Speaker Series

Speaker Series

Past Speaker Series Events

Cody Barbo, Founder/CEO of Trust & Will (Fall 2022)

SDSU Alum and two time founder, Cody Barbo shares his entrepreneurial journey of launching and growing Trust & Will. To date, Cody and his team have raised $23M to modernize the estate planning industry. Recorded: October 21, 2022

Breanne Acio, Founder/CEO of Sēkr (Fall 2022)

Breanne is the Founder and CEO of Sēkr, a technology platform simplifying the outdoor travel planning experience. As a queer woman of color, Breanne has built 6, 7 and 8 figure businesses, raised venture capital and actively mentors other minority founders. Recorded: September 23, 2022
 

Chris Bennett, Founder/CEO of Wonderschool (Spring 2022)

Hear Chris Bennett share his story of launching and growing, Wonderschool, a mission driven company that dramatically increases access to high quality early childhood care for all families. Wonderschool has been named one of the world’s 10 Most Innovative companies by Fast Company and has raised $24 million to date to democratize education access for all. Recorded: March 11, 2022

Jaime Schmidt, Founder of Schmidt's Naturals (Spring 2022)

Jaime Schmidt talks about her story of launching Schmidt's Naturals, a company manufacturing and selling plant and mineral-based personal care products!. Recorded: February 11, 2022

Sashee Chandran, Founder/CEO of Teadrops (Fall 2021)

Revolutionizing an ancient industry doesn't intimidate Sashee! Join us to hear her story of launching Tea Drops, an environmentally friendly, high quality line of teas. Recorded: October 15, 2021

Caitlin Bigelow, Founder/CEO of Maxable (Fall 2021)

Caitlin is building a future where everyone has a place to call home! Join us to hear how this marketing grad created a real estate tech company to make an impact. Recorded: September 24, 2021
 

Alyse Nelson, CEO of Vital Voices (Spring 2021)

Alyse Nelson, CEO & Co-Founder of Vital Voices shares her story of launching an organization that invests in fearless women leaders across the world. Alyse founded Vital Voices alongside her fellow co-founders, Hillary Clinton, Melanne Verveer and Madeleine Albright. Recorded: April 23, 2021

Matt Clifford, CEO of Keto Krisp (Spring 2021) 

Food waste warrior, entrepreneur, investor and endurance athlete, Matt Clifford is on a mission to make a positive impact in our world. Matt is the co-founder and former COO of Barnana, a line of healthful snacks made from upcycled bananas. He’s now transitioned to CEO of Keto Krisp.
Recorded: March 26, 2021

Nate Spees, Founder & CEO of Grizzly (Spring 2021)

Nate Spees is the founder and CEO of Made by Grizzly, a creative agency developing design solutions for world changing brands. Join us to hear Nate’s story of going from the corporate world, to starting his own successful agency, to running one of the largest networking groups in San Diego and more.
Recorded: February 26, 2021

Scot Chisholm, Co-Founder & CEO of Classy (Fall 2020)

Scot Chisholm, CEO/Co-Founder of Classy, a San Diego based social enterprise platform which creates fundraising tools for non-profits. Since inception, Classy has facilitated over $2 billion raised for social good. Hear Scot's story of launching Classy with his friends and then turning it into a Top 100 Impact Company in the world.
Recorded: November 20, 2020

Derrick Emsley, Co-Founder & CEO of tentree (Fall 2020)

With a commitment to sustainability, Derrick launched his first company at 16 and planted 150,000 trees. Since then he and his co-founders launched tentree, an apparel brand dedicated to planting 10 trees per item sold. tentree is responsible for planting over 35 million trees to date. Derrick was named a Top 30 under 30 social entrepreneur by Forbes this year.
Recorded: October 16, 2021

Melani Gordon, Co-Founder & CEO of Evergreen (Fall 2020)

Melani is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. She co-founded Evergreen, a web based software that helps restaurants and bars operate more efficiently. With over 4500 restaurants and bars using Evergreen, Melani knows what it takes to start and grow a company! RSVP to hear her story firsthand and ask questions.
Recorded: September 25, 2020