After a satisfying career in banking and IT security in the Bay Area, UC Davis alumna Christy Serrato returned to Davis, became program director at Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy—and founded PairAnything, a mobile app used by wineries that provides wine suggestions to be paired with any dish. Read the article >

UC Davis MBA student Samantha Contreras came to campus with one mission in mind: to transform industries. The Big Bang! Business Competition gave her the opportunity to help prepare PairAnything Inc. for success in the billion dollar wine industry. “As an aspiring entrepreneur, I put together a plan to strategically position myself for a key role in a growing startup”. Read the article >

Japa, founded by UC Davis undergraduates Mathew Magno and Charles Chen, won a 2019 Sacramento Region Innovation Award for their smartphone app, which shows drivers the real-time availability of parking lots and structures. Vite Kitchens, founded by UC Davis alumni Tim and Tom Zheng, also received an award for their nutrient-rich instant ramen meals. Read the article >

On this podcast hosted by Frank Zaccari, past Big Bang! Business Competition contestants Cerecell and Caregivers Pathway Inc. discuss their contributions towards helping seniors who are experiencing some of the challenges associated with aging. Listen to the podcast >

Venita Sivamani earned both her undergraduate degree and MBA at UC Davis. Her passions for education and improving healthcare led her to co-found Dermveda, a startup she describes as “WebMD meets Consumer Reports.” She is also the founder and CEO of LearnSkin, a portal that provides high-quality integrative medical and dermatology education for healthcare and skincare professionals. Read the article >

The National Lab Accelerator Pitch event at the UC Davis campus in San Ramon featured researchers pitching their technologies with high potential to move from lab to market and make a significant impact. 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 >

UC Davis alumni and twins Tim and Tom Zheng co-founded their company, Vite Ramen, after being inspired to fulfill the need for a “nutritionally complete fast food product”. Read the article >

Institute Executive Director Joe DiNunzio has a passion for teaching. ”It’s not just a way to give back. It’s really rewarding to shape where these students are going to be”. Read the article >

Founded by Christy Serrato, PairAnything is creating a platform that helps customers connect with wineries through guidance on wine and food pairings. PairAnything won the $10,000 Food + Ag Sector Award in the 2019 Big Bang! Business Competition. Read the article >

UC Davis Big Bang! winner RePurpose Energy is working to create off-grid electric storage using retired electric car batteries. Read the article >

When her first career dreams were dashed, Dr. Maria Artunduaga reinvented herself, founded a company and learned to thrive. Her startup, Respira Labs, took first place in our 2019 Big Bang! competition. Artunduaga shares her entrepreneurial journey, her advice for navigating career setbacks or discrimination, and lessons learned as a CEO in this podcast. Listen to the podcast >

UC Davis Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Marc Facciotti is featured in this series highlighting educators who are catalyzing change in higher education and inspiring students to impact the world through invention. Facciotti continues to contribute to growing the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus. Read the article >

Wyatt Dike, founder of VertX Advertising, won the most recent StartupSac Warm-Up Pitch event. In this podcast with StartUpSac, he discusses the origins of his company, his entrepreneurial journey and his thoughts on the Sacramento startup community. Read the article >

Davis-based Sierra Energy has raised $33 million to develop and commercialize its FastOx gasification technology, which converts garbage into clean energy. FastOx technology won the People’s Choice Award in the 2002 Big Bang! competition. Read the article >