SBCC’s Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge (NVC) business plan and pitch competition returns for its 16th season in 2026, showcasing some of our region’s most exciting, innovative, and cutting-edge student entrepreneurs. The competition is open to SBCC students and other undergraduate college students in Santa Barbara County, as well as area high school students, to promote youth entrepreneurship.

The 2026 Scheinfeld NVC will be held in person on SBCC’s West Campus at the Fé Bland Forum (BC Forum). The public is welcome and invited to attend. 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! 

• SBCC West Campus, Fe Bland Forum (BC Forum)
• Collegiate competition: 2:00- 4:30 PM
• High school competition: 4:45 – 7:00 PM

Event parking is available on the West Campus; no parking pass is required; however, avoid no parking zones and spaces reserved for medical and disabled to avoid ticketing. See you at the competition!

PATRICK SPENCE is a proven consumer technology leader who helped build BlackBerry from an idea to $20B in revenue and scaled Sonos from a $200M startup to a $2B public company. He currently serves on the Board of Snap, maker of Snapchat and Spectacles AR glasses. Patrick is a co-founder of Silos Group, a Santa Barbara-based venture studio built on a simple thesis: AI has collapsed the time and cost of building companies. Silos finds exceptional early-career operators and gives them what no solo founder has — equity, experienced mentors, a powerful network, and a cohort building alongside them.

DIANA PEREIRA is the Founder of Balance Financial Management, a strategic partner helping startups and nonprofit organizations strengthen their finance, operations, and people systems to support sustainable growth. She is a co-founder of Kiva Santa Barbara (formerly Impact Hub), a coworking space with three locations downtown serving our entrepreneurial community. With more than 20 years of experience spanning startups, private equity, and investment management, Diana brings both strategic and operational depth to her work. She holds a B.S. in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D. from the Santa Barbara College of Law and is a member of the State Bar of California. Diana is actively engaged in her community through board service and leadership roles, and is passionate about building organizations that create positive, lasting impact. She currently serves on the finance committee of the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board and is a Board Member of Octobots Robotics, supporting student-led innovation and STEM education. 

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.

JOHN STUMP is an industry pioneer with a relentless commitment to innovation, razor-sharp focus, and a dedicated pursuit of engineering perfection. John leads a team of talented engineers passionate about breaking boundaries and quickly bringing new technologies to market while constantly pushing the envelope of industrial design, engineering, electrical integration, packaging, and branding. John has over 25 years of award-winning innovation, product development, engineering, and ingenuity. His work enhances manufacturing processes that increase efficiency and improve quality, and can be found across industries as diverse as medical devices, consumer electronics, and fitness equipment. An avid inventor with over 50 patents and applications, he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from UCSB.

MIKE WALD is the Founder of Coastal Intelligence, an AI think tank and consultancy focused on designing and implementing intelligent decision systems for nonprofits, enterprises, and city, county, and international governments. He works at the intersection of AI, data, and organizational behavior, helping leaders turn fragmented information into systems that drive real decisions, accountability, and measurable outcomes. As Chief Marketing Officer of Oniracom, Mike brings over 20 years of experience leading strategy, marketing, and systems development across global consumer brands and public-sector initiatives. His work spans from Disney film campaigns to government infrastructure and analytics platforms in Australia. Grounded in technology and informed by ecological anthropology, he approaches AI not as hype, but as a practical tool for building resilient, human-centered systems that scale impact and improve how institutions actually function.

KEZI CHENG founded FLO Materials to pioneer a new generation of circular polymers that combine versatile performance with exceptional recyclability. FLO’s material platform makes true product-to-product recycling possible, bridging sustainability with profitability for complex, multi-plastic products. She was awarded the Activate/Cyclotron Road Fellowship, a U.S. DOE supported Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program intended to accelerate breakthrough technologies from lab to market. She was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Manufacturing and Industry in 2022 and serves as Principal Investigator on an NSF SBIR grant. Kezi also serves on the board of the Sustainable Change Alliance and holds a B.S. in Materials Science (minor in Management) from MIT and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. She is passionate about building local entrepreneurship ecosystems, expanding access to education, and empowering women to lead.