Hey ANTrepreneurs!

Happy New Year and welcome back to the grind! Whether you're growing your own businesses or just getting started, the ANTrepreneur Center is here to help you meet your business New Year's Resolutions.

Resolve to create and grow your own startup with our weekly events and lunch and learns. If you're ready for the next step, get ready for Arizona State University's Innovation Open (open to UCI ANTrepreneurs) and UCI's own New Venture Competition. And be on the lookout for next month's female entrepreneurial panel, GirlBoss!

There's plenty more happening this month, so check out the news below! 
Inside the ANTrepreneur Center
Zephyr Takes First at FastFwd 2016
The FastFwd Competition, held by the MORE Foundation, last November brought UCI students and members of Orange County business community together by having them compete in the commercialization of existing intellectual property to learn entrepreneurial skills.

After forming teams, attending workshops over the past few weeks, and presenting plans to implement augmented reality software, the winning team for the competition was announced at the awards ceremony on November 30, 2016. The winning team is ZephyR, comprised of Artruo San Vicente, Emre Guvercini, Tuva Atasever, and Goksu Yamac. They are now able to take the patent to market. Congratulations!
Congrats to our Raffle Winners!

Some raffle winners, starting from top left clockwise: Keila, Sergio, Michael, and Laura.


During Fall Quarter 2016, we held a raffle contest for those who signed up in our system, shared their business ideas, and attended our events.

Of over 500 entrants, 103 prizes are now being awarded. Congrats to you all!
Packed House 
at Workshop Wednesdays

Last week's Workshop Wednesday was packed! Students from all different backgrounds came together to hear from experienced entrepreneurs. It was one of our most lively Workshop Wednesdays to date, with over 47 attendees.

Do you have a billion dollar idea?  Well, Neil Sahota thinks you could!  He's a World Wide Business Development Leader and Master Inventor for IBM, as well as successful investor and advisor to many early-stage startups.


Neil Sahota discussed important topics that most people starting a business get wrong, such as barriers to entry, how to develop an idea, as well as the power of value propositions.

We are pleased to serve the entrepreneurial community here at UCI and would love for you join us! Free lunch will be provided and the opportunity to ask questions, get feedback, and network other entrepreneurs.
Visit Our Weekly Events!

New Venture Competition Continues into the New Year
by Lucy Guo

The 2017 Beall New Venture Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business is a business competition open to all UCI students and faculty, who all have six months to form their own teams and fund their idea. Since the kick-off event, Tech Surge Mixer, and a workshop to assess the market last November, students in this competition were invited to attend the Team Networking Mixer last Wednesday.

The basic purpose of this event is to form the teams heading into the rest of the contest. The various activities, including pitches and a discussion of groups in certain situations, such as living in a island with four people and six essential goods, demonstrated the qualities of dysfunctional teams to avoid when forming groups.
Kyle Naughton and Zack Wisti present their ideas and seek for team members.

The presenter, Matt Bailey from UCI Applied Innovation, shared experiences about how "an idea is only as good as a team who executes it."  A second year MBA student, Alok Kumar, said, "I learned that the common misguided failure of building a team is that hiring people you know or you like is sometimes not helpful when pursuing a business goal."
A presenter introduces common failures when forming teams.

Following the activity highlighting qualities to avoid, competitors Kyle Naughton and Zack Wisti used the pitch sessions to share water issues and express their need for an engineer on their team. The night ended with participants networking with the coaches and judges to learn about improving their projects.

The next event of this competition is on January 18, and will prepare teams for submitting the NVC concept paper due January 30. If you still need a team or more help with your project, swing by the ANTrepreneur Center!
Serious Side Projects Coming into Main View
by Will Khaine

Since the 1990s, board games have resurged in popularity. Nearly $370 million were contributed to board games over Kickstarter's history, and purchases spiked 56 percent from 2014 to 2015. Hoping to make a move into this market is Serious Side Projects, a startup created by UCI ANTrepreneur Nathaniel Dalerio, Hartnell College student Michael Porras and CSU Chico alumnus Jose Julio Garcia.

The cover of Man vs. Rock vol 4.
Nathaniel, the lead game designer, recalled that attending the convention WonderCon , combined with a passion for interacting with board games and rules, encouraged this business to thrive. "There was a booth for Man vs. Rock ," he said. "Just two guys, and it was a comic book strip about rocks taking over the world. If these guys could sell rocks, we can do anything with our ideas."

But starting their own business wasn't as simple as collecting $200 while passing go. In addition to feeling "heavy when you're working on it," their first project, Psychosis, required going back to the drawing board four times.

"Each time we learned something new that would break the game," Nathaniel, a Psychology and Social Behavior major, stated. He mentioned how the game, which aims to encourage a dialogue on mental illnesses, previously overpowered a character who suffers from Imminent Explosive Disorder; it could hold onto other players and force a loss starting from the beginning. "The challenge is fun...but other times when I'm confident about something it will still fail."

To those wishing to start their own business, the second year student stresses the willingness to persevere and start over the in the face of these type of issues. Also essential is time management and communication with team members. For instance, everyone on the team are friends, so to prevent business from becoming personal, a separate forum is created to talk uniquely about Serious Side Projects. That way, someone like Michael, the social media leader, can focus specifically on what needs to be done without "anyone getting hurt."
Nathaniel at the ANTrepreneur of the Year Awards 2016, representing SSP.

But Serious Side Projects has made leaps and bounds despite the hurdles. The team received our Best Prototype of the Year award in 2016 and the tabletop-worthy version is intended to be ready this week, under Art Director Jose's lead. The trio also plans to booth at WonderCon and Pop! Convention 2017. And a new game featuring medieval taverns and inns is currently in the works.

To keep up to date about this startup, check out its Facebook and Instagram.
Join us for GIRLBOSS! 

Tips to Sharpen Your Startup
Policy Points: How New Laws Will Affect Your Startup 
by Lucy Guo

Laws and policies enacted late last year are radically changing companies' business plans. Having a comprehensive understanding of government policies not only helps businesspeople, but also young entrepreneurs in a changing environment. Here are some upcoming regulations and policies that will impact entrepreneurs and their business.
  • After California's state government approved a $22 million investment for entrepreneurship in the UC system last year, college students have more resources to develop real-word applications for technology. As research universities, the UCs provide a powerful opportunity for young entrepreneurs to dream of more innovative technologies and designs.
  • President-Elect Donald Trump intends to limit free trade between US small businesses and those in foreign countries by increasing tariffs and taxes. The incoming administration believes that these regulations are key to decrease the domestic unemployment rate. Therefore, young entrepreneurs should hold off on launching startups dependent on global trade, or invest in domestic suppliers.
Billion Dollar Private Firms' Pitch Decks Now Public

37 slides to observe compelling
design and data presentation.
Number 12 will shock you!
With the power to engage and attract potential investors, the pitch deck is an essential component of getting a firm off the ground. Companies as large as LinkedIn once were small businesses that forged their presence among venture capitalists through slides and persuasion, which are now available for public viewing.

Peruse through these powerpoints and learn from the best on how to create a top level pitch deck. Of special note is how much information is packed into each slide, while giving viewer's eyes something aesthetically pleasing. So much is discussed during these presentations that distancing words, data, and pictures from each helps to focus your speech on what matters to you, your audience, and your startup.

So check out this pitch deck compilation  by Attatch.io, ranging from AirBnB to YouTube!
Opportunists Apply Here!
ICS Students: Work with UCI Alumnus Jeff Greenberg! 

Jeff Greenberg.
Best known for transforming Hiperwall from an academic research project into a global multi-million-dollar business, serial entrepreneur (and UCI alumnus) Jeff Greenberg is starting his next venture. 

Jeff is currently looking for a junior or senior ICS major to help build the proof of concept for that venture. Applicants should be familiar with Microsoft Visual Studio and have the ability to create a system that provides real time communication between remote clients, including text messages, encoded commands, file transfer and streaming audio and video content.

To learn more about Jeff:
  • Read about Jeff's entrepreneurial work in the Orange County Register.
  • See Jeff's background and qualifications on LinkedIn.
  • Visit Jeff's entrepreneurship blog.
  • View Jeff's Twitter feed.
Interested applicants should contact Jeff at jeffg@techcoastworks.com.
What to Know
The UCI Blum Center Presents...


RSVP here .
Stay Chill and Apply  
for Coolest College Startups
 

Inc. Magazine is on a mission to find the coolest college (or graduate school) startups in North America. Do you think your business can revolutionize industries? Are you designing the next top innovation? Great. Apply to 2017 Inc.'s Coolest College Startups! We had two ANTrepreneurs featured last year, and your company could also be one of them (check out 2016's coolest college startups )!

You would be able to seek out resources you need to develop your business by applying for this competition, since it is also a good platform to help college startups make connections and learn from others.

Apply by 5pm EST on January 31, 2017.
Join the Celebration of Entrepreneurship
with Tech Coast Angels!  

With over 300 members in five networks across the OC, LA, San Diego, Central Coast, and Inland Empire,  Tech Coast Angels is is one of the largest angel investment organizations nationwide. TCA provides companies capital, counsel, mentorship, and access to an extensive network. Members provide funding and guidance to more early-stage, high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group.

TCA will be hosting the Celebration of Entrepreneurship on March 8 at the  Segerstrom Center for the Arts. If you're part of a Southern California company looking to captivate potential investors, this pitch contest is for you! A series of tryouts and coaching sessions will conclude with ten startups pitching for exactly 60 seconds each!

The first tryout is on February 8. Good luck to those who applied! 
Pitch for Cash at Arizona State University

The Arizona State University Innovation Open is designed to fuel multidisciplinary college startups as they drive the power of entrepreneurship to solve the world's most challenging problems. The competition welcomes all university students from all academic disciplines, and it comprises of four highly competitive phases, including an application process, video pitch Q+A telephone conference, VIP Pitch Playoffs for Semi-Finalists, and ASU innovation open demo day.

Students have chance to win $100K, bragging rights, along with other grants, scholarships, and prizes - including VIP experiences at the  Phoenix Open and the  NCAA Final Four festivities.  The travel to Phoenix/ Scottsdale is not required for applicants, but there will be travel funding fully paid to the top five finalist ventures, especially for the finalists, who will be attending ASU demo day.

Now, UCI's top student-led ventures are encouraged to apply! This is an awesome opportunity for the right team to get some serious cash CA$H and excellent exposure. Let's have an ANTrepreneur win this thing!

Please apply by Sunday, January 22 at 11:59 pm PST. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact entrepreneurship@asu.edu .
Mark your Calendars: January 2017

Sunday Monday Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday Friday Saturday
Jan. 15 16 17

18

NVC workshop: How to Create a Concept Paper at The Cove. 5:30-7pm. RSVP.

1 Million Cups at The Cove. 7:45-9am. RSVP.
19 20

NVC workshop: How to Transform an Idea into a Business at The Cove. 5:30-7pm. RSVP.
21

22

ASU Open Deadline. Apply here.
23

UCI Alumni Entrepreneur Panel at The Cove, 6-8pm. RSVP.
24

Business Model Canvas Workshop by SWOC Education. 6:30-8:30pm. RSVP.
25

NVC workshop: Intellectual Property and Protection at The Cove. 5:30-7pm. RSVP.

1 Million Cups at The Cove. 7:45-9am. RSVP.
26
27 28
29 30 31

NVC Concept papers due at midnight

Inc. Coolest College Startups application due
Feb. 1

1 Million Cups at The Cove. 7:45-9am. RSVP.

ENP Customer Experience Forum. The Cove. 5:30-8:30pm. RSVP.

QB3 Pitch Competition Deadline. Apply here.
2

Startup Weekend Orange County @People-
Space through 2/5.
RSVP.

3

4
5


6

GIRLBOSS at The Cove. 7-9pm. RSVP.

7
8

1 Million Cups at The Cove. 7:45-9am. RSVP.
9
10


11


For additional entrepreneurial events throughout 
Los Angeles and Orange Counties, visit  www.socalcal.com.
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About the Writers
Zejin (Lucy) Guo  is a first year Business Economics major wishing to explore her potential. She is a newsletter editor at the ANTrepreneur Center, and always dreamed of becoming a good entrepreneur through hands-on learning and experiences.  
Will Khaine is a second year Business Information Management major and the ANTrepreneur Center Newsletter Editor in Chief. He's interested in supporting socially responsible startups, and spends his spare time programming, eating chicken sandwiches, and drinking coffee. Lots of coffee.
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