18 teams receive $500 microgrants in first of three competitions

Thirty teams of UC Davis students from across the academic spectrum tested out their business ideas on December 7, 2017, in the first of three Little Bang! Poster Competitions.

The UC Davis Big Bang! is an annual business competition that calls on students and the public to bring their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit to the bustling college town of Davis, Calif. Participants gain access to valuable resources, seasoned entrepreneurial mentors—and the chance to win big. This year, the prize money is upwards of $90,000 and growing.

Promising startups showcase ventures in UC Davis business competition

Medical device startup Raydiant Oximetry Inc., maker of a fetal pulse oximeter that keeps mothers and babies safe during childbirth, won the $10,000 first prize in the 17th annual UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition on Thursday, May 25.

“Backing an innovation isn’t a single decision. It’s a web of choices and actions to which everyone in the company must commit,” says Professor Andrew Hargadon, founder and faculty director of the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Read the article >

Big Bang! Business Competition Blog: Record $50,000-plus awarded to promising startups in annual UC Davis business competition

PlayPatch, maker of a wearable, natural alternative to birth control pills, took the $20,000 first prize and won the $2,500 People’s Choice award in the 16th annual UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition on Thursday, May 26. The first prize includes $10,000 cash and $10,000 in in-kind services from Davis Roots, a local startup incubator with ties to both the university and the city of Davis.

As UC Davis professor and veterinarian  Robert Brosnan headed toward the campus conference center one evening five years ago, he had one thing on his mind: knocking people out—both literally and figuratively.

Anpac Bio-Medical Science Co. has pledged $50,000 to the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to underwrite student fellowships and support the annual Biomedical and Engineering Entrepreneurship Academy. Read the article >

Matt Flannery, co-founder, Kiva.org and founder, Branch International
"We can make a lot of progress for the world and in our personal lives through this vessel of social good.”

More than 100 aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs—students, faculty, researchers and staff from the UC Davis campus and beyond—joined with Davis and Sacramento area business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors at the 15th annual UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition Kickoff on October 27.

Scrumpt, a startup that delivers low-cost, healthy lunches and nutritious snacks via mail to elementary school children, took the $10,000 first prize in the 2015 Big Bang! Business Competition during the Final Presentations and Awards Ceremony at the UC Davis Conference Center this evening.

Five finalists—out of more than 50 teams in this year’s competition—pitched their ventures to the audience before prizes were announced.

Many of the ventures focus on innovations in food delivery—the how, what and when we eat for optimal nutrition and minimal waste.