UCLA’s Anderson School of Management recently announced the five winners of the Knapp Venture Competition, the oldest student-run MBA competition of its kind.
Senior executives, venture capital investors, and entrepreneurs comprised the panel of judges.
Cleon (“Bud”) and Betsy Wood Knapp were both sponsors of the event and judges.
Bud said,
“I’m really pleased with this year’s presentations… All five were excellent and I think it is an outstanding year of good ideas, good presentations, a lot of enthusiastic guys and gals – it was fun to watch. You can’t lose with a group like this.”
Suchintya Dandapat, who will receive his degree in 2017, received a $15,000 award that will fund the development of his company, Kulisha.
Dandapat’s company will formulate a fish feed meant to increase yields in fish aquaculture in Kenya. With help from the award, Dandapat’s team will go to Kenya this summer to implement the extensive research, prototyping, and development that have driven the venture.
The $7,500 second place award went to Ariento, which offers affordable cybersecurity and IT services to small businesses. The third place prize was a tie, and the winners each received $2,500. GoodGaming, which came in third and also received the $2,000 People’s Choice award, combines gaming and crowd-sourced fundraising. It allows consumers to play with a video-game character of their choosing while raising money for various causes.
Third place winner Medville provides patients with an online platform for receiving second medical opinions, in addition to referring the user to the doctors that can provide care.
R&D Brew Lab, the final third place tie winner, offers an ‘open brewery’ concept in which customers can brew their own beer in a brick and mortar location as opposed to at home.