Past Recipients

2025 Recipients

In 2025, the Dorfman Incubator Grant program awarded a total of $145,000 to four early-stage companies spanning fintech, workforce development, DeathTech, and sustainable consumer products. The recipients reflect the breadth of innovation supported by the program and include Cal Lutheran alumni, adjunct faculty, employees, and Hub101 community members.

• AltSpot Capital: a next-generation investment platform expanding access to curated private-market deal flow for accredited investors, co-founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus and Hub101 member Tyler Lucas ’17.
• ESTE Leverage: closing the gap between meaningful work and career preparation with an NSF-funded adaptive learning platform that acts like a GPS for lifelong career exploration, helping people understand how they think and where they thrive. Founded by Cal Lutheran community member and Hub101 mentor Terrisa Duenas.
• Guidant: a first-of-its-kind DeathTech platform with a patented process to search, shop, and purchase cemetery property, funerals, and cremations, while streamlining sales for funeral homes and cemeteries. Co-founded by Cal Lutheran adjunct faculty George Owens and Mike Cooperman.
• UpPup (formerly Misfit Munchies): a sustainable pet food startup transforming imperfect local produce into nutritious dog treats, founded by Cal Lutheran alumna and employee, Rosie Baker ’21, ’25, and alumna Princesa Martinez.

2024 Recipients

In 2024, the Dorfman Incubator Grant program awarded a total of $140,000 to five startups working across consumer marketplaces, healthcare technology, renewable energy, sustainability, and signage technology. Several recipients were repeat grantees, reflecting continued progress and momentum supported by the program.

• BumperPass: a digital marketplace simplifying the search, purchase, and resale of personalized license plates. Founded by Cal Lutheran MBA alumna Ana Claudia da Silva.
• Misfit Munchies (now UpPup): a sustainable pet food startup transforming imperfect local produce into nutritious dog treats. Originally started by four Cal Lutheran alumna and employee Rosie Baker ’21, ’25; and alumnae Lannie Pham ’24; Princesa Martinez; and Karen Rodriguez ’24.
• PlotSign: a platform modernizing the signage industry through improved standardization and transparency. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus and Hub101 member Zach Dunn. PlotSign is a repeat grant recipient.
• Suma: founded by community partner Denice Wharton, a SaaS platform transforming licensing management for Certified Nursing Assistants and healthcare employers, with a strong commitment to hiring Cal Lutheran student interns.
• Wayside Energy: creating a recyclable, modular, and rigid single piece injection molded battery pack system with a unique geothermal cooling system that is industry leading in price, reliability, safety, and performance while being cheap and simple to manufacture. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus, James Werbe. Wayside is a repeat grant recipient.

2023 Recipients

In 2023, the Dorfman Incubator Grant program awarded a total of $155,000 to five early-stage Ventura County–area companies focused on clean technology, water sustainability, healthcare supply chains, real estate technology, and renewable energy storage.

• Environmental Market Services: designs, administers, and supports locally tailored water markets to help regions manage groundwater sustainably while balancing agricultural, urban, environmental, and regulatory needs. Founded by Matthew Fienup, a School of Management faculty member. 
• InvoCure: an online medical marketplace and supply chain solution that helps healthcare organizations streamline procurement, reduce vendor complexity, control inventory, and improve operational efficiency through custom technology and nationwide fulfillment partnerships. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus Brian Malchow. InvoCure is a repeat grant recipient.
• PlotSign: a platform modernizing the signage industry through improved standardization and transparency. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus and Hub101 member Zach Dunn.
• Rivida (formerly HortiTech): leveraging NASA-derived water filtration technology to purify agricultural wastewater by extracting ammonia and converting it into reusable nitrogen fertilizer, helping farmers reduce freshwater use, lower fertilizer costs, and improve long-term farming resilience. Co-founded by Cal Lutheran alumnae Andrea Brimmer and Emma Sweeney. Originally started by Brimmer and Caroline Brook who met at the European Innovation Academy, and joined by alumnae Zaria Opara 
• Wayside Energy: creating a recyclable, modular, and rigid single piece injection molded battery pack system with a unique geothermal cooling system that is industry leading in price, reliability, safety, and performance while being cheap and simple to manufacture. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus, James Werbe.

2022 DIG Recipients

In its inaugural year, the Dorfman Incubator Grant program awarded a total of $180,000 in non-dilutive funding to five startups founded by Cal Lutheran alumni, faculty, and community partners. Designed to support early-stage companies while creating hands-on learning opportunities for students, the program launched as a reciprocal partnership between the university and the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• A Fox and His Robot: a 2D action-platformer indie video game that follows a young fox and his robotic companion as they navigate a beautiful yet dangerous world, using precise movement and environmental mechanics to escape the control of powerful artificial intelligences. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus Joshua Janik.
• InvoCure: launching a purchasing app that will save medical groups time and money by providing a range of supplies from multiple manufacturers. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumnus Brian Malchow.
• Modern Football Technology: a real-time analytics platform that helps football coaches analyze player and game data in seconds, uncover opponent tendencies, and reduce manual data entry so teams can make smarter decisions at game speed. Founded by Cal Lutheran alumni Christian Masegian and Tom Leogrande.
• Tlali•pani: a social enterprise lifestyle brand that partners with women-led artisan communities to create ethically produced, handcrafted home goods that celebrate cultural heritage, sustainable practices, and conscious living. Founded by Fabiola Lara and Sabith Kahn, director of Cal Lutheran’s Master of Public Policy and Administration program.