It’s a wild ride that not everyone has the access, resources, means or the mentality to stomach. Most fall short. But since 2015, some startups in the Capital Region have defied the odds, reaching remarkable heights.

With a family of six, Bob Guimarin had three “power problems”: 1) too many cords, 2) too many outages and 3) not enough ports in the van during road trips. Being a serial entrepreneur, Guimarin came up with a way to simplify power management and reduce reliance on external sources.

Behind a nondescript door in downtown Davis exists a little-known but vitally important piece of infrastructure, the Hydrologic Engineering Center. A recent threat to this center’s existence appears to have passed.

The faces of entrepreneurship and wealth holding are changing as women make gains in both facets of economic life. These shifts are affecting how they’re managing money — and who they turn to for help.

“Between working in high-pressure work environments and raising kids, by the time I was 40 I was just physically, emotionally and mentally feeling like I was exhausted and falling apart,” Pire says. “At that point, I went through a life-changing timeframe.” That’s when she envisioned The Rising Zone, a Rocklin-based event and co-working wellness center.

Back in 2019, Diana Gamzina presented her powerful amplifiers at a space agency. The feedback was direct: At about $1 million per device, they were just too expensive for real-world infrastructure. It was a hard truth, but instead of giving up, she doubled down.