Joann Lofgren, a second-year graduate student at the Anderson School, has been working with three other students for more than a year to implement Tastination, a way to connect people with what she says she believes is the best ethnic food in the country.
Tastination aims to introduce people to new types of ethnic food.
It hosts dinners at restaurants to teach people about different types of food. Recent dinners have included Korean barbecue, Northern Chinese, Indian and Oaxacan food. Additionally, the company sends e-mails to clients with short articles introducing them to new restaurants and recipes.
“It’s a way for people to find out about different types of food they never knew about and receive recommendations about what food to order,” she said.
Tastination is one of several businesses that has received a recent boost after participating in the 2007 Knapp Venture Competition.
Each year, the UCLA Anderson School of Management hosts the Knapp Venture Competition for student entrepreneurs to receive feedback from professional venture capitalists, CEOs and investors. They also receive funding so they will be able to implement their business ideas.
Tastination, which won first place in the competition on Thursday, received $12,500 in funding and team members said they also developed important connections with judges who have strong ties in the business community.
Tastination was one of five finalists in the competition. Each finalist received several thousand dollars to start their company, as well as prizes from sponsors.
“This competition is a great way to build ties between entrepreneurs and students,” Lofgren said. “We’ll be a stronger business coming out of this competition.”
The only requirement for the competition is that teams must include at least one Anderson student. Other members of the team can be students in other schools at UCLA, entrepreneurs or faculty.
Dave Hodgman, a second-year graduate student at the Anderson school, received third place in the competition along with partner Dustin Smith as part of Make Believe, Ink. Their business idea is an experimental retail store where kids can create and customize a storybook which features the child.
Hodgman said he and Smith hope to open a store by summer of next year and believe participating in the competition will help them achieve their goal.
“We received great feedback and made some good connections,” Hodgman said.
Many teams have successfully implemented their business plans post-competition, said Sara Linderman, a cochair of the competition and a second-year MBA student.
“Most teams pursue their plan to some level (after the competition ends),” she said.
Angela Klein, the competition’s program manager, said she believes the competition is a great way for students to obtain real-life experience and make important contacts with judges.
“Participants are putting themselves in a real-life situation. They see what it takes to be an entrepreneur through “˜immersive’ learning,” she said.
The competition is a year-long process beginning in October with networking nights where people with ideas come to find teammates and already-formed teams come to brainstorm ideas, Linderman said. Teams must register by the end of February, but do not have to have an idea solidified at that time.
In mid-April, students present their plans to student entrepreneurs at Venture Review Night. The judges then cut 10 to 15 teams from the roughly 40 teams that present.
At the end of April, the remaining teams compete in the semifinals, and judges from professional companies narrow the teams down to five finalists. Last week, judges chose the winner based on six categories, including the quality of the opportunity, visibility of the business model, and overall impression and believability.
“Our five finalist teams were all very strong,” Klein said.
She said the competition had a good mix of teams wanting different types of investments.
“I think this is a great program at our school,” Hodgman said.
Lofgren also believes the competition was well worth it.
“It’s a great way for Anderson students to team up with other departments such as the medical school and the engineering department, and showcase what the school has to offer,” she said.