Workshops
Recorded Webinars
Clean Tech Energy Conversation with LA Clean Tech Incubator
Not sure what Clean Energy is all about? Want to learn how to start a Clean Tech Energy business? Are you interested in Clean Energy? Then this workshop is for you! Join us as we invite LA Clean Tech Incubator (LACI) introduce the conversation of Clean Tech Energy in our campus. This workshop will discuss everything you need to know about clean energy along with the different resources they have available so you can begin thinking about potential clean tech energy solutions.
A Venture Capitalist View on Startups - Ray Chan
Come join the conversion as we invite a venture capitalist to talk about the different kinds of innovative ideas he enjoys working with. Ray Chan is an active angel investor with a successful 25 year track record as a king/queen maker, Ray is committed to partnering with entrepreneurs to lead them to success. Ray Chan is part of K5 Ventures - a group of experienced investors, entrepreneurs, and technologists that have successfully built and sold companies in southern California. K5 ventures is an early stage venture fund that partners with and invests in technology - driven businesses led by impact and growth focused on founding teams.
How To Effectively Pitch Your Business Idea
Join us as we teach you how to effectively prepare a pitch and sell your idea through the art of pitching. You will practice how to present your thoughts clearly and learn the do's and don'ts of pitching your idea to investors or in any business setting. Whether you have a business idea or thinking about launching a business this workshop is open to everyone!
Licenses and Permits
Patents, Trademarks and Market Research
Interested in learning how to search for a patent or trademark using the US Patent and trademark office website? Want to learn how to conduct market research for your business or research project? If this is something you are curious about join us as we dive deeper into learning the fundamentals of patents, trademarks and market research.
Competitor Analysis
Customer Discovery
Mapping Value to Customer Needs
iStartup Kickoff Fall 2021
Do you have an innovative idea that has the potential to change daily tasks or our way of life? Want to learn how to take that special idea and turn it into a reality?
The Student Innovation Idea Labs (SIIL) wants you to be a part of our iStartup Academy! The iStartup Academy was created with the purpose of providing students with the training, resources, and connections to help you launch your idea into the marketplace.
Startup: A Guide to Starting Anything
Part 1 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
This workshop will introduce you to the foundations of entrepreneurship with an overview of the workshop series as well as the process of starting your own business.
Understanding the Business Model Canvas
Part 2 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
In this workshop you will learn about the Business Model Canvas (BMC): a tool that will help you design your business models that have a competitive edge, leverage opportunities in your environment and test your ideas through experiments with customers.
Intellectual Property (IP) Workshop
Part 3 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
The Intellectual Property (IP) workshop was created to provide you with knowledge about trademarks, patents, copyrights, internet law, disputes, resolutions and much more in order to help you protect your most creative innovations.
Customer Discovery - Part I
Part 4 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
The main objective of customer discovery is to identify your first customers by testing your assumptions about who your customer is, the exact problem you are solving for the customer, and how the customer will buy from you.
Competitor Analysis
Part 5 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
A competitive analysis is a strategy where you identify major competitors and research their products, sales, and marketing strategies in order to improve upon them and identify potential opportunities where you can out-perform them.
Customer Discovery - Part II
Part 6 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
During the second session of customer discovery, we will go more in-depth on how to conduct customer interviews and prepare questions to ask a potential customer.
Crowdfunding
Part 7 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop series.
Crowdfunding is the process of raising money from a large number of people in order to fund a project, a company, or a cause. In this workshop, we talk about how successful crowdfunding campaigns are executed.
Building Your Pitch Deck
Part 8 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop Series
Building your Pitch Deck is a workshop on what you should include in your presentation to investors. This will cover the key information you need to have ready on the screen and in your presentation notes.
Pitching Your Idea to Investors
Part 9 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop Series
This workshop is designed to teach you how to prepare a pitch and sell your idea. You will practice how to present your thoughts clearly and learn the do's and don'ts of pitching your idea to investors!
The Phase Gate Process - New Product Introduction
Part 10 of the Entrepreneurial Workshop Series
The phase-gate process is ideal for projects that involve teams across multiple departments, and is typically used for new product developments, software/app/website launches and business-wide changes.
Past Workshops
iStartup Academy
Fall 2021 | 6 Sessions | via Zoom and @Maker Studio
Start: Sept 30, 2021, 5:00 PM
End: Nov 19, 2021, 11:30 AM
The iStartup Academy walks you through the process of launching a new idea. In this program, you will receive training from our faculty and industry partners, who will provide you with valuable insights and first-hand accounts into the world of product development and building a business from the ground up. We welcome everyone who has a desire to learn. Since we start at identifying potential customers and proposing solutions that meet their needs and wants, you do not need to have a current idea or team to participate.
The 2021-22 program is divided into two parts:
- The first eight weeks – developing ideas, generating solutions, and getting to the prototype so that you can write a business brief about your idea.
- The second eight weeks – Completing customer research, building a minimum viable product, completing a Business Model Canvas and presenting your idea in a typical business pitch format.
The iStartup Academy has been the starting point for startups such as Pirüli Design and Azuza Beverage.
Innovation Weekend
Spring 2021 | 1 Session | via Zoom
Start: Apr 08, 2021, 7:00 PM
End: Apr 10, 2021, 6:00 PM
Pomona Innovation Weekend is a FREE, two day, learn-by-doing campus workshop that teaches new venture creation skills to university students in an extreme hands-on environment. This workshop will allow you to experience what it takes to turn a bright idea into a for-profit, nonprofit, or social venture.
This year, students will work in teams to develop a frugal innovation that can be implemented in a disadvantaged community. This design sprint will challenge students to tackle complex problems a community is facing through collaboration and rapid prototyping.
Entrepreneurial Workshop Series
Spring 2021 | 13 Sessions | via Zoom
Start: Jan 12, 2021, 12:00 PM
End: Apr 06, 2021, 1:00 PM
This spring semester, the Student Innovation Idea Labs (SIIL) wants to support you through your journey to build your own business through our Entrepreneurial Workshop Series. These workshops are designed to help you understand the foundations of launching your business and develop a entrepreneurial mindset.
We hope that our students and those part of the Cal Poly Pomona community take advantage of these FREE workshops to further develop their ideas that can help their communities and the world.
*Webinar recordings available
Women's Entrepreneurship Day
Fall 2018 | 1 Session | @ Bronco Student Center, Ursa Major
Start: Nov 07, 2018, 11:30 AM
End: Nov 07, 2018, 8:00 PM
Cal Poly Pomona and the Student Innovation Idea Lab will join the United Nations and women in 144 countries to celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED), a global movement created to empower and engage women of all ages through innovation and collaboration.
Join us for stories of determined women delivered by keynote speakers, a discussion from a panel that made their ideas and innovations a reality, interactive workshops, and a vendor’s fair. The event is open to everyone!