Rose BadrigianRose is a Cal Poly alumni and the founder of BooBees, a commercially viable, environmentally sustainable and women-empowered surf wax company.
Biological sciences alumna, Rose Badrigian, was ready to head off to med school. But an inner voice told her there was something she had to do first.
By nature, Rose is visual and full of heart. She sees inequities for women in her surf community, a bee population in decline and a planet in distress. These concerns drove her to create a product that addresses these issues. Her product makes you think, invites you to a conversation and motivates you to create change. BooBees is the world's first commercially viable, environmentally sustainable and women-empowered surf wax. Within it, three issues near and dear to Rose's heart are addressed: Women's rights, bee health, and ocean health. The name BooBees is meant to be a conversation starter. A clever twist on the sexualization rampant in the surf industry. "Our name is polarizing – it makes you think twice about, well – what we're about,". Rose won a slot in Cal Poly's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship accelerator with prize money as well as two investors to fund her first year at the Hothouse. She is currently working to manufacture her first run of inventory for the long list of supporters across California beaches. Written by: Susan Steeb, mentor |