We invite the SF State family and extended community at large to join us each year for diverse thought, inspiration, and celebration of Entrepreneurship at SF State. This annual symposium was founded with the mission to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, develop entrepreneurial skills and strengthen the entrepreneurial network between SF State, our local communities, and industry.
Join us for a full day of discussions, conversations, and networking opportunities with leading entrepreneurs and innovated thinkers from all industries and organizations. In addition, finalists from Innovation Pitch Competition will present their pitches for over $10,000 in prize money at the Symposium. Come see what the newest entrepreneurial ideas are out of SF State!
This year’s theme will focus on how we can better enable under-privileged individuals and communities to innovate and bring their entrepreneurial dreams to a successful reality. Our aim is to inspire our 2023 attendees to ‘pay it forward,’ and help enable the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship can be a powerful path to social mobility, and financial security and independence. Together, let’s find ways to bring the entrepreneurial dreams of our communities to fruition.
REGISTER HAS CLOSED.
- Event Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
- Time: 10 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. PT
- Location: Zoom Webinar
Symposium Sessions
Eugene Sivadas – Dean, Lam Family College of Business
Sybil Yang – Faculty Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
Session 2 - Formalizing Entrepreneurship to Empower a Community with Leticia Landa (11:15 – 12 p.m.)
Leticia Landa
Deputy Director, La Cocina
Leticia joined La Cocina in early 2008 as the third staff member of the organization. Over the years Leticia has worn many hats in the organization and was the instrumental force behind formalizing La Cocina's incubator program, and providing the vision and strategy that catapulted the organization and its entrepreneurs to international recognition. Please join us in a conversation with Leticia on how to create systems that nurture and grow under-represented entrepreneurs.
Chen-Chen Huo
Co-Founder, Nexus; Owner, MAC'D and Trade Routes
Chen-Chen is a two-time Y-Combinator backed entrepreneur in addition to starting and still operating two successful food and beverage concepts (MAC'D and Trade Routes). Join us in conversation as we speak with Chen-Chen about what it takes to get into Y-Combinator, the formal incubation experience, how it differs from being a solo entrepreneur with in real life (IRL) services like food and beverage concepts MAC'D, and Trade Routes; and what skills and characteristics underlie serial entrepreneurship.
Host – Nara Jeong, Assistant Professor, Management at SF State
Judges Panel:
- Nancy Hayes, Angel Investor & Founder, NKH Group
- Bruno Ceccarelli, Director, Strategic Initiatives & Sr. Program Manager, Union Bank
- Craig (CJ) Slyfield, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Hunt Military Communities
- Ethan Hawkes, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Hopper Cloud
Each year, we invite aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and enterprises across the SF State student body to pitch their concepts to a panel of industry experts, investors, and rainmakers. Come watch this year’s pitch competition finalists as they vie for seed funding. Audience participation includes a chance to choose a fan favorite concept to receive extra funding.
Chef Tim Shaw M.P.A., M.A., Vista Room Chef Instructor
Enjoy some light-hearted reprieve while our pitch competition judges deliberate and select this year's awardees! Chef Tim will provide a primer on food and wine pairing. Bring your drinks and chat with other alums while learning the fundamentals of how to pair wine with your food!
Tim has a deep professional and culinary background that stems over 20 years. Tim’s culinary work includes catering, private chef services, and extensive teaching. His research operational focus is on promoting sustainability in food systems and nutrition. Tim has been a speaker at SXSWEco on the issues of teaching about food systems, and is a judge for the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge which focuses on critical sustainability issues in food systems. To stay connected with the culinary and broader community, Tim engages with several catering companies in New York and San Francisco, and freelance writes for cookbooks and several magazines. He has donated dinners to City Year San Jose and was involved in fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where he was a candidate for the 2014 Man of the Year.
Chef Tim received his BA in classics and archeology from Williams College; an AOS from The French Culinary Institute; MA in food studies from New York University; and a Master of Public Administration in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School.
Awards - Nara Jeong, Assistant Professor, Management at SF State
After a judges’ deliberation, the results of the SF State Innovation Pitch Competition will be announced. Find out which entrepreneurial concepts will take home a combined $10,000 in seed funding this year!
Sponsors
This event is supported in part by the Lam-Larsen Fund for Global Innovation at the Lam Family College of Business. We would like to thank our long-time sponsor MUFG Union Bank Foundation for their continued, generous support.
MUFG Union Bank Foundation
MUFG Union Bank Foundation’s mission is to make philanthropic investments that expand access to economic opportunity in low- and moderate-income communities specifically in the areas of affordable housing, community economic development, education, human services and the environment.
Reasonable Accommodations
The Lam Family College of Business welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. If you would like reasonable accommodations for this event, please contact Sybil Yang at iefp@sfsu.edu as soon as possible so your request may be reviewed.