Fremont Chamber members can get free business help from SFBU students

The Fremont Chamber of Commerce and San Francisco Bay University told chamber members on Sept. 8 that they have opened a joint program putting SFBU students and faculty to work on member businesses' projects at no cost.

The pitch runs both directions. The business gets work it might otherwise pay for or put off. The student gets a real client and a finished project to show.

What counts as a project is deliberately wide, and the chamber said each one is built around what the business actually needs. The published list includes AI integration and workflow automation; website creation, redesign and optimization; social media strategy and digital marketing; customer analytics and business intelligence dashboards; market research and competitor analysis; branding and content; process and operational improvements; e-commerce setup; data analysis and reporting; cybersecurity awareness and technology recommendations; startup and business-model development; HR systems and employee engagement; financial modeling and business planning; mobile app and software prototypes; and event marketing.

Jobs can be short assignments or longer collaborations, depending on the business.

SFBU runs the process end to end: working out what the project really is, matching it to students and faculty who can do it, handling the back-and-forth, and following up while the work is underway. A business owner is not expected to manage a student team on their own.

How to start. Members fill out the university's interest form at forms.gle/7seKCyskbb78vZ5c9, or email SFBU a short description of what the business needs. The SFBU team follows up directly.

The announcement went out over two names: Teresa Hoang, the chamber's chief executive, and Shalini Gopalkrishnan, SFBU's AI strategist.

Neither has said how many projects the program expects to place this academic year, or when the first ones begin. The offer is open to chamber members; the notice did not describe a deadline.

Own or work at a Fremont business that has taken on an SFBU project? We'd like to hear your story — send us a note.