Aztec Entrepreneurs
SDSU alumni innovators Trisha Clifford (’12), Wynn Austin (’03) and Zeynep Ilgaz (’00) are turning creativity into purpose-driven ventures.
Trisha Clifford (‘12)
Company: Leche
The idea for Leche, a business that provides breast milk products and services, began at a book club.
Jenney Korasick posed the question: “Why can’t we turn our breast milk into powder just like we can turn milk into powder?” New mom and SDSU alumna Trisha Clifford (’12, political science), with experience in nutrition, food science and manufacturing, answered, “We absolutely can!”
Thus began the journey toward solving their own issues of breast milk overproduction and no viable way to store it.
At that time, Clifford and Korasick, who eventually founded Leche in 2023, donated their excess milk to the new mom community, foster parents or moms with twins. “The last thing you want to do is take liquid gold and throw it down the drain,” Clifford says.
Clifford and Korasick discovered many parents need access to breast milk and many moms produce too much of it. It was a business spark for them: They could help fix a widespread problem through technology, accessibility and passion.
Leche has found its niche and continues to grow. Research is underway on using breast milk, what Clifford calls “a superfood,” in a variety of health care settings to support adults. “I get so excited about seeing where that next stage could go,” she says. —Leslie L.J. Reilly
Wynn Austin (‘03)
Company: Wynn's Kitchen
It wasn’t just Wynn Austin’s love of cooking that prompted her to create her line of Asian sauces.
“I was struggling with health issues that forced me to clean up my diet,” Austin says. “I had to cut out sugar, soy and gluten. I cook with mainly Asian sauces and found there were no existing sauces I could use.”
Tired of eating bland food, Austin (’03, finance) created her own healthy sauce by blending lemongrass, garlic, shallots and peppers in her kitchen, and, voilà, her Saté Asian Chili Sauce was born.
“I literally put it on everything: salmon, steak and even cauliflower rice. After three years, I was heavily encouraged to turn it into a business,” she says.
Austin launched Wynn’s Kitchen in 2019, and her products are available on Amazon, wynnskitchen.com and more than 300 stores nationwide, which are listed on her site. She has also extended her brand as a podcaster and YouTube star and is planning to publish a cookbook featuring healthy Vietnamese recipes.
Austin traces her business success to her lessons as an SDSU finance major. “The fundamentals of any business always go back to finance and numbers,” she says. “You may have the best product ever, but without properly managing the finances and costs, it is very difficult to succeed.” —Suzanne FInch
Zeynep Ilgaz (‘00)
Company: Cross Ocean Ventures
Growing up behind the counter at her mom’s toy store in Turkey, Zeynep Ilgaz (’00, MBA) always had the entrepreneurial bug. Seeking new business opportunities, she and her husband, Serhat Pala (’99, MBA), moved to the United States in 1998 to pursue their master’s in business administration at SDSU.
At SDSU, IIgaz dove into the world of start-ups and venture capital, gaining experience through internships and support from the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center.
“I was especially drawn to companies that built an amazing culture and gave back to the community,” Ilgaz says. “So it was never about just making money but doing it in a very meaningful and impactful way.”
In 2008, IIgaz and Pala founded Confirm Biosciences, a national provider of diagnostic products for human and wellness testing, which was successfully acquired by Clinical Reference Laboratory in 2021.
The next year, they launched Cross Ocean Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in purpose-driven founders.
“Our goal is to be a resource for these founders and to be there for them,” Ilgaz says. “[My husband and I] have been working together for so many years, and that’s the most rewarding part.” —Taylor Harris