By Jenna Greer It was March 2020 and Navy Mckee, then a junior at San Diego State University (SDSU) and Big Island Hawai’i local, had just returned home due to the COVID-19 pandemic when she discovered her father’s 30-year-old drawings of a stormwater filter in her family closet. Mckee, already involved in the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center and familiar with startup culture, knew she had to see her father’s ideas through.     One year of dedication later and Kai Pono...

Ben Shapiro, a self-proclaimed tech-geek and senior at San Diego State University (SDSU), used his experience as a freelance technician to co-create a company that empowers older adults to confidently use technology. That company, TekMate, founded at SDSU, offers live technology classes, personal one-on-one training sessions, and remote business-to-business services to local senior living homes. When Shapiro and his co-founder Micheal Viesca, crossed paths through the Lavin...

Alicia Burgess (left) and Don Turner are friends turned co-founders By Sandy Athniel Year Founded: 2019 Aztec Founders: Alicia Burgess (CEO), Don Turner (CFO) Headcount: 4 team members One day in early 2019, Alicia Burgess (‘20) was watching an episode of “Trigger Warning,” where activist Killer Mike attempted to buy entirely Black-owned products and services in the town he was in. “I just remember he had such a hard time trying to find somebody to cut his hair,” said...

Co-Founder & CEO Joel D’Eon completed his executive master’s degree at San Diego State University By Sandy Athniel Year Founded: 2013 Aztec Founder: Joel D’Eon Technology: Mobile health app that uses health behavior change principles to help people manage stress, eat healthy, be active, and build a routine. The app is currently focused on helping users get through COVID-19. Headcount: 12 team members While pursuing his executive MBA at San Diego State University...

By Sandy Athniel  Year Founded: 2018 Aztec Founders: Tristan Fleming & Charlie Wiggs Technology: Mobile app that helps college students find compatible roommates, connect with friends, date, and discover events, all with the intention of creating real-life experiences. Headcount: 8 team members For Tristan Fleming, Fall 2017 marked a time of new experiences. The then-college freshman had spent months preparing for his first semester at San Diego State University (SDSU),...

By Sandy Athniel Year Founded: 2019 Technology: Virtual reality experiences that, with just a headset, transport users to a limitless array of locations and settings - and put the user right in the center of the action. These experiences are intended to educate the general public and, in the future, bring Make-A-Wish adventures to sick children.   Players: Armando Flores, Nicholas Ray & Kay Ornelas  Headcount: 3 co-founders As a child, Armando Flores watched as his little...

By Fred Grier Meet Kim Folsom, a serial entrepreneur and investor whose mission is to empower underserved groups of business owners by providing them access to capital and resources to build sustainable companies.  Folsom, a former tech executive and veteran entrepreneur who has built six technology startups and exited several of them, including showUhow (acquired by Sellpoints), DriveCam (now Lytx), and Seminarsource. She has raised more than $30 million in institutional venture...

By Sandy Athniel  Year Founded: 2018 Aztec Founder: Breanne Acio Technology: Mobile app that helps outdoor adventurers find camping, overnight parking, amenities, community, and more In late 2016, San Diego State University (SDSU) communication professor and master’s alum Breanne Acio decided to try traveling in an RV with her wife. The couple had gone on numerous international trips but wanted to explore the U.S. for a change. They experienced drawbacks to the...

By Sandy Athniel & Fred Grier Year Founded: 2013 Players: Matt Ellis Headcount: About 60 team members Funds raised: $30 million In this first-ever collaboration between the AzTech and TritonTech series, we chatted with Measurabl founder & CEO Matt Ellis, an alumnus of both the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU). Measurbl Founder Matt Ellis For several years, Matt Ellis worked for CBRE, the world’s largest commercial...

By Sandy Athniel Year Founded: 2017 Players: Reyanne Mustafa, Kristian Krugman Headcount: 5 team members In 2017, soon-to-be San Diego State University (SDSU) graduate Reyanne Mustafa was working as a server at True Food Kitchen when she witnessed copious amounts of perfectly edible food being thrown away on a regular basis. These weren’t scraps off people’s plates; they were grains fresh out of the rice cooker. It wasn’t long until Mustafa decided to do something about the...