Graduating from college represents both an end and a beginning — with the start of careers, sometimes in far off places, a significant part of the latter.
And while embarking on a career is exciting, seeing your college pals scatter can be tough. That, said Cal Poly Pomona student Maz Reeder, can cause lost friendships, diminished social connections and a sense of loneliness.
And that’s where Social Spark comes in.
Social Spark, for which Reeder is an intern, is a startup hailing from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that has created a digital platform on which college students can meet others with similar interests and plan hangouts.
Social Spark was one of around 40 other startup companies whose founders participated in the second annual CSU Demo Day at Cal State Long Beach on Friday, Nov. 3. The event, organized by CSULB and private capital firm Sunstone Mangement, featured startups from entrepreneurial programs at each of the 23 Cal State University campuses. The nascent entrepreneurs — representing myriad industries, from biomedical research to social platforms — pitched their ideas to various investors in hopes of getting funding to further their businesses.
The CSU Demo Day entrepreneurial teams included faculty, staffers, students and alumni from throughout the CSU system.
“This is an event where business creators find an audience and get in front of investors,” said Wade Martin, director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship within CSULB’s department of economics. “Some entrepreneurs find it very challenging finding people to invest. It can get very daunting.”
This year’s Demo Day, Martin said, featured more than twice the number of participants as in 2022. The goal, Martin said, is to get the entrepreneurs and investors to discuss tech projects under development and generate a cash flow within six months.
In Social Spark’s case, the four-member team wants funding to increase its presence on others digital…
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