This week in Santa Cruz County business: New take on sports bras, biotech company raises $32M and Bank of America honors local nonprofit

Quick Take

In her weekly roundup of Santa Cruz County business news, Jessica M. Pasko reports on the Aptos mountain biker behind a new sports bra, a big funding round for Westside biotech firm Unnatural Products and numbers and events to know.

Each week, we’ll be taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries, and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene, each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

From a million feet on a mountain bike to designing new-wave sports bras

Santa Cruz County is a hotbed of entrepreneurial spirit and in the past few years, that’s been especially true as many people used the pandemic as a catalyst for starting new ventures. Whether it’s a full-time gig or a side hustle, county residents are launching new businesses in almost every field. I’ll be showcasing some of their efforts here. First up is Margaux Elliott, an avid mountain biker and longtime employee of the sports apparel industry who launched her own line of sports bras to fill what she saw as a major gap in high-quality apparel for active women like herself.

Lume Six founder Margaux Elliott. Credit: Satchel Crook

In 2020, Margaux Elliott set out to climb a million feet on her mountain bike. Not only was this to beat pandemic boredom, it was also a way to test out the line of improved sports bras she was developing.

Elliott had worked in the athletic apparel industry for years before launching her own brand, Lume Six, in 2021. Her own experience as an avid outdoor athlete left her fed up with what she saw as a major gap in the market for sports bras that could really stand up to high-intensity physical activity. Using the skills and knowledge she gained working at companies like Sessions, Pearl Izumi and Giro Sport Design, she has created a line of two different sports bras, with plans for more designs to come.

Since launching, she’s earned accolades from the likes of Outside and Runner’s World magazines, won a pitch contest held by women’s apparel brand Title Nine, and won a business accelerator contest hosted by Moosejaw, a small active gear retailer owned by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Elliott’s goal with Lume Six is to offer high-quality sports bras that can stand up even to endurance sports and that are designed to fit women’s different size needs. As an athlete herself, she knew the pain of an ill-fitting, poor-quality bra too well.

“I’ve always struggled with sports bras,” she said. “It has felt like I’ve had to choose between comfort and support.”

It took about three years to launch her first products after lots of testing and trying different things. Production began in early 2021 with orders for 400 of each of two styles – medium-impact and high-impact. That’s now grown to 600 per year per style. The bras sell for $100 to $120 and are available through the Lume Six website, Title Nine and two independent stores in Alaska and South Dakota.

Read more here.

Local biotech company nets $32 million in new funding

Unnatural Products, Inc. has received $32 million in a series A funding round to fuel its artificial intelligence-enhanced drug development platform. (Series A is the name given to a company’s first significant round of venture capital funding.) The round is led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, the pharmaceutical giant’s investment arm, and ARTIS Ventures.

Headquartered on the Westside of Santa Cruz, Unnatural Products has developed a platform that helps enable new treatments for certain types of rare cancers and diseases that have been resistant to other therapies. The company, founded by UC Santa Cruz researchers, says it aims to “revolutionize the field of molecularly targeted therapeutics.” That includes working to create new cancer treatments.

The investment will fund further development of the company’s platform and help it expand its focus beyond oncology into other areas.

Ch-ch-changes: Openings, closings and other developments

Bank of America lauds Housing Matters: Bank of America named Housing Matters a 2023 Neighborhood Champion for the organization’s efforts to provide support for the unhoused and drive pathways to housing. The Santa Cruz County nonprofit will receive a $50,000 grant and leadership training. The award is part of the bank’s Neighborhood Builders program, which provides funding for nonprofit leadership development to organizations around the country.
IronHorse Home moving to bigger store: IronHorse Home is relocating from its 41st Avenue location to a bigger space on Clares Street next week. The home furnishing retailer will be located at 3825 Clares St. in Capitola starting on Jan. 4.

Got hires, promotions or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

Looking at the numbers

$139,999: That’s the size of a new grant aimed at improving digital equity in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. The California Advanced Services Fund Adoption Account grant will go to Loaves, Fishes and Computers (LFC), a Salinas-based nonprofit that provides low-cost computers and computer literacy classes to low-income families and individuals throughout the Monterey Bay region.
5.5%: That’s the unemployment rate for Santa Cruz County in November 2023, up from 4.8% in the prior month and marking an increase from 4.5% in November 2022. It’s also slightly higher than the statewide rate of 4.9%. From October to November, the county lost 2,400 farm jobs but gained an additional 100 nonfarm jobs.

Save the date

Jan. 10: Santa Cruz Works will honor people who have contributed to the growth of the local tech and entrepreneur community at the 2023 Titans of Tech event from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Details and tickets available here.
Jan. 19: CruzHacks marks its 10th anniversary next month. The three-day hackathon at UC Santa Cruz will bring together more than 400 high school and college students to develop innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges in four categories: health, sustainability, justice and education. Organizers are still seeking judges, too. More info here.

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