Bertha is the Co-founder and CEO of Rise Products, a food-tech startup that uses its patent-pending process and technology to convert organic by-products into food-grade ingredients. Their first product is an ultra-nutritious and tasty flour from the brewer's spent grain. She works very closely with the craft beer network in NYC to help them divert tons of food waste from the landfill. She is an expert in upcycled ingredients and consults with food brands to help them develop, market, and launch sustainable products.
While a student at NYU Tandon, her research was focused on understanding the role of higher education in developing entrepreneurs. Her findings and insights helped the university augment and improve their co-curricular entrepreneurship training programs. Her fieldwork allowed her to participate in the New York entrepreneurship ecosystem in different roles - student, coach, mentor, and founder. Her findings have been published in prestigious journals, and she has presented her work at conferences and global summits, and in the media. She used her research and startup experience to help students understand, analyze and develop technology in her Innovation Management course that she taught while being a Ph.D. student. She is actively leveraging her experience and skillsets to create a better community for minorities and women entrepreneurs by participating in the alumni association. She looks forward to sharing her passion for entrepreneurship and innovation with students who are looking to create positive social and environmental impact.
Watch Bertha speak about RISE:
Education
Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, 2004
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineer
Portland State University, 2008
Master of Science, Engineering and Technology Management
New York University, 2016
Ph.D., Technology Management and Innovation
Experience
RISE
CoFounder
Cofounded a company that aims to create a Real-Time-Industrially Symbiotic Exchange for manufacturer through a network in which they can buy or sell industrial byproducts. www.risemarketplace.com
From: November 2012 to present
SunCulture
CoFounder
Cofounded a company that designs and sells solar powered irrigation products and services to help the farmers in Kenya.
From: October 2011 to November 2012
Efficacitas Consulting Company
Consulting Engineer
From: November 2003 to September 2006
D.I.E.C. Cia. Ltda
Project Engineer
From: October 2008 to August 2009
Publications
Journal Articles
- Jimenez, B., Angelov, B., and Rao, B. (2011). Service Absorptive Capacity: Its Evolution and Implications for Innovation. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, (accepted for publication)
- Daim, T., Yates, D., Peng, Y., & Jimenez, B. (2009). Technology assessment for clean energy technologies: The case of the Pacific Northwest. . Technology in Society, 31(3), 232-243.
Other Publications
Conference Papers
- Jimenez, B. (2015). The Entrepreneur’s Masquerade Ball: Reflecting and Enacting Identity, Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, June 10 – 13, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts.
- Jimenez, B. (2013). Student Business Plan Competitions as an Institution: An Institutional Perspective on Student Business Plan Competitions, Academy Management Conference, August 9-13, Orlando, Florida
- Jimenez, B. & A. Fayard (2013). Cultivating Young Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Student Business Plan Competitions as a Socialization Process, Organization Studies Summer Workshop, May 23- 25, Mykonos, Greece
- Rao, B., & Jimenez, B. (2011). A comparative analysis of digital innovation ecosystems. In Technology Management in the Energy Smart World (PICMET), 2011 Proceedings of PICMET'11: (pp. 1-12). IEEE.
- Jimenez, B., Alvear, A., AlYabes, A., & Olaoye (2007), A. Technology Assessment and Selection of Renewable Energy Sources in the Galapagos Islands - Ecuador. Management of Engineering and Technology, Portland International Center, pp 2509 – 2529.
Technology Magazines
- Jimenez B., Wiesner I. Alternatives for optimizing the production process of a Mini Steel Mill. Technology Magazine - ESPOL, 2004.
