色情视频

In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the NCAA could no longer prohibit student athletes from seeking product endorsement deals. 

鈥淎 lot of new businesses are created when there's a change in law,鈥� said Carlin Pace, a management major at 色情视频 and an avid sports fan. 鈥淎s soon as I saw that law change, it just hit me like a light bulb, like, wow, this is a great opportunity.鈥� 

His idea? An app that connects student athletes with businesses to negotiate mutually beneficial endorsement deals.

Setareh Sterling, also a management major, had a similar idea. With the assistance of , the two teamed up to create C.A.S.H. 鈥� Competitive Athlete Sponsorship Hub 鈥� a digital platform that matches businesses with student athletes to endorse their products via social media. 

鈥淩ight now, micro-influencers are a huge deal,鈥� said Sterling. 鈥淭his is something that didn't exist two years ago, but now brands are really targeting these micro-influencers for a more authentic feel to promote their products.鈥� 

Pace and Sterling believe the app could benefit both small businesses with limited marketing budgets and student athletes, whose busy schedules make it hard to fit in a part-time job.

ZIP Launchpad provided guidance, tools and support to develop their idea and work toward launching their company. 

鈥淭he participants begin by identifying a significant problem that they are passionate about solving,鈥� said Cathy Pucher, ZIP Launchpad鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淥nce accepted to the program, they work in a supportive and collaborative environment, going step-by-step from problem to solution to startup.鈥�   

The business incubator is open to all 色情视频 students, faculty and staff. Participants work with experienced mentors, legal advisors and domain experts who walk them through the startup process. They have access to a 24/7 collaborative workspace as well as business workshops and events. Funding to develop their ideas is also available, and they can even hire interns.

ZIP Launchpad teams have created products ranging from skateboard lights to sustainable cookies and menstrual pads. 

A passion for coaching

Mary-Elizabeth Pacio, a kinesiology major, joined ZIP Launchpad last summer. She founded Court Vision Academy, a basketball coaching program in Chula Vista that prepares motivated young players to be competitive on club, travel or school teams.  

鈥淚 wanted to really learn what it was like being a business owner. I knew what it was like to be a coach, but as a business owner, I had no clue.鈥� said Pacio, who started playing basketball when she was 12. 

Her ZIP Launchpad advisers helped her set goals and execute them. And they briefed her on business models, intellectual property and insurance requirements.

鈥淵ou really sit down and go through every single thing and make sure it's in place,鈥� said Pacio. 鈥淭hey've supported me every step of the way. The amount of wisdom I've gained from ZIP Launchpad has been amazing.鈥�

Internships foster innovation 

The H.G. Fenton Company Idea Lab is located next door to ZIP Launchpad鈥檚 headquarters on the first floor of the Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences (EIS) building. Here, participants design logos and websites for their businesses and create product mockups. But they can also outsource that work to graphic design and engineering interns who work in the lab. As they help turn participants鈥� visions into reality, the interns themselves gain valuable experience.

鈥淭hey invent the product and then they use us as resources,鈥� said intern and graphic design major Brian Leenerts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 teaching me how to communicate with potential employers and potential clients.鈥�

Intern and mechanical engineering major Max Greiner says trial and error figures prominently in the process.

鈥淵ou just have to start doing something to find out what you don鈥檛 know,鈥� he said. 鈥淟earning how to manage people's expectations and what's feasible and what's not is the most important skill that the lab offers.鈥� 

鈥淭he interns here are in the best position of the whole group, because they get to work in all different kinds of companies and learn things outside the classroom,鈥� said Ren茅 Arvizu, manager of the rapid prototyping lab.

Safe water for all

Hailey Valladao has been on both sides of the process, first as an intern and later as a ZIP Launchpad participant. 

鈥淚 gathered a lot of firsthand experience working on product development, like setting goals and deadlines to make sure we're making progress, and working with teams of people who come from different majors.鈥� she said.

Drawing on that experience, Valladao has started two ZIP Launchpad teams. Currently, she and two interns are developing an app called Well that monitors household water quality.

鈥淭he core of our technology is our community water dashboard. It essentially provides you with a score about your water's health,鈥� said Valladao.

The app pulls data from existing water quality databases like the Environmental Protection Agency to estimate contamination levels. It also recommends solutions.

鈥淥ur mission is really to help low income communities and marginalized communities because they are being hit the hardest by this contamination,鈥� said Valladao. Her team  with Apple to create the design of the app with feedback from potential users. Then they drew on the resources of the rapid prototyping lab to expand upon that design. They are currently testing and refining the app in a local community. 

All of these ZIP Launchpad students and interns will be graduating this spring. Pacio鈥檚 basketball coaching business is thriving, and Pace and Sterling hope to get their C.A.S.H. app in the hands of student athletes in the not-too-distant future. 

鈥淲ithout ZIP, I don't think we would have gotten as far as we've gotten,鈥� said Sterling. 鈥淚t's going to have a very lasting, meaningful impact on our lives.鈥�