Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Check out the new issue of Launch for the latest in Aggie Innovator news. Grow your entrepreneurial skill set and expand your network at our Big Bang! and Little Bang! info session, kickoff Ideas into Action workshop and Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Academy; the Student Startup Center's weekly Pitches and Popcorn and Startup Speaker events; a workshop on SBIR/STTR Program Essentials offered by SBDC Tech @UC Davis Venture Catalyst; and the UC Big Ideas Contest.

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.

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.

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! Poster Competitions will award up to $100,000 in prize money at the awards show, held May 27 via Facebook Live. 

Inventopia, a Davis startup incubator launched by 2008 Big Bang! winner Tim Keller, recently landed a $100K loan from the City of Davis to add specialized space needed by local entrepreneurs and new ventures. Its newest tenant, Peakb, develops naturally derived blue food coloring and was founded by UC Davis Professor Justin Siegel. Read the article>

Benjamin Wang, 2014 Big Bang! Business Competition winner and founder/chief medical officer of NeVap Inc., shares how winning the competition helped launch his entrepreneurial journey, notes his successes since then—and explains how the Big Bang! helps innovators go from concept to company. Watch video >

by Marianne Skoczek

A team of UC Davis graduate students captured both the $20,000 first prize, sponsored by Lorin Johnson and Marrone Bio Innovations and the $10,000 Health Sector Award, sponsored by Bayer Crop Science in the 20th annual Big Bang! Business Competition on May 20.

Our 20th annual Big Bang! will award $100,000 in prize money at the awards show, this year taking place online via Facebook Live. 

Sacramento MBA student Samantha Contreras shares how she caught the entrepreneurial bug and joined a winning team in the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition. Read the article >

On a podcast hosted by by Frank Zaccari, Professor Andrew Hargadon shares about our lab-to-market academies and the 20th annual Big Bang! Business Competition. Listen to the podcast >