TWIN PEAKS BUSINESSMAN WINS LOCAL INNOVATE HER COMPETITION

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The manufacturer of a new product created to help breast cancer patients during radiation therapy is the winner the local round of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2016 InnovateHER Challenge.

Mark LeLong of MyWayIn LLC, who designed the product called Kool Relief, won the local competition hosted by Cal State San Bernardino’s Inland Empire’s Women’s Business Center, part of the national 2016 InnovateHER Challenge. LeLong will now move on to the national competition along with other winners from local InnovateHer competitions nationwide.

Kool Relief is a new patent pending product designed to provide relief for breast cancer patients who are experiencing burns during radiation therapy.

“The judges felt that Kool Relief best met all the challenge criteria,” said Nicole Kinney, director of the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center. “The product can be ready quickly for commercial sale, offers a low-cost alternative to current pain management therapies, and may well allow a woman to participate more fully in her daily activities during recovery and mitigate the impact of her illness on her loved ones.”

National finalists will have the opportunity to present a live pitch to a panel of expert judges and compete for up to $70,000 in cash prizes provided by Microsoft. The final round will be held in the Washington, D.C. metro area on March 17, during Women’s History Month.

The Inland Empire Women’s Business Center, located at 3780 Market St. in Riverside, is a program of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino.

Housed in the College of Business and Public Administration, IECE, which administers the program in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration, is inland Southern California’s leading organization dedicated to supporting and promoting entrepreneurship. The IEWBC provides business counseling, training and mentoring designed for women business owners.

The Inland Empire Women’s Business Center hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday by appointment only. For more information, visit the IEWBC website at www.iewbc.org or contact Nicole Kinney at (909) 890-1242.

Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. CSUSB is listed among the best colleges and universities in the western United States, according to The Princeton Review, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report and Money Magazine.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.

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