Tony Simon's professional journey is a testament to the transformative power of the Big Bang! Business Competition.
A Ph.D. and NIH-funded scientist with a background in cognitive neuroscience, Simon developed an innovative approach to stroke rehabilitation that uses virtual reality. But he had little experience running a business and was unsure how to enter the world of startups.
After seeing a young, vulnerable patient suffer and ultimately die due to an antibiotic-resistant infection caused by a ventilator tube, Benjamin Wang, a physician, knew a better solution was possible.
He founded NEVAP (Never Ventilator Associated Pneumonia), to create a breathing tube designed to help prevent bacterial infections in patients on mechanical ventilation. His first real business success came from winning first prize in the Big Bang! Business Competition in 2014. He credits the win for helping to launch his venture.
In 2018, Denise Bronner, Ph.D., won the Big Bang! People’s Choice award for Anu Snacks, (bite-sized snacks made from spent grains taken from small breweries). She credits the experience with launching her career and inspiring her to make a deep impact in healthcare and digital health.
This year, a team of UC Davis undergraduates took home the first prize in the annual Big Bang! Business Competition. The EpiSense team won the $25,000 award with their pitch for a wearable device that could significantly improve quality of life for patients with epilepsy.
A team of two University of California, Davis, MBA students and a senior computer science major received the $20,000 first prize for the best innovation in the 23rd annual Big Bang! Business Competition on May 23. The award's lead sponsor is business leader Lorin Johnson; DLA Piper is co-sponsor.
The 23rd annual UC Davis business competition drew students and alumni from across campus, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California.
The 2023 Big Bang Business Competition's 17 finalist teams all have a co-founder affiliated with an institution of higher education in California. This year UC Davis, UCLA, Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo and the University of Southern California are represented.
The UC Davis campus is always full of fresh ideas, but innovation was at an especially high pitch last Thursday during the 22nd annual Big Bang! Business Competition awards ceremony. Held in person for the first time since 2019, the ceremony presented over $100,000 in prize money and in-kind awards to early-stage startups in the food and agriculture, health, energy/sustainability, and social enterprise sectors.
Business Partner
David Richardson
Helping innovations become companies
DLA Piper US LLP has supported the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition since its earliest days, and was a Gold-level sponsor in 2020/21. We talked with David Richardson about DLA Piper’s and his long-time involvement.
New ventures in energy, human and animal health, food and agriculture, and education receive seed money to move forward.
A team of executive MBA students attending UCLA's Anderson School of Business captured the $20,000 first prize for the top innovation in the 21st annual Big Bang! Business Competition on May 27. The prize is sponsored by Lorin Johnson and Marrone Bio Innovations.
Congratulations, 2021 Big Bang! Finalists
Forty-five teams—representing 135 aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs—entered the 21st annual UC Davis business competition.
The competition drew students and alumni from across UC Davis, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California. Together, the Big Bang! and Little Bang!
