Entrepreneurship Tackling Environmental, Health, and Societal Grand Challenges
In my current roles as Director of the Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars, QB3 Entrepreneur in Residence, and CIED Entrepreneur in Residence and Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I enable the translation of research and ideas into innovations, and nurture next-generation ventures, founders, and ecosystems tackling environmental, health, and societal grand challenges.
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Through the Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars, my colleagues and I help founders launch and grow early-stage startups by providing them with funding, mentorship, access to networks and more. We support climate tech, biotech, AI, and other technology ventures originated in academic settings and often created by underrepresented founders. Our alumni have presented their startups at venues such as the UN and CES, and have raised capital from top venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins.
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As CIED Entrepreneur in Residence and Rachel Carson Lecturer at UCSC, I advise startup founders and have taught several entrepreneurship courses. Jointly with a stellar team of ocean science, technology, and entrepreneurship experts, I currently teach "Hacking for Oceans", the first ever lean startup course focused on coastal and ocean-related issues. We have partnered with NOAA, WWF, the Nature Conservancy and other organizations to source problems and field experts. Hacking for Oceans is currently offered to all UC students as a UC system-wide online course, and has also accepted students from academic institutions within the Association of Pacific Rim Universities.
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I also serve as QB3 Entrepreneur in Residence. QB3 is the University of California’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the life sciences for planet and human health. With five incubators, two seed-stage venture capital firms, the Rosenman Institute and three centers at UC Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, QB3 helps UC faculty & students to launch biotech companies and innovations for planet and human health, generating jobs and more than $750 million each year. My responsibilities include supporting faculty/student founders of biotech startups for human health and environmental sustainability and contributing to workforce development and translational research at UCSC as well as helping to strengthen our innovation ecosystem through tri-campus collaborations such as the QBI Hackaton at UCSF.
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Back in 2019, I have joined the UC Office of the President's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, aimed at enabling the UC system to continue creating bold solutions to today’s biggest challenges by turning discoveries and ideas into innovations and ventures. In light of such a long-term commitment, I have participated in UC system meetings and groups to discuss priorities such as inclusion, venture creation, accelerators, technology transfer, infrastructure, and more.
To conclude, I've trained as well as funded academic entrepreneurs through the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) site program, which helps students and faculty to turn scientific discoveries and ideas into startups. Thanks to the generous funding made available by the NSF, my colleagues and I have selected and funded promising ventures, and many of them end up applying for additional NSF funding later on. An outstanding example of NSF-funded startups that I often refer to is Cruz Foam, a climate tech venture that also raised capital from Leo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, and other top investors. The startup made it into Time magazine's Best Inventions of 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024.
