Success Story: East Bay Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

From Regional Support to Global Success: East Bay SBDC Helps Deliver Big Wins for Local Innovators

Location: Northern California | Alameda County | Hayward

Services Provided: Business advising, pitch deck preparation, pitch practice coaching, access to capital, and ongoing strategic support

California State Assembly District: 10 

California State Senate District: 8 

Visit East Bay SBDC online.

East Bay Small Business Development Center (East Bay SBDC) hosted the Startup World Cup East Bay Regional competition on September 10, 2025, at Cal State East Bay University in Hayward. This ambitious initiative drew 140 startup applications from across the region, with 10 finalists selected to pitch before a panel of judges and investors. 

The regional competition offered substantial awards: the first-place winner received the Hayward Horizon Award with a $10,000 cash prize and the opportunity to compete in the Grand Finale; the second-place winner received the East Bay SBDC Award with a $5,000 cash prize; and two third-place winners each received $2,500 cash prizes—the City of San Leandro Award and the Fremont Bank Award. The event was made possible through partnerships with platinum sponsor City of Hayward, along with gold, silver, and bronze sponsors including East Bay SBDC, City of San Leandro, Fremont Bank, and City of Newark. 

The winner would not only receive their cash prize, but they also earned the chance to compete in the Startup World Cup. This global event, organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures, is one of the largest startup competitions, featuring more than 100 regional events spanning six continents. The Grand Finale took place this year in San Francisco, where they pitched for a $1 million investment prize and to gain access to a powerful network of international investors, mentors, and industry leaders. 

Under Nancy Mangold’s leadership, the East Bay SBDC provided comprehensive support to regional applicants and all Top 10 finalists. The center offered workshops including Pitch Deck Guidance, Perfect Your Pitch intensive preparation sessions, and Build Traction and Partnership workshops, along with free one-on-one advising to assist applicants in preparing their pitch decks for the application process. East Bay SBDC coaches Shawn Flynn and George Parrish worked directly with finalists to refine their presentations and develop competitive strategies for both the regional and global competitions. 

The regional competition featured a distinguished panel of judges including Shawn Flynn (Managing Director, Silicon Valley Highpoint Capital and Host of The Silicon Valley Podcast), George Parrish (Chief Evangelist, Bay Angels and Executive Director, Entrepreneur Lab), John Busch (Executive Leader and Startup Advisor, Berkeley SkyDeck), Simon Ng (CFO, Quark Pharmaceuticals), Izzet Darendeli (Associate Professor, Cal State East Bay), and Selina Zhang (Chair of Deal Flow Committee, Bay Angels). 

The event also included a panel discussion on East Bay Regional Support for Startups, featuring representatives from the US Small Business Administration, California Office of the Small Business Advocate, Cal State East Bay, NorCal SBDC, City of Hayward, Activate Berkeley, Berkeley Startup Cluster, Startup Tri-Valley, and Diablo Valley Tech Initiative. After the regional competition, the SBDC continued to support these innovative startups with business model development, go-to-market strategies, and funding assistance. 

Building a Win Streak 

At the Startup World Cup Grand Finale on October 4, 2024, EarthGrid PBC, based in Richmond and also an East Bay SBDC client, competed against ten startup finalists selected from thousands of startups around the world and pitched in front of a panel of Silicon Valley venture capital investor judges, and won the $1 million investment prize.  

EarthGrid PBC develops patented plasma tunnel-boring technology to enable the U.S. and other countries to fix their electricity transmission grids at a fraction of the cost.  The East Bay SBDC provided advising services from Axel Tillmann and Kaustav Chaudhuri at NorCal SBDC’s Tech Futures Group on pitch deck preparation, meeting and presenting to new investors, raising equity investment and pivoting to California government procurement.  

Learn more about EarthGrid PBC online.

Coreshell Technologies Brings Top Prize Back to the East Bay 

After San Leandro-based Coreshell Technologies won first place at the East Bay Regional they went on to compete at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale, winning the $1 million grand prize. The company’s proprietary technology unlocks the performance of metallurgical silicon, which has ten times the capacity of current battery anodes at significantly lower costs. Their breakthrough materials enable affordable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries without sacrificing range, advancing the future of sustainable transportation and addressing one of the most significant barriers to widespread EV adoption. 

“It was an incredible experience, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen amongst an inspiring group of startups from all over the world.” said Jonathan Tan, CEO of Coreshell Technologies. ” (We are) Grateful for the support the East Bay SBDC provided to us in preparation for the East Bay Regional Cup, including Nancy Mangold, who was our main point of contact. She was our champion from the get-go. Nancy made sure to tell us the different resources that an East Bay company can take advantage of to help with scaling and growth. She also introduced us to the coaches, Shawn Flynn and George Parrish. We took advantage of the coaching resources and had a good discussion with Shawn and George and (they) provided tips and suggestions on how to nail the pitch. We were happy to show how Coreshell is scaling our manufacturing presence in the East Bay!” 

Visit Coreshell Technologies to learn more about their breakthrough battery technology for electric vehicles. 

Other Regional Winners 

The East Bay Regional competition also recognized three other outstanding innovators: 

Cache DNA – 2nd Place  

Cache DNA is a life sciences company developing next-generation molecular preservation technologies that preserve DNA, RNA, and other biomolecules at room temperature. Our platform reduces the cost, complexity, and environmental burden of cold-chain infrastructure while enabling better access to high-quality samples for clinical and research applications. Visit Cache DNA online.  

Nanowear Inc. – 3rd Place (tied)  

Nanowear is FDA-approved cardiometabolic digital diagnostic platform self-adminstered at home for early diagnosis and preventative care. Its AI based digital diagnostics utilizing proprietary patented cloth-based nanotechnology. Its nanosensors capture 85+ medical grade biomarkers directly from the skin, enabling a closed loop digital system for specific machine-learning algorithms built on terabytes of unique human data. Nanowear’s first of its kind platform is a radical leap forward in clinical research and virtual care, empowering clinician decision-making with scored, clinical-grade diagnostic data, improving outcomes without the need for physical visits. You can fine Nanowear online.

Hadron Energy – 3rd Place (tied) 

Hadron Energy is developing advanced microreactors to provide 24/7, carbon-free electricity. Our factory-built “Hadron Halo” micro-modular reactor is designed to be a safe, scalable, and reliable power source for critical infrastructure, data centers, industrial users, and remote communities, helping to power the future of clean energy. Check out Hadron Energy online.

A Win for the East Bay and CalOSBA’s SCALE Network 

“We’re incredibly proud of the visibility and opportunity that the Startup World Cup East Bay Regional has created for startups in our community to be recognized on the global stage,” said Nancy Mangold, East Bay SBDC Center Executive Director. “Coreshell’s success demonstrates the caliber of entrepreneurial talent in our region. These entrepreneurs’ relentless pursuit of innovative life-changing technologies to solve today’s world’s big problems will lead our region and the world into a better future and truly deserve our support at every level. SBDCs are committed to provide strong support for our startups and entrepreneurs, helping them achieve greater success.” 

Coreshell’s journey from regional support to global success exemplifies the mission of California’s SCALE Network (Success, Capital Access and Leadership for Entrepreneurs), a statewide initiative designed to help underinvested businesses scale and succeed. The East Bay SBDC is a vital partner in this network, providing no-cost business advising, training, and capital readiness support to entrepreneurs throughout the region. 

As part of the NorCal SBDC network, the East Bay SBDC’s mission is to empower current and next-generation entrepreneurs with a prepared, growth mindset through transformative insights, resources, and guidance. Their vision is to help Northern California entrepreneurs and small businesses become the most resilient, focused, and competitive small businesses in the market. With unparalleled access to no-cost expertise from entrepreneurs who have seen it all, East Bay SBDC provides small businesses with the solutions they seek and the confidence they need to realize their dreams. 

If you’re an entrepreneur or startup in the East Bay looking for support in scaling your business, connect with East Bay SBDC today.

12/2/2025