SUPPORT PROGRAMS
We’ve created partnerships with experts and local organizations to provide hands-on support to companies working in physical product development. This includes consumer products, industrial goods, IoT, climate technologies and more.
Our programs are free to qualifying entrepreneurs, both members and non-members.
Our Approach
We help early stage companies form, define their products, raise capital, make sales, and grow.
We work with hardware / hard tech companies working on a wide range of products in Climate Tech, CPG, IoT, Med Devices, and more. We understand the needs of early stage companies, and work to help founders and teams focus on attainable short term business goals that create measurable value, in key areas including:
Product-market fit, customer identification and feedback
Prototyping and early manufacturing
Intellectual property management
Capital planning and fundraising
Storytelling & pitching
Meet Our Coaches
-
Kyle Valiton
Medical Device Consultant and Mechanical Engineer.
Kyle fills the gap between prototype and manufacturing. He works with inventors, designers, and engineers to move from idea to assembly line. With his origins in medical device start-ups, Kyle learned firsthand the importance of quality, safety, and meeting the needs of the customer.Most suited for companies that:
Are looking to build a product or find their target audience. Founders that want to understand their manufacturing ecosystem. Founders that want to create a community around their brand.
-
Tatyana Brown
Tatyana is a seasoned performer, event producer, and public speaking coach. She has over 10 years' experience building memorable experiences for audiences of all sizes--ranging from galleries and coffee houses to 2,000+ seat concert halls. An interdisciplinary thinker with a background in contemporary literature, Tatyana excels at helping founders craft compelling stories and marketing campaigns.
Most suited for companies that:Need to work on public speaking skills, are working to build stories that speak to core customers, and/or are in need of editorial support.
-
Olya Irzak
Olya is the Founder & CEO of Frost Methane - a company finding methane vents and building devices to mitigate them to sell carbon offsets. Previously she was system architect at Zola Electric - minigrid in remote communities, Google X - early stage climate projects in geothermal HVAC and long duration storage and a software team lead at Google Energy on smart grid technologies.
Olya is the instigator of Diamond List, the Cleantech Expert Network and is on the board of Terraformation.
Most suited for companies that:
Are early stage climate companies with techno economic analysis, pitch deck content, understanding the nuts and bolts of cabron markets and electric grids / markets. -
Jon Salsman
Finance, Public & Private Capital
Jon has a wealth of experience helping startups develop their story and raise the capital they need. He has experience with public funding, including SBIR and other innovation grants for startups.
Most suited for companies that:
Are past the proof of concept stage and are ready to start planning for their first capital raise.
-
Dennis Kearney
Operations and Development, Large Scale Climate Projects/Companies
Dennis, the leader of High Performance Business Strategies, is an entrepreneur and experienced environmental professional with over two decades of industry experience. His diverse industry experience includes energy, transportation, environmental management and compliance, water distribution and storage, mixed-use development, and grant writing. His clients have included SFPUC, PG&E, Nextera Energy, City/County of San Francisco, SFMTA, CA High-Speed Rail Authority, U.S Navy/Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and cities and counties throughout California. With several companies under his belt, Dennis understands the intricacies and challenges of building a sustainable business.
Most suited for companies that:
Are startups or small-to-medium businesses in the environmental realm needing support establishing or improving operations and systems.
-
Joshua Pinheiro
Strategic Operations
Leveraging his extensive experience as an Army Veteran and more than ten years of strategic business planning and operational management, Joshua loves helping companies build the systems they need to thrive. An authority on strategic operations, he applies his military discipline and profound business understanding to assist startups and small businesses in achieving operational excellence. Joshua is also the driving force behind High Performance Business Strategies, empowering businesses to attain not just immediate success but also sustainable, enduring growth. His expertise is instrumental in furnishing businesses with tailored strategies to surmount obstacles, streamline operations, and emerge as industry leaders.
Most suited for companies that:
Are startups or small-to-medium businesses seeking operational efficiency, strategic growth, and long-term success.oes here
-
Alyssa Aron
Inventory & Supply Chain Management
Alyssa has deep experience in designing cost-effective supply chains, aligning production with business goals, logistics management, and vendor/customer relationship management. She is also experienced in international sourcing and importing to the US. She helps clients avoid pitfalls in importing and distribution, and avoid costly surprises.
Most suited for companies that:
Have a product requiring an international supply chain, or relying on large volumes of raw materials. Understanding trade regulations and inventory management.
-
Paul Subzak
Climate Tech, Clean Energy
Paul loves climate tech startups. He is developing his own renewable energy startup. With over 15 years of experience in working from seed stage to fortune 1000 companies, from founding 501c3 non profits to publicly traded companies. With his help startups have secured letters of intent, raised seed rounds, increased revenues, onboarded top talent, and navigated difficult challenges of early stage companies.
Most suited for companies that:
Companies pursuing cleantech infrastructure or understanding large scale utility management.
-
Kenya Moses
Executive Management Leadership and Marketing
Kenya Moses is a champion in business; and for over two decades she has spoken on stages and consulted small businesses, corporate teams and non-profit organizations on business development and marketing strategy. From her work as Founder and CEO of ConsciousMark, to her work as a Speaker and Trainer, she makes great strides in supporting businesses, amplifying the vision and goals of every client.
Most suited for companies that:
Need to find good leadership. Founders needing to develop their executive communication. Working with large corporations. Branding and mission statement review.
-
Ross Rubman
Sales & Marketing Strategy
Ross is an experienced sales leader with over 20 years in sales, customer success, and management. After experiencing the corporate world with industry stalwart VeriSign, he moved into the startup ecosystem back in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. As one of the first 500 employees at Tesla, Ross was able to experience all of the challenges associated with a hypergrowth business. Ross built Tesla’s first inside sales organization which functioned as the feeder team to expand Tesla’s initial US retail footprint.
Most suited for companies that:
Have a product and some sales traction, but need to verify the sales strategy before committing more resources. Companies that have a sales team that aren’t performing. Companies that want an outside review of their ideal customer profile.
-
Jaemin Chang
Legal Affairs
Jaemin is an experienced attorney, strategic legal advisor who loves working with startups. She helps her client realize business plans and initiatives and manage risk. Jaemin brings entrepreneurial and resourceful mindset to triage legal and business problem solving.
Most suited for companies that:
Need a second opinion on whether or not to pursue legal counsel for various business activities.
-
Sal Bednarz
Biz Dev, Business Strategy
With decades of experience as an entrepreneur and small business owner interspersed with a career in IT and telecom startups, Sal brings a breadth of knowledge and customer focus to his coaching clients.
Most suited for companies that:
Companies that need business development with local government or large organizations. Companies generating proposals or letters of intent with large corporations. Companies searching for alternative methods of funding.
-
Praise Santos McKenna
Branding & Social Media
Praise is founder of the branding studio ComePlum and has a love for puns, pretty things, and people. She has a passion for helping her clients stand out and be seen.
Most suited for companies that:
Want to understand modern channels of marketing with consumers. Branding review.
-
Andrew Lemon
E-Commerce, Amazon Specialist
Andrew launched, grew and sold his online product sales business, and has been working with small businesses in Mexico to help them expand into the US market through e-commerce. He managed education programs for TecMilenio University and Universidad Regiomontana.
Most suited for companies that:
Have a product that is designed to take advantage of the Amazon ecosystem, or leverage an existing supply chain to deploy on Amazon.
-
Melissa Patenaude
Brand, Storytelling & Presentation
Melissa brings decades of experience in marketing and design. Melissa has worked with clients from startups to large corporations, to strengthen brand, craft effective marketing campaigns, improve storytelling and design presentations that wow investors. She is passionate about creating user experiences that align with her clients’ business goals and constraints.
Most suited for companies that:
Have a product and target audience, but want to maximize that impact and growth. Companies needing new ways of looking at marketing strategy. Brand review and mission statements.
-
Anna Marion
Consumer Products Development, Crowdfunding, Marketing
Anna has a wealth of knowledge in starting a small consumer products business, from mechanical and industrial design, to branding, social media, Shopify and Kickstarter.Most suited for companies that:
Have a product and target audience, but are unfamiliar with crowdfunding, or social media creation, or building promotional material.
ONE-ON-ONE MENTORSHIP
Our coaches are skilled in a wide range of areas, and deeply understand the needs of hardware companies. We’ll match you with a coach who can help you with your most important immediate needs, and help you reach important milestones: other measurable and attainable goals that drive your business value and increase your odds of success.
How we work with you:
team mentorship: you’re always getting the support you need from the right expert
celebrate your achievements using our communications channels
connect with other organizations, companies, and individuals who can help when you need more than we can give you ourselves.
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOPS
Short sessions, high-level exploration of a topic area
Facilitated by our expert coaches
Highly interactive - come prepared to participate!
Sometimes co-hosted with one of our partner organizations or program sponsors, to bring their resources to our community
Interested participants can get deeper/individualized support by enrolling in one-on-one advising, or in a Deep Dive module
DEEP DIVES
Multi-session, interactive workshops
Cohorts of founders go deep, developing individual business strategy materials
Accompanied by one-on-one advising before/during/after the program
Group exercises enable companies to support each other and learn together
Participants leave with an understanding of how to apply the learnings of the module to their business development