, described his team’s handheld cooling system that helps with red, dry and itchy conditions associated with eczema patients. He said Dermachil’s portable device provides a cold sensation that eliminates pain.
“It’s our mission to make the world more comfortable in its skin,” Keane said. “It is helping individuals in their day-to-day life. “
Keane said the kid-friendly device serves to help the itch-scratch cycle, which makes people scratch until their skin bleeds.
Dog Spot
Former Santa Barbara City College student Rashelle Smith introduced her product Dog Spot, an alternative to dog crate training. The founder said her startup produces dog beds that secure the animal without choking it.
“Cages are dangerous, uncomfortable and ineffective,” Smith said. “Dog Spot is a dog bed with a removable platform, a tether and specialized harness. It works because the dog can’t move off the bed and he can’t drag it.”
Smith brought her dog Rhett Butler to the demonstration and said during the final stages of her plan, she aspires to give revenue to an animal foundation.
EV Match
Shannon Walker and Heather Hochrein, members of the UCSB Bren School Eco Entrepreneurship program, developed EV Match, an online marketplace that connects electric vehicle owners seeking local homeowners with access to EV charging infrastructures. It allows drivers to find nearby charging stations at an affordable price.
The idea was inspired by the founders’ passion for a clean-energy future through the electrification of transportation.
“There aren’t enough charging stations for EV drivers to access in public,” Walker, 27, said.
“This product brings new charging stations — we do this by allowing any home to serve as a charging station for an electric vehicle because every home has access to electricity.”
SoundCrutch
Founder Nick Pope, a Santa Barbara City College student, explained his product called SoundCrutch, a portable speaker that can attach to an Android phone.
Priced at $7, the item doesn’t create noise distortion and makes sound louder while using the phone’s back speaker, he said.
“Whenever I’m watching a video or listening to music on my phone, the sound is going away from me,” Pope said. “SoundCrutch is easy to use and it is three times louder than a device without it.”
Urbavore
Jason Maier and Alex Kalish created a simple, low-cost way for people to grow food in their homes. The two traveled from northern California to display the BLOOM BOX, a stackable, urban garden with no soil, that allows a home gardening experience.
“Our goal is to help people have fresh food when the need it, where they need it and in an environmentally sustainable way,” Maier said.
“We believe nothing tastes as good or as healthy than what we grow ourselves. We give you the tools and techniques to grow fresh food and vegetables in the comfort of your home.”
Maier said the box uses 90 percent less water than traditional agricultural practices because the plants have increased access to nutritional supply.
Vibe
Kelsey Judd, a UCSB technology management student, presented a device that helps empower the visually impaired with wearable ultrasonic sensor technology. Vibe helps the blind navigate in any location once the glove is placed on a hand.
“We are empowering the visually impaired,” Judd said. “It can scan the surroundings and get information through unique vibration patterns in your hand and with improved knowledge, users can navigate freely in any places.”
After the event, entrepreneurs presented product demonstrations to attendees.
“I love the wide variety of ideas that were shown tonight,” Dave Clark, Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce chairman said. “This is great because there were multiple different products.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
