Past Winners

2020 Winners

 
Hiyo

1st Place, $40,000
hiyo For millennial consumers who want health over hurt, quality over status quo, and a more meaningful social experience, HIYO is a mood-enhancing social tonic that is a refreshing, fun, and functional alternative to alcohol. 

Team: Evan Quinn ('20), George Youmans
Wire

2nd Place (Tie), $20,000

Wire is a cleantech mobility startup making freedom accessible through affordable personal electric. vehicles. We are the nation's first scooter subscription company focusing on service and maintenance.

Team: Lawrence Ham (FEMBA '22), Jay Tsao (EE '12), Nick Drombosky
VHome

2nd Place (Tie), $20,000
VHomes Building the future of affordable homes. VHomes targets distressed, unwanted real estate and turns the properties into short term rental beauties. VHomes improves properties with smart home technology and vibrant designs to provide low-income and budget housing options on a nightly, weekly, and monthly basis. The flexible, technology driven furnished rentals have served over 800 guests in 2020 thus far. 

Team: Michael Vilardo ('21), Brennan Ross ('21), Daniel Xo (JD '21), Victor Zhou (BS - CS UCLA '22), Hollie Sterling (FSU '17)
RealAppeal

Third Place (Tie), $10,000
realAppeal For property owners who want to reduce their property taxes, realAppeal uses localized data and machine learning to file property tax appeals on your behalf, reducing your liability and in turn saving you money.

Team: Colton Pace ('21), Frank DiZenzo ('21), Maura Liebendorfer ('21)
Gen Beauty

Third Place (Tie), $10,000
Gen Beauty, LLC Gen is an eastern inspired CPG startup focused on holistic beauty. Partnering with traditional chinese medicine doctors and pharmacists, we offer health and beauty hair, skin, and nails gummy supplements with both eastern and western ingredients.

Team: Chi Shing Tsui (FEMBA '20), Bethy Poluikis (FEMBA '20), Alan Tran (FEMBA '20), Kevin Wu (FEMBA '20), Rita Cheng (FEMBA '20)
Rooo

$1000 FAST PITCH COMPETITION WINNER:
Rooo We are a digital wellness app delivering physical therapy exercises in a fun and relevant way. We help people build healthy movement habits to improve posture, get better at a sport, or prevent pain.

Team: Jessica Cheng ('20), Ava Kavelle ('20), Brandon Brooks ('20), Jonathan Helman ('20), Jeremy Queenin ('20)

2019 Winners

 
1st Place, $50,000

Elenita is America's first mezcal ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail in a can, giving consumers an accessible retail entry point into the world of mezcal. Made with artisanal mezcal made from 100% agave, natural flavors & juices, and carbonated water.

Team: Jordan Dil ('19), Mikel Noriega ('19)
2nd Place, $25,000

EvalueMe is an enterprise SaaS plug-in for employee performance reviews that utilizes behavioral science and artificial intelligence to coach employees to provide a more meaningful, actionable, and unbiased review. 

Team: Shirin Nikaein (EMBA '19), Eli Selkin (Cal Poly Pomona M.S. '19), 
Nathan Cox (J.D. '19), Barbara Wong (J.D. '20), 
Hunter Carlisle (B.A. '19) 
3rd Place, $15,000

Neighborhood Works is an affordable housing real estate development company targeted at ending chronic homelessness in Los Angeles by utilizing innovative construction techniques, financing strategies and new zoning policies.  

Team: Greg Comanor ('19), Sonya Falcone ('19), Daniel Fine ('19), Aaron Sassounian ('19), Molly Tarrant ('19)
4th Place, $10,000:

Eliqs is an online platform that brings together designers and local craft breweries, enabling personalized beers for any occasion.   

Team: Max Berg ('19), Dave Goldman ('19), Chris Pelch ('19), Joe Schwappach ('19), Ashley Wright ('19) 
5th Place, $5,000:

Indarra is serving consumer appetite through the fusion of culinary art and robotic automation technology.   

Team: Sai Ravi Behara (EMBA '19), Savitur Badhwar (EMBA '19), Farzad Massoudi (EMBA '19), Vineet Sharma (EMBA '19), 
Robin Schroder (EMBA '19)

Fast Pitch

1st Place, $1000:

Veloscite is a science-first sports nutrition company with a mission to unlock your active potential.     

Team: Nima Alamdari (EMBA '19), Tanya Kaprealian (EMBA '19), Bryan Miller (EMBA '19), James Ouyang (EMBA '19), Jayson Wickenkamp (EMBA '19)

2018 Winners

 

First Place

U-Defi
$15,000

TEAM: Aditya Marathe, Anderson MBA '18; Cynthia Mckee, PhD '20 (UCLA - College of Life Sciences); Thanh Thuy Dan Pham, PhD '20 (UCLA - David Geffen School of Medicine); Van Nguyen, Anderson FEMBA '19

An innovative pesonalized anti-aging skincare that is scientifically fomulated based on an individual's unique skin biomarker profile. U-Defi - the tailor-made suit of your skincare.

Second Place

Tutorfly Inc.
$10,000

TEAM: Jairo Mateo, FEMBA '19; Parsa Rezvani, UCLA '18; Erica Nagase, UCLA '21

A peer to peer tutoring platform that pairs student tutors with younger students in the same community. We partner with academically based student groups to provide qualified tutors that can produce results.

Third Place

Mivue
$7,500

TEAM: Jane Zhang, FEMBA '20; Hadley Washburne, FEMBA '20; Larry Chang, MBA '18

MiVUE is an at-home smart otoscope that enables telemedicine and tracking of ear infections. Our mission is to empower patients and caretakers to take control of their own health.

Fourth Place

Riders Share
$5,000

TEAM: Guillermo Cornejo, MBA '19

The "Airbnb of motorcycle rentals", a peer to peer rentals marketplace for motorcycles. We have over 600 morocycle listings in the U.S. and growing!

Fifth Place

Pluscare
$2,500

TEAM: Nick Talone, FEMBA '18; Milan Karunaratne, FEMBA '18; Alex Ng; Casey Tracy

Pluscare streamlines the outdated, slow and expensive process of temporary staffing in healthcare with a technology platform that intelligently connects healthcare organizations with staffing agencies and clinicians via an interactive marketplace.

Fast Pitch

Altitude Beverages
$1,000

TEAM: Connor Doyle, MBA '19; Mark Larik, MBA '19; Erica Wood, MBA '19; Charles Fields, MBA '19

Sells ultra-premium and innovative cold brew coffee ready to drink options currently through e-commerce and intends to expand to additional sales channels including direct B2B and to retailers.

2017 Winners

 

First Place

Mechanodontics
$15,000

TEAM: Whitney Conroy (MBA ‘18), Mehdi Roein-Peikar (UCLA Dentistry - Orthodontics Resident), James Wratten (Non-UCLA)

Mechanodontics is revolutionizing orthodontics with its invisible braces that substantially reduce treatment time, pain, and trips to the orthodontist.

Second Place (tie)

Officebites
$5,000

TEAM: Jesse Shapiro (MBA ‘17), Evan Milnor (MBA ‘17), Brian Leong (MBA ‘17)

Officebites is a subscription snack box company helping people form healthier snacking habits in the workplace. Our product is a box of proprietary snacks designed with the help of leading nutritionists and dieticians to conveniently provide the optimal macro-nutrient breakdown for sustained energy and nutrition through the workday.

Second Place (tie)

BellaNove
$5,000

TEAM: Jenny Leung (FEMBA '17), Matthew Cox (FEMBA '17), Kathy Tran (FEMBA '17), Shweta Thakur (FEMBA '17), Sadie Asare (MD/MBA '17), Pratik Gupta (MBA '17)

BellaNove keeps expectant mothers looking stylish and feeling confident via a convenient and easy to use maternity wardrobe rental service. Our high quality wardrobe adapts with her pregnancy changes and lets her triple her style choices at half the cost of purchasing!

Third Place (tie)

Efsevin
$2,500

TEAM: Satvik Vyas (FEMBA '17), Shahriyar Jahanbakhsh (UCLA Biochemistry PhD), Ohyun Kwon (Professor of Chemistry at UCLA)

Efsevin is a novel small molecule suppressor of cardiac arrhythmia. This innovative drug addresses the biggest unmet need in the arrhythmia market today.

Third Place (tie)

AllOfUs Cosmetics
$2,500

TEAM: Christina Wang (FEMBA '18), Anndrea Falon Nelson (FEMBA '18), Jerry Kiener (FEMBA '18)

AllOfUs Cosmetics enters the $60B beauty industry with a photobooth that identifies an individual's skin color and creates a custom color-matched liquid makeup foundation using any brand in just 3 minutes.

People's Choice Award

K-POP Foods
$1,000

TEAM: Theodore Lee (MBA '17)

K-POP Foods brings people together and uplifts spirits by sharing Korean food and flavors with America. There is no other Korean food company with a lifestyle brand.

2016 Winners

 

First Place

Kulisha
$15,000

TEAM: Suchintya Dandapat ’17 and Arjun Paunrana (UCLA undergraduate)

Developing a new feed to increase yield in fish aquaculture based in Kenya. Its main value proposition comes from being able to deliver high quality feed developed locally for the local Kenyan market.

Second Place

Ariento
$7,000

TEAM: Chris Rose ’16; Meredith Nussbaum ’16

Offers managed cybersecurity subscription services to small business owners, protecting them from data breaches

Third Place (tie) & People's Choice

GoodGaming
$2,500+ $2,000

TEAM: Joseph Lee ’17; Anthony Lee ’17; Sampo Hynynen ’17; Anish Patel ’17; Julius Seok ‘17

Allows any consumer a chance to play with their favorite video game personality while supporting a good cause.

Third Place (tie)

R + D Brew Lab
$2,500

TEAM: Jenna Glassock ’16; Rebecca Gold ’16; Chad Ries ’16; Lisa Myers ’16; Kyle Kuh ‘16

A brick-and-mortar retail store where customers come to brew their own beer.

Third Place (tie)

Medville
$2,500

TEAM: Damanjeet Chandok, EMBA ’16; Anji Maram, EMBA ’16; Susan Lin, EMBA ’16; Linda Liau, EMBA ’16; Dhiren Pattnaik, EMBA ‘16

An integrated multi-sided Second Opinion on-line platform with patients seeking Second Opinion consulting on one side and doctors/hospitals seeking to treat them on the other.

2015 Winners

 
The Price Center

First Place

Spinal Singularity
$15,000

TEAM: Derek Herrera, EMBA '15; Zach McKinney PhD Biomedical Engineering '15; Beth Johnson, EMBA '15; Chandrashekar Hariharan, EMBA '15

We design connected medical devices to improve the quality of life for people dealing with Spinal Cord Injury and Disease (SCI/D). Spinal Singularity leverages unique combinations of existing technologies to create an exponential impact on the lives of the people we serve.

The Price Center

Second Place & People's Choice

Rankmi
$7,000 + $2,000

TEAM: Enrique Besa '16; Roberto Moldes '16; Olivia Valdés

Rankmi is a web-based app that allows companies to assess, analyze and develop their employees' skills, performance and engagement. We want to transform HR by bringing talent management practices to the cloud, in an affordable and accessible solution to companies of all sizes in the Latin American market.

The Price Center

Third Place (tie)

For Luxe and Love
$3,000

TEAM: Adriana Delor '15; Ankin Laysha '16; Rachael Byers

A jewelry experience company with minimum commitment and maximum customization. For Luxe and Love allows women access to a temporary ownership of high-quality jewelry basics, and the option to customize upon purchase, in the under-served $400-2000 retail price jewelry subscription/rental market.

The Price Center

Third Place (tie)

FundOpp Capital Inc.
$3,000

TEAM: Fark Tari '15; Ilya Tokhner; Ross Reagen

FundOpp is an online investment platform for vetted, alternative investment. It connects accredited investors with previously inaccessible asset classes. The company's beachhead market will be in commercial real estate.

The Price Center

Fourth Place

Swift Analytics
$2,000

TEAM: Margaret Wei, MD/MBA '16; Ronald Tong '16; Matthew Inouye '16; Rustann Solomero '16; Brian Ouyang '16; Bianca Gonzalez, PhD Neuroscience 2015

Swift Analytics is a smart watch mobile application for monitoring Parkinson's Disease symptoms and tracking medication compliance. The application will allow physicians to better target interventions while decreasing Parkinson's disease related costs.

2014 Winners

 

First Place

$15,000

Smartest k12

A classroom tool that helps teachers track and grade student assignments quickly and easily, and instantly generates data analytics they can share with parents and administrators.

Second Place

$6,000

RxCue

A digital platform that electronically delivers pharmaceuticals companies' discount vouchers directly to doctors and hospitals, which can be more easily distributed to patients at the time medications are prescribed.

Third Place

$4,000

Liveguide

A web-based platform that changes the way visitors experience everything from hotels and attractions, to universities and other destinations. It goes beyond a "virtual tour" and provides users a personalized, intimate and live online experience.

Fourth Place

$3,000

Phresh

A social, mobile platform that makes it as simple as possible to browse and purchase clothing across retailers and creates powerful consumer insights.

Fifth Place

$2,000

VuPad

A mobile augmented-reality app that lets online shoppers preview 3-D models of store furniture scaled-to-size in their own space from the comfort of their home.

2013 Winners

 
  • 1st place, $15,000
    Vow To Be Chic - Rents designer bridesmaid dresses online, bringing cost savings and convenience to the bridesmaid experience.
  • 2nd place, $7,500
    Neural Analytics - Offers a non-invasive solution for measuring intracranial pressure (ICP), a critical physiologic parameter that currently requires a neurosurgeon to drill a hole into the patient's skull.
  • 3rd place (tie), $2,500
    Mighty Mount - An automated camera mount that will track an object's motion and location in order to enable directed video capture for use for video chatting, video lectures, security, surveillance, and action sports.
  • 3rd place (tie), $2,500 
    Sportifik - A web/mobile platform aimed at allowing people to easily organize and play sport matches with friends in a social and rewarding way.
  • 3rd place (tie), $2,500
    Job Genius - A website database of video informational interviews with professionals of varying backgrounds. It is both searchable and ratable so students can explore and learn about different career opportunities.