The Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship recently announced the seven teams that have been accepted to the 2013 SLO HotHouse Summer Accelerator Program, which provides the space, funding and resources they need to launch their business.

The winning projects are:

  • Veg This Way: a convenient, on-the-go vegetable snack
  • Homeslice: a platform that streamlines payments between roommates, utility companies and property owners
  • Z Living Systems: a vertical garden installation company
  • Before and After Maids: an on-demand cleaning service for before and after events
  • Prelimb: an augmented reality technology that visualizes how plants will grow over time
  • SeatWizz: the next generation of online ticket purchasing
  • Spongecrete: a lightweight, freeform, insulating composite material composed of cellulose and cement

Now in its third year, the 12-week HotHouse Summer Accelerator Program provides Cal Poly students and recent alumni with an unparalleled opportunity to gain the skills needed to launch their businesses in a university setting. At the end of the summer, companies have the option of remaining in the HotHouse Incubator as paying tenants.

To help support the HotHouse teams, the CIE is launching an online Indiegogo campaign to support its operations. Indiegogo is an international crowdfunding platform used to raise money for a variety of business endeavors.

Donations will allow the students to develop their ideas and will also contribute to the growth of San Luis Obispo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. It will also support the creation of a virtual city designed by (iii) Design.

(iii) Design’s team, including Cal Poly interns, will design and populate the online city as supporters give to the campaign.

“To describe the HotHouse Accelerator as a generous organization would be an understatement,” said Max Mero, chief financial officer of 2012 HotHouse Accelerator company RepairTech Inc. “The education, resources, mentorship and creative atmosphere that the program provided to our company have been crucial to our successful launch as a small business in San Luis Obispo.”

To find out more about the Indiegogo campaign and to donate, visit http://bit.ly/135fAcb.