Venturing Forth
It’s time for the annual rush of student innovation and entrepreneurism at UC Santa Barbara, as the campus’s Technology Management Program (TMP) holds its 18th Annual New Venture Fair.
A milestone of TMP’s eight-month-long New Venture Competition, the event features the competition’s top 20 semifinal teams in a tradeshow-style atmosphere (complete with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres) where attendees will get an up-close and interactive look at the ideas and inventions of some of the newest and brightest entrepreneurial minds on campus.
This networking, social and innovation-sharing event takes place on Wednesday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m. at UCSB’s Corwin Pavilion. It is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uc-santa-barbaras-2018-new-venture-fair-tickets-37892560669.
“We are excited to celebrate our 20 semi-finalist teams, and all that they have accomplished over the past several months,” said Dave Adornetto, TMP’s entrepreneurship director. “As our program has grown in popularity, so too has the number of quality business ideas.” Among this year’s semifinalists are teams that will showcase innovations related to solar energy efficiency (MoreSolar), diabetes care for children (Elly), customizable beauty products (Elula), soil-based energy (Soilight) and software to improve engineering efficiency (Okra Systems).
Meanwhile, attendees will have the opportunity to speak with, evaluate and vote for their favorite teams. The top six will proceed to the final event of the competition, slated for Thursday, May 24th. In hopes of bringing home the prize money, each team will pitch its ideas and business plans to a group of seasoned tech entrepreneurs.
Since 1999, TMP has been teaching innovative and driven students how to start their own tech businesses. The New Venture Competition and related entrepreneurship curriculum are part of the training. Open to any student from any discipline on campus, this program has hosted an array of tech-inspired innovations and new ideas, from medical inventions to energy-efficient applications, and from sustainability tools to life-improving technology. Off campus, alumni of the New Venture Competition have taken their successes even farther. Inogen, Apeel Sciences, TrackR, Next Energy, and Aptitude Medical are just a few examples.
TMP recently announced the opening of the Wilcox New Venture Incubator, which will provide additional resources and programming for startup teams graduating from the competition, and looking to launch their business.
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