Professor Joo Jae-woo of the Department of Business Administration at Kookmin University served as a judge at the Sunstone Innovation Challenge, a startup competition hosted by California State University in March 2025. Supported by Sunstone, this startup competition is an event where student and non-student startup teams present their innovative ideas and business plans and compete for a total prize of $35,000.

Professor Joo Jae-woo, along with three other judges, reviewed the business plans in advance and conducted a Shark Tank-style Q&A session on the day of the competition, listening to each team's presentation. The participating teams presented their ideas along with PMF (Product-Market Fit), market size (TAM, SAM, SOM), and Go-to-market strategies utilizing various channels, as well as pre-launch schedules and key performance indicators (KPIs). The judging criteria included various factors such as market opportunity, business model, market validation, and team composition. Each judge evaluated the presentations from different perspectives, including team capabilities, scalability of the business model, and financial feasibility.

Ultimately, the Rise and UnWind Coffee Bar team, armed with extensive experience in the F&B industry, won the competition with their proposal for a multi-purpose shared space that operates as a café during the day and a speakeasy bar at night. Professor Joo Jae-woo emphasized in his evaluation that when developing product ideas, understanding materials and prototyping experience are essential, and that a deep understanding of customer needs is decisive when planning services.