Five Insights from the National Veterinary Entrepreneurship Academy

"Keep the voice of the customer in every stage to remain relevant and provide the most value to those who purchase your product or service”—Dr. Jennifer Ogeer

UC Davis recently wrapped up the National Veterinary Entrepreneurship Academy. Faculty, graduate students and researchers from veterinary schools across the world learned from leaders in academia and the corporate world who have experience taking innovations to market. Read the article>

Anna Sadovnikova

Anna Sadovnikova, MPH, M.A., IBCLC started her career in public health and is now a M.D./Ph.D. candidate in mammary gland biology and breastfeeding medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Sadovnikova is a NIH-funded investigator, receiving a 5-year F30 fellowship from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to define the molecular mechanism by which stress negatively impacts lactation.

2024 Big Bang! Finalists

The UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition provides a forum for innovators to collaborate as they develop and test business ideas.

View our 2024 finalists below.

Congratulations, 2021 Big Bang! Finalists

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!

Growing as an Aggie Innovator

Most of the time, small things are overlooked and go unnoticed.

People assume that it is just one small item. How much harm can it really do? 

When our group came together in a biodesign class, we wanted to bring attention to small things everyone uses—such as bandages, which millions of people use and that can add up to have a negative impact on the environment. Our product, Biobandage, is a 100% plastic-free, kombucha-based bandage designed to help heal wounds faster than traditional adhesive bandages. Biobandage uses kombucha’s byproduct, bacterial cellulose.

Video: Making a Big Bang!

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 >

Big Bang! Prizes

Outdo the Competition!

The 2025 Big Bang! Business Competition will award up to $100,000+ in prize money, with additional residencies. We are very grateful to our sponsors.

 Meet a 2024 Big Bang! Winner: Bike Lane Marketplace

Bike Lane Marketplace of Davis connects bike collectives that have an abundance of niche parts with cycling enthusiasts around the world who want to buy them. The team is co-founded by high school students Kutay Ozcelik and Deniz Sumer. Bike Lane Marketplace won the Energy and Sustainability Award and took home $12,500.