Editors Note: in this article, we spotlight Pleasant Robotics and Gabriella Pleasant. See them on February 19 at Green Tech.

In the craziness that is the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) one of our very own shone bright. Gabriella Pleasant has emerged as an inventor and entrepreneur to watch out for. Known as the mother of the pooping turtle PETER, Miss Pleasant is on a mission - a mission to build a bio inspired micro plastics eating robotic turtle. After successfully pitching to Slug Tank at UCSC - written up a few months back - Miss Pleasant was invited to participate in the Techstars Student Startup Pitch Competition at CES. The other participants included the iTunes for 3D printing, a ride sharing app, teeth whitening and a last mile foldable bike. Miss Pleasant presented last and clearly captivated both the audience and the judges as there were audible whoops and hollers as she ended her pitch. After some deliberation by the judges Pleasant Robotics was announced as the winner. 

Maybe some of you are wondering what a robotic micro plastics eating turtle is doing at a consumer electronic show - but the pitch made it very clear. PETER is built to empower the individual and give you agency is our global fight against ocean pollution. You adopt an individual PETER, track her in the ocean, watch her eat, breakdown and poop micro plastics before disintegrating into organic matter. It is the consumer focused solution to cleaning up the oceans - simple, yet powerful. 

Accompanied to the event by her coach, advisor and marine management/ startup expert Emma McLaren - Gabbi clearly distinguished  herself from the other participants with not only an innovative - and dare we say cool and memorable - idea but also a strong pitch: heard from one of the judges after, “(Gabriella) had  a very polished and poised pitch with clear indications of strong coaching - just the kind of thing we are always looking for in a successful founder.” It is, as we know, not enough to have a good idea, you must see it through and communicate clearly. When asked about it, Miss McLaren had this to say: “Gabbi has clearly been and will continue to be underestimated. This is a mistake. She is tenacious and impressive on so many levels and is a pleasure to work with. She has her convictions but is willing to be shaped and coached - a winning combination. Pay attention.” Miss McLaren has also worked with other winning companies and products in Santa Cruz including Vanly and Period Tracker alongside her own startup Myrth. 

The winning PETER team of Gabbi and Emma have made Santa Cruz proud at CES. These young women are great examples of how our community produces strong candidates in the competitive national startup industry. This is definitely not the last we’ve heard of the pooping turtle or strong female entrepreneurs coming out of Santa Cruz. 

Gabriella Pleasant can be contacted at pleasantrobots@gmail.com

Written by Emma McLaren, adapted by Adrian Dolatschko