2024 Business Capstone Projects

Treehouse Originals: Deliciousness From the Kitchen Table to the Campsite

Treehouse Originals is in the specialty beverage industry. Their products are currently drinking chocolate and coconut creamers. The students, along with Aaron Koch, the founder and owner of Treehouse Originals, are working to diagnose and address the challenges inherent in the business operation. Students are working as a team to approach these challenges from multiple perspectives, including supply chains, marketing, financial, and business strategies. One point of emphasis is overall product marketing, especially the social media marketing strategy. In response, students are working on marketing campaigns, such as marketing Treehouse Original products to local Christmas tree farms.

Hot Mama Slasa

Our mission has always been to promote and share our Chicana culture and to make people happy by making them good food. We are passionate about working within and for our community. We partner with small local farms to buy our specialty chili peppers and to promote using local sourcing in small food manufacturing. We believe that running a small specialty food business is a protest against giant agriculture and big food business that continues to consolidate and squeeze out the local manufacturer leaving the customer with less quality and fewer choices.

University Place Hotel: Next-generation Hospitality at PSU

As a growing and evolving academic institution, PSU is one of a handful of universities nationwide that own and operate a Hotel/Conference/Food & Beverage venue. The Business Capstone students are looking into the feasibility and process in proposing the creation of a Hospitality Program at Portland State University with our hotel, conference/events services, and food & beverage establishment at the center of providing an academic learning environment and base. The project scope includes furthering the hotel's mission and vision and addressing the the potential costs that the hotel will need to plan to invest on to make this a possibility and developing a timeline from idea to implementation. There are many moving parts to create and establish an academic program, and the students are providing assistance in the research of that process and find colleges/schools within PSU to propose this idea to.

Angel Bake: Elevating Culinary Excellence with Premium Flavoring Extracts

For over eight years, Saëna's Angel Bake products have been a trusted name in the culinary world, specializing in flavoring extracts that redefine taste experiences. Their growing business is driven by an unwavering commitment to quality and purity, sourcing 100% natural extracts from renowned regions across the globe. From foodservice manufacturers aiming to elevate their creations to retail buyers such as bakeries, coffee shops, and aspiring chefs seeking innovation, our extracts offer unmatched versatility and excellence. Notably, Saëna was a top-four finalist in the 2023 Oregon Entrepreneur Network (OEN) Angel Food Contest.The Business Capstone student team focused on expanding their online presence, developing an effective online go-to-market strategy, and enhancing their brand visibility to boost sales.

Engage Portland: Uniting Community Efforts for a Thriving City

The Portland Community Engagement Collective (PCEC), sponsored by United Way Columbia-Willamette, aims to enhance community involvement in addressing Portland's challenges, particularly around homelessness and housing stability. The Business Capstone project focuses on gathering insights from local businesses, organizations, and community members on how to boost engagement in supporting those facing housing issues. The objective is to develop strategies that make involvement appealing and accessible across various demographics. Marketing tactics such as social media, branding, events, and product identity will be crucial. The Business Capstone students are tasked with recommending vital components for PCEC's Marketing Plan to ensure the initiative effectively reaches and motivates the community.

Unity in Creation: The Grace Project's New Path for Solopreneur Collaboration

The Grace Project is an innovative initiative designed to address the challenges faced by solopreneurs, especially those from marginalized groups who often feel they cannot succeed alone. Unlike traditional services that focus on finding co-founders, The Grace Project introduces the concept of "co-creators" to foster collaboration without the commitment of co-founding. This project builds on the framework established by Startups for All, offering coach-led, safe space workshops rather than competitive hackathons. These sessions emphasize dialogue, shared values, and time-bound experimentation to promote individual autonomy and emergent strategy principles. The students work on guidance and support for a viable and sustainable social impact strategy, prioritizing community engagement, building capacity, and developing sustainable sources of funding.

The ReFrame Collective: Building Strong and Sustainable Communities

The ReFrame Collective intends to create a new virtual program to reach and meet the needs of children pushed out of public schools by utilizing virtual community support. Since this is a new segment, it faces the problem of how it will compare with other virtual gathering spaces to have a strong market presence; this entails creating a strong marketing strategy. It also calls for a solidified plan for starting this program from a funding perspective, identifying market needs and as such, there is a need to determine price points, expenses, and platform delivery options. The Business Capstone student team intends to research the e-learning industry and market to build the necessary business plan for their client detailing all the above mentioned needs.

Natural Bites: Growing a Healthy Snack Revolution

"Good Health Starts in the Gut" underscores the philosophy that what we consume directly impacts our health. Ivan, driven by a passion for cooking, began crafting homemade snack bars with a focus on natural ingredients. Through experimenting and receiving feedback from his work colleagues, Ivan refined his recipes to create unique, preservative-free snack bars that have successfully entered the market. The Business Capstone student team was tasked with developing a strategic growth plan for Ivan’s business. Their objectives included expanding the customer base, enhancing financial stability and sustainability, and optimizing inventory management. This strategy aims to solidify the business’s presence in the market while continuing to promote healthier eating habits.

Eco Luxe Locks: Expanding StarBars for a Greener Tomorrow

StarBars is a sustainable enterprise producing high-quality shampoo and conditioner bars that match the effectiveness of salon products without the environmental impact of plastic packaging. These bars offer a dual benefit—excellent hair care and a reduced carbon footprint. However, the business faces challenges with its relatively limited distribution and the common hesitancy among consumers regarding the efficacy and value of shampoo bars, especially given the higher price point. The Business Capstone student team worked on market research and transition from a home-based operation to a larger-scale business.

Ottis & Pear: Lovebale Design for Livable World

Ottis & Pearl is dedicated to making beauty accessible in every home. They believe in combining affordable design with genuine artisanal housewares and furniture to create a sustainable ecosystem benefiting our customers, artists, and communities. To them, this is more than just business; it's a labor of love and passion. The Business Capstone student team is working on strategic marketing, market research, storefront financial analysis, and forecasting.

Snappy Dresser: Dressing Up Dogs with Ease

This project centers on launching a new pet attire concept. Business Capstone students involved in the project are tasked with conducting a comprehensive market analysis to understand consumer needs and industry trends. This analysis will inform the development of products that stand out in the marketplace.

WonderTix Ticketing

WonderTix is a web application for theater ticketing, event management and donor management. PSU Computer Science (CS) Capstone students developed WonderTix for Portland Playhouse, a small, local, non-profit theater company. Eight different CS Capstone teams developed it as a continual open-source software project from Fall 2021 through Spring 2024.

Caiman Cafe: Growth Plan for Downtown PDX

Caiman Cafe is a Cuban Mexican cafe in downtown Portland, near PSU. The objective of this project was to identify optimal and practical solutions for enhancing Caiman Cafe’s business across three pivotal categories crucial for the cafe’s success: Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance. The Business Capstone student team aimed to address and elevate key aspects strategically within each of these areas to contribute to the overall improvement and prosperity of Caiman Cafe. These solutions include growing the customer base and attracting more customers to the cafe, ensuring financial health and sustainability, and improving efficient inventory management. The student team excelled at understanding the customer through diligent listening and relationship building, centering their focus on financial data, and thinking deeply about addressable customer targets, including a thriving LatinX PSU community.

Critical Community-based Learning: A Framework for Centering Justice & Reciprocity in Capstones

Join Dr. Amie Riley (UNST Capstone Instructor) and Celine Fitzmaurice (UNST Capstone Instructor & Faculty Support Facilitator) in exploring Dr. Tania Mitchell’s (2008) three-pillared approach to centering justice in community-based learning (CBL) courses. In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of the approach followed by a case study of how the three pillars come to life in Dr. Riley’s “Housing & Homelessness” capstone.

RP7 Online

RP7 Online is an HR guide for businesses, working parents, and career builders. Its goal is to help the workplace become more inclusive. The owner, Rosa, accomplishes this daily by sharing her knowledge and creating more awareness about historically marginalized people, especially parents. As a CAPPA-certified Childbirth and New Parent Educator, as well as a RETAIN Parental Leave Coach, Rosa is looking into expanding her work into training new-parent educators to become CAPPA certified as well as working with other instructors through co-hosting their classes. Rosa's goal is to increase diversity and inclusivity in the prenatal educational system by focusing on these values through her curriculum. Student teams are working with Rosa to explore this business opportunity.