CityRise Business Initiative
Launch a business or build the one you have. Get expert advice from USF professors. Meet other founders and learn with them and from them. Turn your dream into a reality — without paying a dime.
Why Should You Join CityRise Business Initiative?
You'll receive:
- Business training led by USF faculty, local entrepreneurs, and industry experts — at no charge.
- Tools to build or refine your business model, pricing, customer outreach, employee structure, and revenue strategy.
- A community of aspiring and existing business owners facing similar challenges, who care about creating thriving neighborhood corridors.
- Access to the broader San Francisco entrepreneurship network.
- Clear, realistic next steps to keep your business growing.
Who Should Apply?
You are a San Francisco Bay Area community member who wants to explore a new business idea, side hustle, or reboot a struggling small business. You have ideas, but have not had access to formal training and support to turn your dreams into reality. No USF affiliation or business experience is required. If you’re motivated and ready to learn, you are welcome here.
What to Expect
The ten month program includes:
- A six week business bootcamp led by business faculty and professionals
- Eight hours of personal mentoring by local experienced entrepreneurs
- Twelve weeks of customized consulting from USF students
- Practical tools, step-by-step workbooks, and business-building resources
- Access workshops and training offered by other Urban Poverty Business Initiative programs across the world
Bootcamp Schedule
All sessions will be held in person on Saturdays in downtown San Francisco, accessible through Caltrain, MUNI, and BART. All sessions will run from 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
| Session | Session Theme | What You’ll Focus On |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Bootcamp Basics: Cohort introduction and Shared Goals | Discover the entrepreneurial mindset, types of ventures, and how to turn an idea into a starting point. |
| Session 2 | Understanding Your Customers | Learn the core financial concepts: business models, cash flow, financial statements, and how many sales you need. |
| Session 3 | Thinking Strategically and Managing Risks | Explore how to strategically plan your business, think ahead, and mitigate risks with an effective business structure. |
| Session 4 | Getting Resources (Including Money) | Understand bootstrapping, resource leverage, funding sources, and negotiation, even when you’re starting with little capital. |
| Session 5 | Customers Drive the Business | Focus on customer discovery, market segmentation, guerrilla marketing, and how to do more with less. |
| Session 6 | Operations & Organizing and Other Fundamentals That Matter | Dive into operations: workflows, staffing, organizational models, value chains, and what your first 100 days should look like. |
Bring Your Vision to Life
Applications for the next cohort will open in December 2026.
Featured CityRise Participants
Santosh Gurung
Owner of Himalayan Pizza & Momo
Brief Personal Background
I came to the United States from Nepal in 2013. Back home, things were really uncertain—civil war, an unstable government, and a future that felt unclear. I had completed a diploma in hotel management and worked in the hospitality industry in Nepal, so when I arrived in San Francisco, that passion came with me. But one thing I noticed pretty quickly was how hard it was to find authentic Nepali food here. Most people couldn't really tell the difference between Nepali cuisine and Indian or Chinese food.
San Francisco is such a beautiful city when it comes to celebrating different cultures and food, and I felt like Nepali cuisine deserved its own place at that table. That became my mission—to introduce something genuine and bring the taste of home cooking to my new home. That's really the story behind Himalayan Pizza & Momo.
That same passion pushed me to open another restaurant, Bir Kitchen, in May 2025, serving Nepali and North Indian cuisines and continuing to share these flavors with San Francisco.
What Attracted Me to CityRise
Honestly, what drew me in was the chance to hear real stories from entrepreneurs who had actually been through the hard stuff and made it. As a small business owner, it's not every day you get to sit in the same room with experienced professionals and learn from them directly—not through a screen or a book, but in person.
The CityRise team made it feel so warm and welcoming from day one. It never felt like just another program. It felt like a community. That gave me a lot of hope and also some very practical tools to move forward.
How I've Benefited from CityRise
One of the most valuable things for me personally has been having a space where I could actually talk about the challenges I'm facing and get real, honest feedback—not just encouragement, but actual help thinking through solutions.
On the business side, CityRise helped us get noticed through social media and reach audiences we probably wouldn't have reached on our own.
One experience really stood out: I had the opportunity to cater a class session and got to see firsthand how our food was received. I noticed things I never would have caught otherwise. Our packaging for dishes like fettuccine wasn't working well, and we fixed that pretty quickly. I also realized how important clear labeling is for group orders—something that seems small but really matters. I had never been on the "customer side" of my own food before, especially in an office or event setting. Beyond that, the connections I've built through CityRise have been huge. For a small immigrant-owned business like ours, that kind of support is not just helpful—it's everything.
Jennie Siu
Founder of KinVital
Brief Personal Background
I am an early-stage entrepreneur focused on improving the experience of people going through Stage 1 cancer care. Through my own experiences and observations, I saw how overwhelming the period after a diagnosis can feel—not only medically, but emotionally and logistically as well.
I became interested in creating solutions that make healthcare feel more human, organized, and supportive. As both a founder and someone passionate about improving patient experiences, I want to help create a future where people feel supported not only during appointments, but also in the moments between them. My goal is to build technology that helps people feel less alone and more supported during difficult moments in their lives.
What Attracted Me to CityRise
I was attracted to USF CityRise because I am a proud USF alumnus, having been part of the university community through both my undergraduate and graduate experiences, and now continuing that journey through CityRise.
I was excited by the program's focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and creating meaningful impact within the community. The opportunity to learn from mentors, connect with other founders, and collaborate with people building new ideas felt like a natural fit for both my personal and professional growth.
How I've Benefited from CityRise
Through CityRise, I have benefited from mentorship, feedback, and the opportunity to be part of a community of people working to solve real-world challenges.
I am currently building KinVital, a patient-owned support platform designed for Stage 1 cancer patients. KinVital focuses on a simple but important question: "What happens between appointments?" Rather than replacing systems like hospital portals, KinVital aims to complement them by helping patients understand next steps, organize support, access recovery resources, and feel emotionally supported throughout their journey.
CityRise has helped me refine both the problem I am solving and the vision behind the impact I hope to create.
Antonio Maldonado
Owner of Papadzul SF
Brief Personal Background
I grew up surrounded by the amazing flavors of the Yucatán Peninsula, watching my mom, Chef Magaly Valladares, keep our family's deep Mayan culinary traditions alive. We teamed up as mother and son to start Papadzul because we wanted to bring authentic Mayan cooking to the Bay Area.
As the Culinary Creative Director, I work side-by-side with her to turn ancestral recipes—like our slow-roasted Cochinita Pibil and pumpkin-seed Papadzules—into a thriving catering business. It's been an incredible journey blending our roots with fresh California ingredients to serve what we call "Food Made for Royalty."
My family and I have spent our entire lives working in the food industry, and we look forward to sharing our recipes with the entire Bay Area.
What Attracted Me to CityRise
We were drawn to CityRise because it offers amazing, free business training from USF faculty and industry professionals who understand the local market. As a growing business, we really needed a structured way to clean up our finances, track cash flow, and build a solid foundation.
The chance to get personal mentorship from experienced local entrepreneurs was a huge selling point for us. Plus, we loved the idea of joining a community of local founders who are going through the exact same journey.
How I've Benefited from CityRise
CityRise is giving us the tools we need to scale Papadzul SF and share our unique Californian-Mayan cuisine with a bigger audience. We're currently in the La Cocina incubator program, and we are constantly putting the financial models and business strategies we learned at CityRise to work.
On top of that, working with USF students for 12 weeks of custom consulting is helping us level up our digital marketing and smooth out our daily operations. It's given us the perfect network to secure more corporate gigs and private event bookings around San Francisco.