Our Vision
To catalyze an innovative and entrepreneurial culture at Cal Poly and within the San Luis Obispo community.
Our Success StoriesHelping Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Thrive in San Luis Obispo County
What We Do
The Cal Poly CIE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) promotes the development of technology-focused ventures by providing high quality business assistance to start-ups and established companies.
Our team of 35+ business consultants helps entrepreneurs launch companies, create and retain jobs, and attract capital investment.
Location
Located in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, serving businesses throughout the county.
Contact UsOur Mission
To help create jobs and grow our regional economy by providing entrepreneurs and small businesses with high quality education, consulting, support for innovation, and all of the tools necessary to build successful, sustainable, and scalable businesses.
How We Do It
With a specific focus on high growth and technology business opportunities, the SBDC helps develop businesses by utilizing:
Consulting
No cost professional business consulting from industry experts in marketing, finance & access to capital, IP, and more.
Office Hours
Each month we bring in local business professionals who specialize in all aspects of business from accounting to marketing.
Learn MoreTraining
Intensive schedule of bootcamps, workshops, & events designed to strengthen business and entrepreneurial skills.
Learn MoreCIE HotHouse
The physical space in downtown SLO where talented entrepreneurs can cowork or incubate, & access SBDC programming.
Learn MoreOur Awesome Staff
Judy Mahan
Economic Development Director
Read MoreJudy runs the CIE Incubator and SBDC programs. She holds a J.D. from the University of Paris X Law School and an LLM in International Tax Law at Golden Gate University.
Damon Watkins
Director of Finance and Operations
Read MoreWith over 20 years of financial and management experience, Damon oversees the financial, accounting and daily operations of the CIE. Damon was born in England and raised in South Africa and moved to the USA 20 years ago.
Liz Fisher
Assistant director
Read MoreLiz is in charge of operations, coordinates center staff, consultants and assists with budget oversight and grant reporting.
Madison Krum
Project Coordinator
Read MoreMadison is responsible for coordinating SBDC programs, events, and email marketing.
Lynsey Fowler
Admin & Graphic Design Coordinator
Read MoreLynsey is responsible for SBDC new client onboarding, graphic design and social media management.
Results
Many San Luis Obispo businesses trust the Cal Poly CIE SBDC.
What Our Clients Say
Truly an awesome resource.
“I have been meeting with our lead consultant on a weekly basis, which has been very useful to discuss our challenges and be pointed to the right direction. Because the SBDC consultants have disparate areas of expertise, I was able to get help on different topics such as fundraising, bookkeeping, building financial projections and marketing.”
–Rita Mounir, Co-Founder and COO of Allthenticate
A great experience.
“I have had the opportunity to work with great mentors, whom have been exceptional at providing the advice and guidance we needed to continue growing through the Covid pandemic. Thank you!”
–Tom Carolan, CEO of Digital Market Media
Timely and Professional Guidance.
“As the business challenges escalated in 2020, our partnership with SBDC afforded us local help, skilled insight, and on-demand assistance. Our successes throughout the year were because we had timely and professional guidance to navigate our disaster assistance, maintain employees and customers, and plan for new horizons with e-commerce and digital services.”
–Mary Uebersax, CEO of Earthtones
Our Success Stories
Interested in becoming a client?
Apply to get personal one-on-one assistance from our expert consultants. Also be sure to attend a workshop or special event, which are always open to the community.
Get Started – Apply