SBCC’s Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge (NVC) business plan and pitch competition returns for its 14th season in 2024, showcasing some of our region’s most exciting, innovative, and cutting-edge student entrepreneurs.

The 2024 Scheinfeld NVC will be held in person at SBCC’s Fé Bland Forum (BC Forum) on our West Campus. We welcome the public to attend. The collegiate competition is held from 2 – 4:30 PM; the high school competition follows from 4:45 to 7 PM.

Join us to support our regional student entrepreneurs who are putting it on the line for their chance at the limelight and $15,000 in awards and in-kind startup support. Share encouragement with the finalists and cast your vote for the winning teams on the Scheinfeld Center Instagram profile! Interested in competing? The first step is to read the Official Rules and submit your entry by April 18th. See you at the competition!

DR. LEONIE H. MATTISON (Dr. Lee) is a celebrated international speaker, author on trauma transformation, and President and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute, epitomizing pioneering leadership in higher education. Her accolades include the Pacific Coast Business Times Top 50 Women in Business (2023) award, Publisher’s Weekly recognition (2020), and Top 40 Under 40 (2018). As the first Black woman at the helm of a post-graduate institution on the Central Coast and a trailblazer in depth psychology, her multifaceted career across academia, government, and the private sector showcases her transformative vision. A first-generation scholar and steadfast advocate for trauma-informed care, President Mattison is committed to democratizing depth psychology, advocating for inclusivity, equity, and systemic reform. Her leadership not only breaks barriers but also cements her legacy as a powerful force for community empowerment, research innovation, and educational excellence. She holds an MBA from Georgian Court University and a Doctorate in Education from Argosy University.

ERIC SANCHEZ is a serial entrepreneur whose life mission is to create, innovate, and leave the world a better place. He is currently the founder of X2L Bio—an AI platform that leverages wearable technology to support remote VO2 max assessments, to help refine Performance, FemTech, and Longevity. Prior to X2L, Eric was CEO of US Operations for Splendo Health, a Dutch Entity and Duke University biotech startup. Splendo’s solution was designed to democratize the ability to perform Cardiorespiratory Function (CRF)/VO2 max assessments outside of a clinical setting. Eric has over 18 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur developing and launching IoT, SaaS, wearable and biotech startups with successful exits. Eric’s corporate background in advertising and pharmaceuticals (NYC), as well as his knowledge and experience in developing products from concept to commercialization, provide him with a unique entrepreneurial background. Eric is a co-inventor with two patents, a speaker, and an advocate for health equity. He resides in Santa Barbara with his wife and two daughters.

ANUPAMA VAID (Anu) is the visionary, Founder and President of ParentSquare—an interactive, online system designed to help schools and parents partner to become informed, active participants in children’s learning. Anu came up with the idea for ParentSquare during a sabbatical when her children were young, recognizing the need to enhance the parent experience in school communications. Together with her husband, Sohit, now CEO of the company, started ParentSquare in 2011. The company expanded its team in 2014, alongside securing its first round of funding and partnering with schools beyond their hometown of Santa Barbara. Since then, ParentSquare has grown to now serve over 18M student families in the country.

DAN GODDARD is co-founder and current CEO of Backyard Bowls, an Açaí Bowl Café originating in downtown Santa Barbara in 2008. Dan started his collegiate education at Santa Barbara City College (where he met Backyard Bowls co-Founder, Pete) before obtaining his degree in business management from San Diego State University. He spent a handful of years working in restaurants and a (very) brief stint in the corporate world before opening Backyard Bowls at the age of 25. Upon opening, Backyard Bowls was a revolutionary restaurant concept, the first Açaí Bowl focused café in North America.  Backyard Bowls has since grown to 6 locations: three in Santa Barbara and three in Los Angeles, and it was the inspiration for the Açai Bowl café industry which is now comprised of dozens of companies and hundreds of restaurants globally.

JOSE HUITRON is an award-winning and nationally recognized speaker, entrepreneur, coach, ecosystem builder, and founder of Santa Maria Valley Tech, a community platform inspiring an entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation economy in the Santa Maria Valley. He is the founder and CEO of Edify Ventures, a “think tank” and innovation lab combining strategic design and venture development expertise to help clients and communities capitalize on opportunities to lead transformation across the industry. Most recently, Jose is an award-winning entrepreneurship teacher at the Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business leveraging lean startup methodology, business model innovation, and design thinking in an amazing learn-by-doing environment.

DR. HEIKE SCHIRMER is the Chief Product Officer at Yogi where she is focused on advancing and scaling the Yogi product. Prior to Yogi, Heike was Director for Alexa’s Knowledge Graph at Amazon where she has been on the forefront of revolutionizing human-computer interactions through the power for Alexa. Her focus has been on making Alexa more natural and helpful by combining machine learning with structured data to answer millions of customer queries worldwide every day. Heike came to Amazon via the acquisition of Graphiq, a Santa Barbara-based start-up, where Heike was Director of Product. Before Graphiq, Heike was at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Munich where she consulted tech and public sector clients on organizational and strategic topics. She holds an MS in Physics and a PhD in Social Entrepreneurship.