Sunstone CSU Startup Launch

Congrats to the 2026 prize winners:

Grand Prize Winner
ELORA (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)

AI & Digital Technology Track
1st Place: Listabid (CSUN)
2nd Place: Halo Blue Tech (CSU East Bay)
3rd Place: ZOL (CSU Chico)

Hardware & Consumer Products Track
1st Place: ELORA (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)
2nd Place: SnapGrow Solutions (Cal Poly Pomona)
3rd Place: HeadshotX (CSU Sacramento)

Health & Wellness Track
1st Place: Everest Medical Solutions (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)
2nd Place: BiomeScope (CSU Channel Islands)
3rd Place: MoldiBlocks (San Francisco State)

Service-Based Businesses Track
1st Place: Chronoflow (CSUN)
2nd Place: Our Yard (San Diego State)
3rd Place: Second Chance Housing (CSU Bakersfield)

Social Impact Track
1st Place: GuLP (CSU Sacramento)
2nd Place: Curly Crownz Haircare (San Francisco State)
3rd Place: Brew Bars (Cal Poly Pomona)

Audience Choice Award
Our Yard (San Diego State)

A total of $200,000 in prize money will be awarded. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards will be given in each of the five tracks; in addition, a Grand Prize Award, as well as an Audience Choice Award, will be given. Teams are eligible to win up to two separate awards.

Awards in each of the 5 tracks: 
1st Place: $20,000 
2nd Place: $10,000 
3rd Place: $5,000

Grand Prize Overall:
$20,000 
(Note: This is in addition to the track 1st-place prize, so the grand prize winner receives a total of $40,000.)

Audience Choice Award:
$5,000

Note: To promote sustained progress and accountability, cash prizes in excess of $5k will be disbursed in tranches upon achieving specific milestones, as set and verified by the participant's home university.

Participating universities:

CSU Bakersfield
CSU Channel Islands
CSU Chico
CSU East Bay
CSU Fresno
CSU Long Beach
CSU Northridge
CSU Sacramento
CSU San Bernardino
CSU San Marcos
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
San Diego State
San Francisco State
San Jose State

Distinguished Finals Judges:

Dr. Paul Jennings
Founding Partner and CEO
Public Communications Services, Inc.

Mike Stone
Chief Investment Officer & Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.

Vivian Shimoyama
CEO
Long Beach Accelerator


Event Speakers:

Dr. Ganesh Raman
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research,
Office of the Chancellor, CSU

Dr. Chandra Subramaniam
Dean
David Nazarian College of Business and Economics

Dr. Erika D. Beck
President
California State University, Northridge

Ramon Ray
Master of Ceremonies
Founder, Smart Hustle Media and ZoneofGenius.com

Thank you to our distinguished panel of semi-finalist judges:

AI & Digital Technology Track

Asbed Kassis
CEO, Alena Solutions

Avag Simonyan
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Triple S Ventures

Avetis Antaplyan
Founder & CEO, HIRECLOUT

Claudia Shah
Bilingual and AI Specialist, Advisor, College of the Canyons SBDC

David Mandel
Managing Partner, Emerging Ventures/Board Member, Pasadena Angels

Dorian Quispe
CMO, Bizee

Howard Ko
Partner, Morpheus Ventures

Lucas Pols
General Partner, 1752 VC

Otissa Johnson
Founder, Bravuraa


Hardware and Consumer Products Track

Eric Rose
President, Pinnacle Product Innovation

Fran Guzman
Marketing Faculty, CSUN & CSULA

John Saunders
Retired, Formerly Tax and Management Consulting

Kevin Meredith
Founder, Adjunct Faculty, Entrepreneur in Residence

Loren West
Founder, CEO, CPG Beauty and Beyond

Swapan Ghosh
CSUN Professor, Former Tech Executive


Health and Wellness Track

Adrian Harper
Founder/CEO, Cloud 77, LLC

Andi Mysza
Retired Travel Entrepreneur, Board Member

Bill Imada
Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer, IWG

Emily Serebryany
Co-Founder, Institute FLE, 2x Exited Founder

Leila Pezeshk
Founder, MindOzone


Service-Based Businesses Track

Alan Sugano
President, ADS Consulting Group

Catherine Grooms
Executive Director, College of the Canyons SBDC

Cesar Montoya
Co-Founder, CEO, Ringaro Telecom

Darren Elliott
Founder, UNET Design, Advisor, College of the Canyons SBDC

Elsa Burton
Los Angeles Regional Manager, Fifth Third Bank

Jonathan Saeidian
Founder/CEO, Brenton Way

Julian De Salay
Co-Founder/CEO, JB Office

Michael Letson
Veteran, Entrepreneur, Consultant, Advisor, College of the Canyons SBDC


Social Impact Track

Brian Frankel
Consultant, CEO, Founder, Mentor Matchmaker

Calvin Selth
Senior Program Officer, Annenberg Foundation

Connie Sparks
Founder, Consultant, Author, Advisor, College of the Canyons SBDC

Daniela Corrente
Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer

Gerald Anderson
Veteran, Consultant, Author, Advisor, College of the Canyons SBDC

Juliana Oceguera
Vice President, Community Manager, JP Morgan Chase

The tracks for the 2026 competition are:

(1) AI and Digital Technology for startups leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, software platforms, or digital innovations to solve problems in areas like automation, data analytics, or user experiences.

(2) Hardware and Consumer Products for ventures developing tangible goods for everyday consumers, such as innovative gadgets, apparel, or household items focused on functionality, design, and market appeal.

(3) Health and Wellness for businesses creating solutions for physical, mental, or holistic health, including biotech tools, fitness apps, nutrition products, or accessible healthcare services.

(4) Service-Based Businesses for companies offering B2B or B2C services like consulting, platforms, or on-demand solutions that emphasize efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction.

(5) Social Impact Enterprises for impact-driven startups addressing societal challenges through sustainable practices (e.g., environmental conservation or green tech) and community impact (e.g., equity, education, or local empowerment initiatives).

Track assignments are determined based on application details to ensure balanced competition.

The Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition is exclusively for participants from the 23 California State University campuses. 

At least one founder must be:

• A current undergraduate or graduate student of their respective campus, or
• Have graduated in the most recent two (2) academic years, (Fall/Winter 2024 graduates eligible).

Although non-CSU students may be on the team, leadership and decision-making must be composed of students and/or alumni from the participating campus. The pitch must be delivered by the team’s current CSU student or recent alumni, as defined above.

Only startups with revenue of less than $15,000 to date from product/ services sales are eligible to compete.

Team selection is the choice of the leadership of each participating campus. Participating CSU institutions select and invite up to two (2) teams based on their own, University-level criteria. Selection criteria are defined by each campus's innovation or entrepreneurship program, and are not dictated by the CSU-level event, Sunstone, CSUN, nor event sponsors. 

Applications were due Sunday, March 29th, 2026. For more information about how to qualify and represent your campus, please reach out to your University entrepreneurship coordinator. 

The Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition took place on May 7th-8th, 2026:

📅 May 7th – Pre-Competition Activities
(For participating CSU staff, students, faculty, and special guests only)

📍 May 8th – Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition & Showcase
🕗 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM |  CSUN USU Northridge Center

Schedule for May 8th:
9am - Welcome remarks, showcase floor opens
12pm - Showcase concludes, lunch buffet opens
1pm - Program resumes
1:30pm - 1st Place Track winners announced, pitches for Grand Prize begin
2:45pm - 2nd and 3rd Place Track and Audience Choice winners announced
3:15pm - Grand Prize winner announced 
3:30pm - End

The event featured two phases on competition day, May 8th, 2026.

Startup Showcase
The first phase is a "trade show"-style expo featuring the competing teams. Each team receives a 6-foot table with a black tablecloth to showcase their startup. Teams may bring prototypes, presentations, posters, demos, etc., but power outlets are not guaranteed at each table.
Judges will circulate the room evaluating startups. They may not visit every team, and there's no minimum or maximum time per visit. The judging period lasts up to 3 hours.
After the showcase, the top three winners per track are selected, with first-place teams from each track advancing to the Grand Finale. Finalists are announced at the Grand Finale just before their pitch.

Grand Finale
Finalists deliver a pitch on-stage followed by 5-7 minutes of Q&A with distinguished judges. Judges select and announce the Grand Finale winner, and additional prize winners will be announced to conclude the event.

Student startup concepts will be judged based on the following criteria, assessing desirability, feasibility, and viability:

Value Proposition: How effectively does the startup address a validated problem or unmet need for its specific target customers? How concise, compelling, and visionary is the pitch in articulating this solution?

Market Opportunity: What is the quantifiable size and growth potential of the target market? How deeply does the startup demonstrate customer insights, including validated willingness to pay and market segmentation?

Competitive Advantage: How uniquely does the startup differentiate from current and emerging competitors? What is the defensible innovation or unique value proposition that provides a sustainable market edge?

Business Model: How clearly does the startup outline its revenue streams, cost structure, and path to profitability? How scalable, resilient, and evidence-based are the financial projections and underlying assumptions?

Team Capability: How relevant are the founders' and team's qualifications, experience, and complementary skills? How demonstrably collaborative, passionate, and committed are they to executing the startup's goals?

Impact: How rigorously does the startup quantify and track its positive effects on customers, society, and/or the environment? How tightly aligned are its mission, operations, and measurable outcomes for significant, sustainable impact?

Partnerships: To what degree has the team formalized partnerships with strategic industry players? How secured, verifiable, and integral are these partnerships to the startup's growth and operations?

Prototype: How functional and user-tested is the prototype in demonstrating the core concept? Does it reflect an iterative development process with evidence of refinement, user feedback, and effective prototyping methods?

Presentation Quality: Has the team crafted a succinct, engaging quick pitch that captures attention and clearly conveys the business essentials? Can an engaged listener easily grasp and accurately retell the concept to others?

Market Validation: What concrete evidence (e.g., surveys, pilots, or sales data) has the team collected to confirm the problem's prevalence in the target market and demand for the solution at proposed pricing?

Can my team compete again if we won a prize in a previous year?
No. If your team or concept was previously a winner of any prize in the Sunstone CSU Startup Launch competition, you cannot compete again.

How is the prize money disbursed?
To promote sustained progress and accountability, large cash prizes will be disbursed in tranches upon achieving specific milestones, as set and verified by the participant's home university.

Is my school competing? How can I find out? Can I apply to the competition anyway?
Each participating campus will determine the two teams (maximum) that they will send to the competition. To find out if your campus is competing, please reach out to your University entrepreneurship coordinator. 

What is the cost to enter/participate?  Who pays for travel and accommodations?
Please coordinate with your campus innovation or entrepreneurship program coordinator for details and eligibility for your University. Travel and accommodations are also coordinated with your campus representatives. Meals during the event (Thursday night, and Friday breakfast and lunch) are included with your University's participation. A discounted corporate hotel rate has been negotiated for the event.

I have dietary restrictions - what accommodations are available?
The food provided will be buffet-style that include options for those with common dietary restrictions. 

Do I have to attend both days of the event, or can I just show up to compete? 
Student competitors are not required to attend all programming. Though attendance on the first day is not required, we highly encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to network and meet other like-minded innovators.

Sunstone Investment Group, headquartered in southern California, is the holding company for the Sunstone family of entities, including: Sunstone Investment Management Services, responsible for administrative services; Sunstone Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which oversees Sunstone Venture Partners LLC, a private capital fund manager; Sunstone Cities, a government economic development consulting firm; and Sunstone Community Fund, a charitable organization that supports entrepreneurship. Sunstone is dedicated to enriching lives through investment, entrepreneurship, and community. Email us at contact@sunstoneinvestment.com.

The Center for Social and Technology Entrepreneurship (C-STE) at CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics promotes and fosters entrepreneurship and innovation, with a unique specialization in both technology and social entrepreneurship, within the DNCBE, CSUN, and the greater Los Angeles community by leveraging strengths in networks, research, interdisciplinary initiatives, curricular and co-curricular programming, and community/industry engagement.