The Dream It! Win It! Student Business Competition provides Fresno State students and partnering community college campuses an opportunity to win cash to fund the development of their business. 
Left to Right; Lyles Center Executive Director Dr. Timothy Stearns, Dirk Johnson, Ben Nagels, Adam Shor, and Program Assistant Kevin Perkins. The Simple Solar Team accepting their First Place $10,000 check. The winners of the 2010 Dream It! Win It! Student Business Competition were announced May 1, 2010 in the Peters Education Center at California State University, Fresno. The first place winner, Simple Solar Cleaning Systems™, received a cash prize of $10,000 and one of the eight Lyles Center Hatchery office spaces. Simple Solar was also entered into the Draper Fisher Jurvetson $250,000 Venture Competition and received a scholarship to E-Myth Leadership Intensive™ Seminar, which is valued at $1,500. Founding team members of Simple Solar Cleaning Systems™ are Fresno State students Dirk Johnson, Adam Shor, and Ben Nagels. Their business sells automated solar panel cleaning systems for homeowners with dirty solar panels. These inexpensive systems can go on almost any roof. Visit their website at www.simplesolarcleaning.com. Second Place winner, El Colegio Taco™, received $4,000 for their business. El Colegio Taco is a mobile food service vendor that offers healthy, fresh, made-to-order tacos at convenient locations on college campuses. Founding team members are Phen Vue, Marisela Hamm, and Dante Delt of Fresno City College. Third place winner was Community Fun Pack™ who was awarded $1,000. Founding team members are Bryce Majors and Kirk Nagamine of Fresno State. Community Fun Pack™ uses premium local coupon pack sales to help non-profit organizations exceed their fundraising goals. More information is listed at their website www.communityfunpack.com. The Student Hatchery at the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an applied learning environment for students pursuing the creation of new businesses. This office space allows them to concentrate on developing their business concepts and use the facility and mentoring services to enhance their businesses and make them a reality. In an interview with Dirk Johnson, one of the founding members of Simple Solar, he talked about what helped his team take first place, “Definitely our preparation assisted us the most. We began working on this concept about a year ago and since then it has gone through a many different renovations. We spent hours on working on the presentation alone.” “The award money has had huge impact on our daily operations. Now we have the money to purchase marketing materials, go about securing a patent, and even pursue a spot in a local tradeshow,” said Johnson. “We are utilizing the talents of a patent attorney who happened to be one of the judges in the competition, she is helping us design and file our patent. Next year I hope we are operating with monthly revenue of $10,000 or more.” Timothy Snyder, founder of Sunspot Industries, was last year’s Dream It! Win It! Competition winner. His company’s goal is to allow every person a chance to experience the thrill of riding a board by offering affordable gear and high-end equipment. Sunspot Industries also helps to keep kids off the streets by providing mobile skate shops which are set up at various community parks. “Winning the competition was the best part of my college career,” said Snyder. “I got to see the pay-off of my business plan and pitching. I was able to start my business with the money. Before the competition, it was just a business model.” Snyder used the $15,000 from last year’s competition to purchase inventory, a trailer, licensing, and fund the launch of his business this year. Snyder describes his business as, “still being in the starting phase,” and he is working to build his brand and have multiple trailers at different locations. He plans to find the most responsive market and move his business into mainstream board shops. “I wouldn’t have known how to write a business plan without the Lyles Center. They helped tweak my plan to make it a winning business,” said Snyder. He attributes part of his success to his advisor, Josh Long, and mentoring through the Lyles Center. Snyder’s advice for students is, “anyone involved should do it again next year. It is a long-shot but it will pay off. If you really want it and can prove it is feasible, you can make it happen.” When reflecting on his experience with the Lyles Center, Johnson said, “The Lyles Center helped us paint a vision for where our company should be. They helped me get into the mindset of a successful entrepreneur and I thank them for that very much. They basically were giving me affirmation that early success is possible.”
Lyles Center Hatchery student Allen Robateau, 20, a sophomore majoring in pre-business with an option in accounting at California State University, Fresno, is the designer and entrepreneur of Phaymus Lifestyle™ clothing company. He started his clothing company when he began college in 2008 and competed in the 2009 Dream It! Win It! Student Business Competition.
 Allen Robateau modeling clothing from his company Phaymus Lifestyle. Phaymus Lifestyle™ was showcased in the Fresno State Collaboration Fashion Show on May 7, 2010. This stylish event took place at the Phebe Conley Art Building at Fresno State and was produced by the Lyles Center Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization and B-Sharp productions. The Collaboration Fashion Show gave Robateau an opportunity to show the first clothing collection named ‘The Broke to become Phaymus Collection’. His former mentor, Stephanie Reilly, helped him create the image ‘Kid P’. “[Kid P] represents a college student trying to get famous,” said Robateau. ‘Kid P’ is featured on many pieces of clothing including tanks, shirts and jackets. “People really like the cardigans and polo’s. The cardigan with the glow-in-the-dark stars and the Million Dollar Dreams shirts are the most popular. I’ve added more stuff like duffle bags and backpacks. I am currently designing more clothes for the fall.” His target market is college students between San Francisco and Los Angeles who do not want to sacrifice style to save money. The clothing range in price from $15-$45. Robateau describes his company as a mix between preppy and urban styles. With the hope of making his clothing company mainstream, Robateau markets his products through social networking sites, word-of-mouth, and promotion through celebrities such as R&B singer Mateo and NBA player Brandon Jennings. Robateau currently has a website,
phaymuslifestyle.com, and a blog called “The Other Side of the Velvet Rope.” Phaymus Lifestyle clothing can also be purchased at http://phaymuslifestyle.bigcartel.com.
As a student in the Lyles Center Hatchery, Robateau has received mentoring and education to help create his business. “The Lyles Center has paved the way for my success. They helped me get my seller’s permit and people take me more seriously,” said Robateau, “I am also considering competing in the Dream It! Win It! Business Competition in 2011.” Robateau’s Lyles Center mentor John Stewart, President and CEO of Grubb & Ellis Pearson Commercial, describes Robateau as “eager to listen and learn.” “I started working with him in the fall (of 2009). His strengths are in design and putting his product together. I mentor him in the business and marketing side and I share my experiences with him. There is a big gap between what you learn in books and the real world,” said Stewart. Stewart sees Robateau’s clothing company as, “a product that is affordable and that students will buy. With better marketing, his company will be a success. There are lots of people with great ideas, but they need to know how to produce the product and finance their business.” “I always like to see someone with a lot of passion,” said Stewart of Robateau.
Roosevelt High School Senior Cassandra Padilla’s passion for sweets and baking led her to national recognition for her business plan for Dulce Sweets. Padilla’s business sells hand made truffles. On April 14, 2010, Padilla was named as one of the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in a ceremony held in New York City. Padilla and her teacher Linda Jean Voth are part of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s NFTE program. Voth, a business teacher at Roosevelt High School, has been involved with the Lyles Center pilot programs since 2007. Voth helped Padilla create her business plan for Dulce Sweets and was also awarded as one of the NFTE Teachers of the Year.
 Cassandra Padilla speaking at the 2010 NFTE Central Valley Regional Business Plan Competition as one of the 2010 Global Young Entrepreneurs of the Year. There were 26 of 65 national and international applicants chosen for the 2010 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers of the Year awards, and 29 of 96 chosen for the 2010 Global Young Entrepreneurs of the Year. Voth and Padilla received an all-expense paid trip to New York for the NFTE 17th Annual Entrepreneurial Spirit Awards Dinner. “My teacher has always supported me and helped me create my business plan. She coached my public speaking and has helped me a lot,” said Padilla. “My mother is so proud of me and the experience in New York was inspirational; I loved it. I got to meet people from all over the world and it was so interesting. My favorite part of the awards was getting to go on the stage and shine.” Voth described being named one of the NFTE Teachers of the Year as humbling. "New York was exciting and we were treated like royalty. I was amazed at all the different businesses and Cassandra’s was one of the very best! Her booth was crowded, people were giving her orders for her truffles and trying to get more samples,” said Voth. Voth encouraged Cassandra to develop her business and helped her figure out her financials. She was able to watch Padilla’s business progress over the years. “Cassandra started out not knowing what she wanted to do. She created the business idea for the truffles and worked to improve her recipes. We prepared them in Clovis and offered the truffles as catered desserts for events. She started with a hand-held mixer and now she was able to purchase her own electric mixer.” Padilla sells her truffles in quantities of four priced at $6 or six chocolates for $8. For larger quantities of chocolates Padilla slightly increases the size of the chocolates. Padilla initially invested $60 on her business and has now generated close to $2,000 in profit. Voth attributes Padilla’s success to her, “perseverance and hard work. She gives it her all, she doesn’t go half way. She has incredible energy and wonderful personality.” Padilla recently created business cards and brochures for Dulce Sweets and catered desserts for weddings, board meetings and luncheons. “The Lyles Center has given me opportunities to showcase my truffles at events. I catered the desserts for last year’s and this year’s Lyles Center End of the Year Dinner,” said Padilla. She is currently adding more varieties of flavors to her chocolates and making them more decorative. Padilla loves baking cookies, cakes and describes herself as a ‘sweet-tooth’. “My favorite dessert is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting,” said Padilla. “My friends all love the Oreo truffles. I want to make sugar free options for diabetics and I am working on more flavors for different occasions. I am currently taking orders for Mother’s Day gifts.” After high school, Padilla plans to attend culinary school, possibly open her own shop in the future and expand her business to an international market. AJ Johnston, Lyles Center Program Coordinator for Educational Outreach, has worked with Padilla and Voth for two years. "Cassandra is an exceptional student and entrepreneur. I have been able to see her grow throughout her Junior and Senior year at RHS and she continues to amaze me. It is rare to find such a talented and driven person at such a young age,” said Johnston.
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