Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program

entrepreneurship_students

Experiential Training Leads to Confidence

The mission of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program is to increase entrepreneurship and innovation activities and promoting the entrepreneurial spirit on the SSU campus and the North Bay area by providing experiential education and training, and supporting aspiring student entrepreneurs across every stage of the entrepreneurship process.

Entrepreneurship Resources

At SBE's Entrepreneurship Hub, our aim is to ignite and infuse entrepreneurial thinking and behavior into our students, inside the School of Business and Economics, across Sonoma State University, and throughout our surrounding community. This change takes a village. It takes you. Please reach out to us to learn more about what is underway and to discuss your ideas. You can contact us at chris.stewart@sonoma.edu

We have aggregated a directory of Sonoma State University and regional resources and services designed to help you develop ideas, scale your business and connect you with a vast network of entrepreneurs. Start here to connect with the resources and information you will need to support your journey. 

Access Entrepreneurship Resources

 

 

SBE Entrepreneurs in Residence

chris_stewartChris Stewart, Co-founder of Pocket Radar, Inc., Entrepreneur-in-Residence Lead

Chris Stewart is a prominent regional entrepreneur with 40-plus years of experience leading technology companies and startups. He began his career as a design engineer, and research and development project manager at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. In 2009, he founded his own technology companies, Invention Planet LLC and Pocket Radar Inc. Chris has been a volunteer faculty at Sonoma State University where he lectured in courses on electrical engineering and business entrepreneurship. He also serves as chairman and lead industry advisor of the SSU Makerspace External Advisory Board and Electrical Engineering Department, respectively. Chris brings expertise in design, new product development, strategic business planning, patents, and consulting. 

 

Cristina and Michelle Wilson Entrepreneurs in ResidenceMichelle Wilson (pictured left), Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Ooh La Luxe

Cristina Wilson-Hudlin (pictured below), Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Ooh La Luxe

Michelle and Cristina Wilson’s first business endeavor was a coffee cart they owned in college which quickly expanded to multiple locations. After years of 4 a.m. shifts while also putting themselves through school, the twins graduated from Sonoma State University, sold their coffee cart, and used the money they made to open their first Ooh La Luxe store in downtown Petaluma. After their first successful year, they expanded by moving their shop to a new space more than four times the size of their first one. Next, they opened another store in the Santa Rosa Mall, followed shortly thereafter by an online store. Now with almost 10 years in business, Ooh La Luxe has three locations, a thriving web store, 19 employees, and a loyal customer following.  Co-owner Cristina is focused on buying, developing merchandising ideas and concepts, and managing operations and logistics.  Co-owner Michelle uses her expertise as marketing director to do everything from photoshoots to influencer scheduling and all things Instagram.

Schedule a Meeting with an Entrepreneur in Residence

 

 

Entrepreneurship Programs & Activities at SSU

 

 

Entrepreneurial energy, behaviors, and thinking are the lifeblood of any thriving economy.  Given the North Bay's commitment to the triple bottom line of social equity, environmental stewardship, and economic prosperity, Sonoma State's role as the region's entrepreneurial epicenter comes naturally. Today, our faculty and staff build conduits between the student population and private industry, focus on new business initiatives, develop and apply practical case studies, create relevant curriculum and workshops, conduct critical research, and fuel talent development programs. 

Transform our Educational System at SSU and in the North Bay

 

Leadership and innovation are central themes in our undergraduate and graduate academic programs and infused in how we train our students to become creative problem solvers, change agents, and innovators in their workplaces and their communities. 

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Certificate in Wine Entrepreneurship

Launch and Support Entrepreneurial Careers out of SSU 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our students will spend their time at SSU becoming entrepreneurial thinkers who have launched their own businesses or are job-ready as they step out on their career pathway.

kyuho_leeMakerspace and Innovation Lab: Funded by the National Science Foundation, Sonoma State University's signature Makerspace and Maker Program is a cross-campus academic partnership between the School of Business and Economics, School of Education, School of Science and Technology, and School of Arts and Humanities. The facility houses tools like 3D printers, a computer controlled mill, laser cutters, and micro-controllers, as well as materials like electronics, cloth, fabric, leather, and more. The Makerspace and Innovation Lab is free to all faculty, staff, and students at Sonoma State University. 

Accelerate Entrepreneurial Action in the North Bay

 

We see entrepreneurship as a key ingredient for regional growth and prosperity. To that end, the School of Business and Economics has partnered with and supported entrepreneurial efforts and projects like the North Bay Make-a-thon, SSU's Makerspace and Innovation Lab, North Bay Investor Summit, and more.