Core Teaching Team
Don Loewel
Director, Small Business Development Center
With over 20 years of sales, marketing and management experience in the Medical Device industry, Don served as a consultant and adviser to multiple startup companies in southern California. With his strong commercial strategy and business development skills, he has worked with small and mid-market companies to build long-term, sustainable growth.
Don is the Director at the Pasadena Small Business Development Center, where he manages a team that mentors new and existing businesses in the areas of: lean launch principles, value proposition development, customer discovery, sales and marketing strategies and raising capital. At the SBDC, Don has the chance to mentor startup teams at the USC Marshall School of Business and Cal State LA, and has also judged several pitch competitions. Don has completed the Lean Launchpad Educators Seminar, and has a passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve their maximum potential.
Don has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and MBA from Santa Clara University.
Elianne Rodriguez
PCC SBDC Business Advisor
Elianne is @listventures.co
Elianne Rodriguez is a serial entrepreneur with 15yrs of experience in small businesses, education and tech. Elianne fosters community and designs culturally competent programming to connect diverse talent to opportunities that reflect the intersectionality of Los Angeles across racial, socioeconomic, gender, education, sexuality, and immigration status. She works with business owners to leverage technology, break glass ceilings, compete globally, and disrupt a wide range of industries including: education, healthcare, digital media, artificial intelligence, sustainability, transportation, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, logistics, green technology, procurement, big data, software, hardware, e-commerce, internet of things, blockchain, social impact, finance and entertainment.
Adam Chapnick
PCC SBDC Business Advisor
adam.chapnick@gmail.com
As a founding mentor at Bixel Exchange, the LA Chamber of Commerce’s no-equity accelerator, Adam served at the forefront of democratizing opportunities, ensuring that talent from underserved communities got the platform and resources they needed to succeed. Adam was one of the first employees at Indigogo and helped them scale and raise their Series B funding. He is committed to helping all companies craft compelling stories whether they are a startup, or developing product strategies, and he can help startups develop pitch decks that get companies funded.