Orange County Social Entrepreneurship Competition Announces 11 Finalists for May 10th Showcase

Saddleback College is pleased to announce the selection of 11 finalists in the Orange County Social Entrepreneurship Competition. The finalists will present their business plans that seek to address complex social problems utilizing sustainable funding models at a competition showcase on Saturday, May 10th from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at the University of California, Irvine - Social Science Lecture Hall (SSLH 100). Community members are invited to attend the showcase and vote for their favorite finalist in the People’s Choice Awards.  To reserve your seat visit http://entrepreneurship.saddleback.edu/.

At the showcase, a panel of judges will rank the finalists, who will be awarded cash prizes in the amounts of $10,000, $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, and $500.  Following the showcase, all finalists will be provided investor assessment and coaching services valuing more than $20,000 to help prepare for their final pitch to social impact investors in September, with funding possibilities upward of $125,000.

Seven finalists are from California, three from Oregon, North Carolina, and Florida, and one comes from the nation of Tanzania.  Three of the finalists hail from Saddleback College. 

Dr. Tod A. Burnett, president of Saddleback College, stated, “We are absolutely thrilled by the overwhelming response this competition has received on such a global scale.  The quality of the applications was extremely high and I am confident that our judges and audience will be impressed with our finalists.  It is clear that social entrepreneurship is on the rise, and I am truly inspired by the desire for social innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit that were demonstrated in the ideas that were submitted.”  

The 11 finalists who will be presenting their social entrepreneurship business plans at the showcase are:

Robert Charles
Back to Native Orange County, Irvine, CA - Back to Native Orange County service providers and affiliates will provide a landscape design, installation, and maintenance service focused on replanting with low-water usage native plants.

Mahour Lellat-Parast
Bio-Adhesive Alliance, Greensboro, NC – Bio-Adhesive Alliance has developed and patented a process technology to provide an economical solution to transforming swine waste into a marketable asphalt binder.

Justine Porter
Della, Culver City, CA – Della is a socially-responsible fashion line that empowers women in Ghana, West Africa through employment and educational opportunities.

Taylor Cheeley
Entourage Red, Orlando, FL – Entourage Red LLC is a consumer goods manufacturer specializing in innovative personal care products for women.

Anna Sontag
Full Life Programs, Corvallis, OR – Full Life Programs will shift the paradigm of senior care, providing sustainable, person centered care in a climate of safety, health, and wholeness.

Shawn Wehan
Givsum, Aliso Viejo, CA – Givsum is an online application that: (1) gives individuals the ability to track and promote their charitable interest; (2) provides charities with an effective fundraising and volunteer recruitment platform; and (3) allows businesses to efficiently administer their charitable donation policies.

Sophia Lin
A Hundred Tiny Hands, Irvine, CA – A Hundred Tiny Hands is to "invent inventors" by fostering playful learning and imagination; enabling children to discover, create, and invent.

Joe Palacios
K9 West Kennels, Lake Forest, CA – K9 West plans to make a positive impact on the epidemic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury is having on our veteran community and their family, and at the same time reduce over population in the local animal shelters.

Adam Comenzuli
KARIBU Solar Power, Tanzania – KARIBU Solar Power is an innovative social enterprise that makes high quality solar power affordable. We produce a modular solar lamp (solar panel + rechargeable battery + light) and employ an innovative social business model that allows the average Base of the Pyramid (BoP) consumer to enjoy the benefits of solar lighting and energy

Prakash Bista
Modern Model Resident School, Aliso Viejo, CA – MMRS provides free innovative education and meals to all students in extremely remote areas of Nepal, with especial focus to girls, the students who are from poor and disadvantaged family backgrounds and their illiterate moms.

Emily Quinlan
Saddleback Café, Mission Viejo, CA – The Saddleback College Culinary Arts program will create a nationally recognized culinary institute that will serve one of the most dynamic hospitality industries in the world.

Admission to this event is free, or premium seating is available with a tax-deductible donation. Parking is available for a $10 fee in the Social Science Parking Structure (Lot 1) on Pereira Drive.

For more information visit http://entrepreneurship.saddleback.edu/.