By Jennifer K. Morita

November 15, 2024

The Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State kicks off Global Entrepreneurship Week Nov. 18.

The center, along with regional partners, has organized a weeklong series of 20 events on campus and in the community focusing on entrepreneurship and economic development in Sacramento, including the NorCal AngelCon pitch contest for more than $100,000.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) began in 2008. Today, organizations in 200 countries host 40,000 events attended by over 10 million people.

“It’s a great opportunity to come and learn about what’s going on in our region around innovation and entrepreneurship.” -- Cameron Law, Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship executive director

The Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has served as the region’s hub for GEW activities since 2017. In 2019, Executive Director Cameron Law launched the first Sacramento Entrepreneurial State of the Union and Spark Venture pitch competition.

“It’s an event focusing on celebrating the role entrepreneurship plays in our community, and it’s also a convening point for the campus and also regional leaders who play a role in economic development,” Law said.

This year’s State of the Union, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Carlsen Center, will feature a fireside chat with Tara Lynn Gray, director of the California Office of Small Business advocate and Right to Start founder Victor Hwang on how to remove policy barriers for startups.

The State of the Union will conclude with three lightning panels on food and agriculture, health and life sciences, and clean technology.

“They’re aligned with our regional economic development strategy,” Law said. “It’s a great opportunity to come and learn about what’s going on in our region around innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Sacramento alumnus Sadie St. Lawrence will talk about how to effectively harness the power of AI at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Carlsen Center.

Founder and CEO of the Human Machine Collaboration Institute, St. Lawrence studied piano performance and taught music before working in a neuroscience lab studying emotional learning and memory.

In 2015 she founded Women in Data to increase diversity in data careers, which now has more than 60,000 members in 55 countries.

“I’d seen her do this presentation on becoming an AI orchestrator and how to embed AI into personal and professional lives and the connection between humans and machines,” Law said. “I thought it was a really great discussion because there’s a lot of opportunity there, but also how do we look at the future of work and the way our lives ultimately will be impacted positively and negatively around AI.”

Other highlights include a 1 Million Cups meetup on Nov. 20 at the Carlsen Center, which will feature presentations by two AI entrepreneurs, Anil Muppalla of Storiel and SanaRem Tech’s Viviana Garcia.

Storiel is an AI platform that streamlines the publication process from content creation to editing and publication. SanaRem Tech is a software company that uses AI to help small businesses manage environmental compliance and sustainability.

This year’s GEW will offer Mentor Sprints for startup founders to connect with at least three mentors for 15 minutes each to get valuable feedback and advice from experienced entrepreneurs.

Law and Josh David Miller, a startup traction expert who has helped founders launch more than 100 products, will record a live episode of their podcast Zero To Traction, answering questions from the audience.

The Carlsen Center and Growth Factory will host the NorCal AngelCon pitch event in Rocklin beginning at 5 p.m. Nov. 20, where four tech-driven startups from the Sacramento region will compete to win $105,000 in equity-backed funding.

More than 80 companies applied and 18 were chosen to participate in a 10-week program last summer. They presented their businesses to angel investors, or early-stage investors, who selected four finalists for the pitch competition.

More information about Global Entrepreneurship Week is available on the Carlsen Center web page.