UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

Entrepreneurship Lives at UCLA Anderson as U-Defi Wins Top Knapp Venture Competition Prize

U-Defi, the 2018 Knapp Venture Competition first place winners and recipients of a Pritzker Group Fellows Program investment, left to right: Aditya Marathe, Van Nguyen, Thanh Thuy Dan Pham, Cynthia McKee

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

It was an evening of surprises as the 2018 Knapp Venture Competition distributed more than $100,000 in prize money, the most at any single competition in its 36-year history.

Not surprising at all was the high caliber of new business ideas. From a field of more than 40 submissions, five teams advanced to the final round of the competition to present the extensive primary research, financial projections and growth models behind their ventures.

Claiming first place was U-Defi, a scientifically formulated skin care product tailor-made for an individual’s skin “biomarker.” Anderson students Aditya Marathe (’18) and Van Nguyen (FEMBA ’19), along with Cynthia McKee (Ph.D. ’20) of UCLA College of Life Sciences and Thanh Thuy Dan Pham (Ph.D. ’20) of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, were relieved and gratified to know their sleepless nights had paid off to the tune of $15,000.

Seen and Heard (and Felt) at LeVRage

UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES) recently convened LeVRage, an event exploring the most practical ways to monetize new virtual reality and augmented reality experiences that depart from the strictly visual. A lineup of experts in emerging technology, film, gaming, social innovation, marketing and storytelling shared their predictions for the next big trend in VR and AR. #UCLAleVRage

"Do you want to take flight?"
- @gopositron, location-based, narrative-driven #VR #UCLAleVRage #VirtualReality pic.twitter.com/rIxNETLDeO

— UCLA Anderson (@uclaanderson) October 6, 2017

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• Mariana Acuña, Co-Founder, Opaque Studios
How we consume will change dramatically as every industry is touched by AR and VR. Kids will learn to tell stories differently. If you’re an artist, you’re always going to have to be yearning to get ahead of the curve.

• John Canning, VP of Interactive Experiences, NBCUniversal
Building experiences complete with haptic and olfactory sensations is where investors are active.

• Emily Cooper, 360 Video and VR Producer
Tell stories that are a conduit to quieter voices, the unheard Americans. VR can’t literally transport us but it can extend an olive branch to understanding.

Tech Storytellers Explore the Business of VR and AR

Enjoy a full album of photos from UCLA Anderson's LeVRage conference

#UCLAleVRage

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

We live in a future-oriented culture. But sometimes innovation is already right in front of you.

That was the message at LeVRage, which explored monetizing virtual reality and augmented reality from every angle — whether in a blockbuster movie or a scrappy marketing startup. Organized by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES), the conference and expo convened panels of veterans and newcomers to make pronouncements on the most practical ways to scale new VR and AR experiences.

MEMES executive director Jay Tucker (’09) opened the day-long event by asking the question, “What if VR and AR tech grew the entertainment industry by $100 billion?” While experts were cautious about tying the profits from storytelling and technology innovations to a hard number within a specific industry, animated discussions ensued as they both agreed and disagreed about what’s going to make the next big difference in a vast number of consumers’ lives. Some observed that it makes more sense to market add-ons to existing products than to require consumers to buy a new gadget for every upgrade — though members of the audience gleefully waved their latest Apple mobile products in response.

Vow To Be Chic, Founded by UCLA Anderson Alumna Kelsey Doorey, Receives Series A Funding, Continues to Offer Women Options in Wedding Planning

By Paul Feinberg

Vow To Be Chic, the Santa Monica-based designer bridesmaid dress rental startup founded by UCLA Anderson alumna Kelsey Doorey (’13), received $5 million in Series A funding last week. As noted in the company’s press release, Vow To Be Chic “gives millennial women the shopping experience and dream wedding that they desire while providing aspirational designer dresses at a fraction of the cost.”

The round includes existing investors Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Wavemaker Partners, and new investor Women’s Venture Capital Fund. The funds will be used to scale the business, improve technology systems and grow the team to enhance customer experience and support growing demand.

“Men have been winning for decades by renting tuxes while women purchased expensive dresses that they only wore once. I knew something had to change. Someone needed to solve the ‘27 Dresses’ problem,” says Vow To Be Chic CEO and founder Doorey. “With these funds, we are excited to continue expanding our offering so that women have a superior option when planning their weddings.”

Doorey, whose company was featured on NBC’s Shark Tank and HBO’s Girls, won the Knapp Venture Competition in 2013, earning $15,000, and also received additional funding from two of the Knapp judges. She says that the Knapp competition “literally changed my life in one night.”

In 2015, Doorey hired the most Anderson interns of any company and also hired Hannah Stephens (’15) for a full-time position.

Read more about Vow To Be Chic’s funding news.

With Passions for Theater, Crowdfunding, Tech and VC, Two UCLA Anderson Students Are Switching Gears in B-School

Yen-An Cho (left), Daniel Yang

During Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, we reached out to UCLA Anderson students and alumni who have made an impact. They include Daniel Yang (’16) and Yen-An Cho (’16), who both grew up in East Asia and later came to the U.S. in pursuit of higher education. Yang grew up in China, Cho in Taiwan. Yang is an engineer turned consultant, and Cho is a lawyer turned tech VC.

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By Cheechee Lin

Q: Why did you come to UCLA Anderson?

Daniel Yang: I was an engineer before business school and was looking to make a transition. I previously interacted with former Anderson students, and got to know the resources available to help us (engineers) transition in our career paths, and this school seemed like a good choice. Community-wise, I grew up in China, and diversity was a huge factor in my decision-making process. Los Angeles is the center of everything, and the diversity of the community definitely appealed to me. My wife was pregnant at the time, and she moved to Irvine. By attending Anderson, I was able to spend more time with my family. My daughter was actually born on my first day of school at Anderson — we named her Ming Ya, which means bright and graceful

Yen-An Cho: I did a lot of merger and acquisition deals during my law career, but I chose to pursue an MBA for two reasons: I needed to learn how to manage my wealth, and I found myself interested in technology. My career in law was case-by-case, often lasting only a couple months, and I was shuffled onto the next project. I wanted to work in high tech, where innovation is a continuous process that creates impact on the mass population. I chose Anderson because tech and the West Coast are synonymous, and Los Angeles provides the breeding ground for a lot of startups to establish their base. Having spent two years here, I can say that my initial assumption was right: There is a wealth of tech opportunities here, and I made the right choice!

2016 Knapp Venture Competition Winners Announced

By Cheechee Lin

The 35th annual Knapp Venture Competition awarded Kulisha the grand prize of $15,000 for their for-profit startup, which involves working toward food security for the future. Behind the ambitious plan of Kulisha are two passionate founders, Suchintya Dandapat (’17) and Arjun Paunrana, who are interested in developing a new source of protein — the black soldier fly larvae — to feed fish, which will ensure the food supply of emerging markets, particularly in Kenya. 

“[This protein source] is pivotal to our country’s growth and that is why we’re here today,” the Kulisha founders said. Kulisha has been working with the Brown University Greenhouse and hatcheries in Kenya to run trials. They project that their revolutionary product will help ensure the food supply of nine billion people in the future, as the world population grows. 

The runner up was Ariento, a cybersecurity firm targeting small businesses; they earned a $7,500 prize. Founders Chris Rose (’16) and Meredith Nussbaum (’16) plan on providing managed cybersecurity subscription services for small businesses to prevent data breaches. With experience in military security and consulting, Rose and Nussbaum have already acquired their first customer, and are working on growing their customer base.

This UCLA Anderson Alumnus' Company Solves the Battery Problem

Dr. Jeff Chang (FEMBA ’12) is the CTO and co-founder of Doblet. Using a patent-pending technology, Doblet is the world’s first fully app-driven portable battery network. Chang is the youngest radiologist in the U.S.; he earned his M.D. from NYU at age 20 and, aside from his MBA, also studied artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh. As Chang puts it, he’s “just a guy looking to change our world for the better.”

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Interview by Betsey Blakely (’17)

Q: Tell us about your business and the inspiration behind it.

Doblet solves the battery problem.

We’re building a network of smart portable batteries so you can charge your phone anywhere. We put our batteries in bars, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, hotels, libraries, museums, co-working spaces and all sorts of other venues — now expanding into over 1,000 venues in the Bay Area. When you run low on charge, just pick up a Doblet, charge your phone, then drop the Doblet back off.

Doktor Gurson, my co-founder, was at a bar in San Francisco charging his phone with an external battery. The guy next to him asks, “Mind if I borrow that battery after you’re done? I’ll buy you a beer!” The guy on the other side says, “I’ll buy a beer for both of you, if you can charge my phone, too.”

Doktor wondered why charging wasn’t just readily available, right where and when you needed it. And Doblet was born.

Q: What resources at Anderson and the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation have been most beneficial to you and why?

The biggest benefits of Anderson are in their sheer variety. Unlike almost any other kind of postgraduate program, B-school lets you explore as many fields and industries as you wish and learn from classmates with a vast range of backgrounds. Realize how rare this melting pot is, and be intentional in taking full advantage.

For me, the Price Center was key in finding internships in VC and PE. Elaine Hagan (’91), Angela Klein and the wonderful people at the Price Center were always helpful in exploring new startup ideas, and the first people we’d talk with when looking to create new Entrepreneur Association programs and student startup initiatives.

It was at Anderson that I came across the first few dozen business plans I’d ever seen. Of course, the business plan is a relic of a forgotten past in both Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, but for certain kinds of businesses, it helps founders really think through their ideas, revenue models and product-market fit before approaching investors.

UCLA Anderson FEMBA Sheeva Sairafi on Social Impact and Enterprise

Through triumphs and uncertainty, bootstrapping a startup and launching a formal first round of funding, entrepreneur and Wolfen Spirit Award winner Sheeva Sairafi (FEMBA ’15) finds that none of it feels like work if she makes her passion a priority. UCLA Anderson’s Entrepreneur Association spoke with Sairafi about her socially conscious home décor company, Local + Lejos.

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The EA’s CREATE Conference takes place on April 29, 2016.

Social Innovation Week returns to UCLA Anderson April 18–21 under the theme Ignite Impact.

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Q: Tell us about your business and the inspiration behind it.

Local + Lejos creates contemporary product in collaboration with artisan women abroad. Traditional fair-trade products do not take changing market trends into consideration, and we provide our artisans with the tools they need to create products for a younger consumer. I had been working for the TJX Companies for seven years in merchandising and buying, and was seeing shifts in consumer demand for products with a social impact. After spending time abroad in countries like Peru and Argentina, I knew there was product out there to fill that demand, but it needed an update to fit modern taste. And thus, Local + Lejos was born.

Q: How has the Silicon Beach startup community in L.A. impacted your business?

Silicon Beach has impacted our business mainly because of the number of founders/advisors/collaboration opportunities that exist in such a small radius. I’ve become close with a few e-commerce founders that are further along in their businesses, and it’s been extremely helpful to hear their insight on what has worked for them, and their advice on the most important places to spend (and not spend) precious capital. At the end, you still need to make the decision about what is right for your business on your own, but it is helpful to have some guidance.

Q: How did you receive funding?

I haven’t! We bootstrapped our first year and are raising our first round now.

Two UCLA Anderson Teams Compete for Hult Prize in Clinton Global Initiative Urban Spaces Challenge

Team BoP Ventures, left to right: Brian Wasige, faculty advisor Lee Cooper, David Leipzig, World Panel CEO John Anderson, Shiven Vikram, Matteo Bastreghi, Yu Chen

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

The Hult Prize Foundation is a not-for-profit organization and accelerator dedicated to launching the world’s next wave of social entrepreneurs. In partnership with President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, Hult supports teams competing to solve the planet’s biggest challenges with innovative ideas for sustainable startup enterprises. Annual Hult Prize winners are awarded $1 million in seed capital to transform their bright ideas into reality. In 2016, UCLA Anderson is represented by two teams at the regional final competition in San Francisco, March 11–12.

The 2016 Hult Prize asks entrepreneurs to create sustainable businesses that double the income of 10 million people living in crowded urban spaces. Ahmad Ashkar, CEO and Founder of the Hult Prize, attributes the success of the competition to the shift in the global economy and the millennial generation’s refusal to live in a world with inequality. “We are giving entrepreneurs from around the world a platform to innovate and revolutionize the way we think about servicing the poor,” said Ashkar.

Brian Wasige (’17) leads a team proposing to tackle the problem of energy access for consumers at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP). “We want to eliminate the poverty penalty in mobile phone ownership for BoP customers,” he said. Wasige and teammates Yu Chen (’17), David Leipziger (’17), Matteo Bastreghi (’17) and UCLA undergraduate Shiven Vikram (B.A. ’18), advised by Professor Emeritus Lee Cooper, said they “would like to address that issue using an ecosystem of solar micro-businesses.”

Reclaiming the Tech Dream: Freada Kapor Klein on Closing Gaps

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports and the Anderson chapter of Net Impact hosted activist, entrepreneur and thought leader Freada Kapor Klein, founding partner at the Kapor Center for Social Impact in Oakland. Kapor Klein is author of Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay. She co-leads the Kapor Center and Kapor Capital with husband Mitch Kapor, who, among his many tech and business accomplishments, founded the Lotus Development Corporation and designed Lotus 1-2-3. They champion impact technology companies that make real improvements in real communities.

Last August Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein pledged $40 million over the next three years to fix the leaky pipeline to opportunities and careers in technology. Their pledge funds a set of initiatives designed to give women and underrepresented ethnic minorities a better shot at becoming tech entrepreneurs.

Interviewed by Christal M. Jackson, founder of Head and Heart Philanthropy, Kapor Klein shared her wisdom, experience and advice on a number of salient points, chief among them these five:

1) A pipeline problem exists, but it’s become the excuse for exclusion.

Biases and barriers within the pipeline to tech careers prevent people from advancing through it and often cause them to exit the path if they've embarked on it. If we don’t fix the leaks, Kapor Klein said, “We will see our entire national standard of living steadily decline relative to the rest of the world.” We all lose, she said, when people in underrepresented groups are encouraged not to aim high — being persuaded, for instance, that the accident of birth that landed them in a certain ZIP code precludes them from certain educational and professional trajectories. “One low expectation along the way deprives us all of talent.”