The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is excited to announce the extension of its Incubator program and Small Business Development Center to the SANDBOX Paso Robles. These two programs have been at the forefront of technology, innovation, and economic development in San Luis Obispo County. An open house will take place September 1 from 5-7 p.m. at the SANDBOX Paso Robles 1345 Park Street. RSVP on Eventbrite at cieopenhouse.eventbrite.com
The SBDC is a top resource for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, offering no-cost, expert one-on-one business consulting, training and online courses in startup assistance, debt and equity funding, sales and marketing. The SBDC has a roster of 35 consultants with a wide range of backgrounds. This outreach center for the SBDC will be dedicated to programming and events for the north county small business community. Examples of the program areas to support small business are:
- Marketing – Tackling social media, marketing plan and strategy, branding
- Sales – Customer development, growing sales, implementing sales teams
- HR – Hiring, employee benefits, employee retention
- Legal – Patents and trademarks, incorporating, equity funding
- Startups – Pitch deck development, introduction to investors
- Funding – Bank loans, angel and venture funding, crowdfunding
- Finance – Projections, QuickBooks
- Operations – Supply chain management, Process improvement
“While our SBDC services cover all of San Luis Obispo County, we are excited to offer new and existing clients a dedicated space for programming closer to their base of operations,” said Judy Mahan, CIE SBDC Economic Development Director. “The SANDBOX Paso Robles space has provided a unique opportunity for us to focus on programming specific to the agricultural and hospitality industries which make up the core of their business community. The combined efforts of the CIE SBDC and Incubator program allow us to better support the growth of early stage AgTech companies in north county and continue to grow as leaders in tech and innovation.”
The CIE Incubator program is a two-year program that includes everything needed for early-stage companies to develop into financially stable, high-growth enterprises by providing the tools, training and infrastructure that help facilitate smarter, faster growth. While tech and innovation is the main focus for the program, other verticals are accepted and encouraged to apply. Including but not limited to: CleanTech, AgTech, MedTech and Aerospace. Applications are open year round at bit.ly/cieincubator. The new location will house startups in the AgTech industry. Companies in the program will have dedicated office space at the SANDBOX and access to resources such as membership mixers and an invaluable peer network.
“THE SANDBOX Paso Robles is excited to host the CIE Incubator and Small Business Development Center programs in our space and kick off a great partnership with the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” said Kyle Ashby, Founder of the SANDBOX Paso Robles. “Having a number of AgTech companies and mentors at THE SANDBOX, in addition to the support of the CIE and SBDC is a great way to build on our mutual goals of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, small businesses and new ventures in both Paso Robles and the Central Coast region!”
To learn more about these programs visit CIE.CALPOLY.EDU.