of these sessions, Sierra College faculty member, Steve
Gillette offered Hill some hard-earned advice based on his
own experience running a company. “I didn’t really want to
hear it,” explained Hill. “We were excited about the
technology and unprepared for the difficulties of regulation,
producing a product, and building a business.”
In hindsight, Hill was grateful for Gillette’s input. “He
was absolutely right on about the challenges of being an
entrepreneur. The insight I gained from Startup Hustle was
like getting ice cold water thrown at you,” Hill chuckled.
“We realized that we were in way over our heads trying to
run a company, and needed to know more.”
Although Hill decided not to move forward with the
home automation system, he believes that participating in
Startup Hustle was a valuable experience. “I gained so
much that you can’t learn in school,” said Hill. “I would
definitely recommend that students get involved with
HackerLab so they can apply what they are learning. I
would recommend Startup Hustle to other students who
are up for the challenge and think they’d like to be
entrepreneurs. When I’m ready to start a company, I’ll
know what it takes.” Hill also offered his peers a friendly
warning: Startup Hustle “isn’t for the faint of heart!”
The Rocklin HackerLab (modeled after the first
HackerLab in downtown Sacramento) was in part the
brainchild of Carol Pepper-Kittredge, director of Sierra
College’s Center for Applied Competitive Technologies. “To
attract students to advanced manufacturing careers and
provide businesses access to technology and training, Sierra
College equipped the maker space with electronics, 3D
printers, [a] laser cutter, and [a] CNC router,” she said in a
36 SERVO 12.2016
Matt Porr, Eric Ullrich (co-founder), and Alan Ware.
