Silvaye
University of San Francisco School of Management
Industry: Wildfire Climate Technology (Fire Mitigation)
Founding Student Name(s):
Andrew Pearce (Lehigh University College of Interdisciplinary Studies ‘24)
Andrew Saah (University of San Francisco College of Arts and Sciences ‘25)
Owen Sordillo (University of San Francisco School of Management ‘24)
Brief Description of Solution: We are on a mission to provide next-generation data solutions regarding biophysical elements that affect how fires burn. We do this by using terrestrial (ground) based LiDAR sensors that allow us to measure factors that affect how fires burn and generate accurate, science-based risk reports.
Funding Dollars: $100,000 From NASA
What led you to launch this venture? Andrew Saah and I (Owen Sordillo) were roommates sophomore year at the University of San Francisco. Andrew, being an environmental science student, heard about a competition hosted by NASA that requested companies to be developed by members of MSIs (Minority Serving Institutions) that leveraged NASA resources to prevent and mitigate wildfires. Andrew reached out to me during winter break between 2023 and 2024 to help with the design of the business. We began brainstorming and eventually came up with FLARE, which stands for Fuel Loading Analysis and Risk Estimation and was the basis for our company Silvaye.
What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? So far, we have completed a NASA-run incubator that included workshops hosted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and culminated with us presenting at the annual NASA Earth Science Technology Forum. We have attended many tech events aimed at connecting us with consumers and innovators, and we have continued to develop our sensors.
How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? Being an entrepreneurship and Innovation major has given me access to professors as mentors and the ability to become a generalist within business. I think this is key for startups, as it’s essential that businesspeople will have to wear many hats from in-house accountant to fundraiser to sales people. As the CEO and broadly the business-focused person of this startup, it has been my responsibility to fill all of these roles. My ability to do so is directly correlated to the lessons I’ve learned in all of my business classes from how to read and maintain a balance sheet to how to lead a team effectively towards a common goal.
Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? This is a hard question to answer. I think the most valuable class I’ve taken in the School of Management was entrepreneurial finance with Professor Mark Cannice. This class allowed me to learn how to think in terms of early venture financing. When it came to winning a grant from NASA, I was prepared to handle such a large sum of money thanks to the training fluency that this class provided me. In addition, participation with Professor Jonathan Cromwell’s initiatives, including the startup summit which provided us with early funding, has been immensely helpful. Professor Cromwell has been hands off, allowing us to grow and make our own decisions, When we need counsel, he is always there to provide useful insights.
What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? There were many professors, both in and out of the business school, who had a major impact on our plans. It is hard to narrow it down. I would have to say Dr. Monika Hudson was one of the most influential professors Early in this project. I was supposed to be on an immersion in the Philippines with Dr. Hudson when I was called to go to Washington, DC, to present. Dr. Hudson worked with me to ensure I was able to do both and throughout the rest of the semester. I had resources allocated to me that supported me while being a full-time student as well as a new founder.
What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? Again, this is hard to narrow down to one person, especially as my co-founders and I all have our own personal mentors. The most influential for me would be my father, who started a manufacturing company eight years before I was born and has operated it ever since. Growing up in the summers starting at the age of nine, I would go with him to work each day and observe. This taught me many lessons that have certainly made my time in business school a lot more beneficial as I had real world experiences and lessons already learned. Whenever I have a question or I’m not sure what to do, his counsel is still very much appreciated and well utilized.
What is your long-term goal with your startup? This is unclear. At the moment, my two partners and I intend to get other jobs or continue our education after graduation from undergraduate studies. We will continue to work on Silvaye as a side project with the intention of it becoming full-time in the future after all of our lives have settled a little bit.
How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? It was the ability to bounce ideas off of mentors who are able to advise us using their experience one way or the other in the climate science industry as well as wildfires and business as a whole has been essential to our successful development of Silvaye. This direction has directed us away from many mistakes we could have otherwise made.
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