New Address: Two Embarcadero Center, 8th floor, San Francisco, CA 94111     

Ana Guerrero, FirstGen_Resilience

Ana Yessica Guerrero is a social entrepreneur who dedicates her life to empowering first-generation Latinx students to reach their full potential. She is a proud immigrant from Mexico City and grew up on a ranch in Goleta, Calif. As a first-generation student herself, she had numerous aspirations and goals.  Ana was an eager and determined scholar, yet she received little academic guidance and a lack of resources. 

Lashawnda Scaccianoce, Delight Your Senses

Lashawnda Scaccianoce has been passionate about food and feeding people since she was young. In fact, she was only 11 years old when she had her first catering “job”. As a mother of 5 children, she has always participated in her community. She has served on school PTOs and volunteered with various community-based organizations, including the Rotary and Children’s Services Network. In her previous career, she was a pre-school and substitute teacher.

Gladys Mondragón, Sunshine Organics

Gladys Mondragon is co-owner of Sunshine Organics farm in Watsonville. With the help of Tania Zuniga from Kitchen Table Advisors, she has been able to expand production and bring stability to her business.

Cosimo Allegretta, FoodJets

FoodJets is a local franchise web and app-based platform that allows you to order food from local restaurants. You can track your delivery driver and enjoy your delicious piping hot food without delays from other orders. FoodJets delivers one order at a time.

Liza Spiridon, Cali Strong Candles

During California’s recent wildfires, Registered Vet Technician Liza Spiridon was living on the Central Coast but knew people in the communities impacted. She decided that she needed to use her skills to help, so she got involved by donating her time helping animals to safety and assisting the people who had lost their homes and businesses.

Karim Kaderali, Santa Barbara Axxess

Santa Barbara Axxess was founded by Karim Kaderali and a friend in Santa Barbara, California in 1999. By creating an upscale local Membership Program that was unique and trackable, they figured out how to bring local businesses the right local customers. Shortly after launch, they received a startup loan from WEV to print the physical books for their members.

Andrea Wasko & Meaghan Gilbert, Connoisseur Creations

Andrea Wasko and Meaghan Gilbert of Los Osos, California launched their flagship product, the Quick Pickle Kit after starting Connoisseur Creations in 1996. After struggling with weight issues, Andrea wanted to develop a healthy alternative snack that would help people in similar situations. The Quick Pickle Kit is a safe, quick, simple, and natural way to make delicious pickles in the comfort of your own home.

Zea Sonnabend, Fruitilicious Farm

Zea Sonnabend’s organic farming bona fides cannot be overstated. With an MS in Plant Breeding from Cornell University and 35 years of experience as a farmer, gardener, inspector, educator, policy specialist, organizer, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more qualified. Yet running her own farming operation still came with its challenges.

Matt Maxwell, BoltAbout

The idea to start BoltAbout came to Matt Maxwell in November 2015, when he was frustrated by public transportation options. He found the perfect alternative in the form of electric bikes. In April 2016, he decided to turn this passion into a business by launching a pilot program to lease a small fleet of e-bikes on a monthly basis. The feedback he received from his customers, largely Cal Poly SLO students, was extremely positive. Through simple word of mouth, his waiting list to lease an e-bike grew to several hundred names. In June of that year, BoltAbout joined the Summer Accelerator Program at the Cal Poly CIE SLO HotHouse, at which point they became SBDC Clients.