LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UCLA Anderson School of Management, in association with the UCLA Library, is launching the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator. The Anderson Accelerator will encourage multidisciplinary collaboration among aspiring Anderson and UCLA entrepreneurs, students in the Undergraduate Minor in Entrepreneurship and campus researchers, with mentoring from alumni, experienced entrepreneurs and the business community.
“UCLA Anderson is delighted to see the realization of this exciting living lab to further enhance the UCLA entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian. “The UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator offers students and researchers an environment that triggers innovation and breakthrough ventures. It brings together students and faculty from across UCLA, including the health and computer sciences, engineering, and the humanities to develop new ventures.”
The space, which is located on the first floor of the Rosenfeld Library at UCLA Anderson School of Management, will be open to Anderson MBA candidates, as well as to undergraduates and graduate students from other schools on campus, and to faculty researchers. The facility will host guest speakers, topical seminars and “demo days” for resident companies.
“The active learning environment of the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator will allow entrepreneurial members of the UCLA campus community to put lean startup principles to work in order to accelerate the launch of their business ventures,” says UCLA Anderson Senior Associate Dean Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., founder and faculty director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
The Anderson Venture Accelerator is a 10,000-square-foot incubator for nascent UCLA startups, with technology rich co-working spaces for as many as 45 people, a presentation area with state-of-the-art audio/video capability, conference rooms, a kitchen and access to UCLA Anderson’s research libraries. The space is divided into training rooms, collaboration spaces, meeting rooms, and working lounge areas, all of which are conducive to developing the ideas and momentum needed to start businesses.
“With the growing interest in UCLA’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, we saw a significant need for on-campus space where UCLA start-ups could work and meet with advisors,” says Elaine Hagan (’91), executive director of the Price Center. “As the usage patterns of our library have changed, the librarians have worked with us to design an active learning facility that utilizes the best of their capabilities, while physically demonstrating the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation to Anderson and the campus.”
UCLA Anderson collaborated with members of the entrepreneurial, venture and campus communities to identify best practices in the management of collaborative spaces and to develop the accelerator’s governance policies.
The Anderson Venture Accelerator launch is being sponsored by Cadillac, which is presenting three $10,000 Cadillac Dare Greatly Awards to each of three outstanding entrepreneurial ventures founded by members of the UCLA community:
Leo Petrossian (’14), Dan Hanchey (’13), Robert Hamilton (PhD. ’13 Biomedical Engineering), Neural Analytics
Rob Douk (GEMBA ‘16), Behavioral Healthworks, Inc.
Layne Haber and Mykolas Marcinkevicius (B.S. ’16), Arctica
“It is important to foster young minds to think differently, carve their own path and provide them the resources to move the world forward,” says Melody Lee, Cadillac director of brand strategy and planning. “Our partnership with the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator is a terrific way to recognize those who will change the world for future generations.”
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is among the leading business schools in the world, with faculty members globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Located in Los Angeles, gateway to the growing economies of Latin America and Asia and a city that personifies innovation in a diverse range of endeavors, UCLA Anderson's MBA, Fully-Employed MBA, Executive MBA, Global Executive MBA for Asia Pacific, Global Executive MBA for the Americas, Master of Financial Engineering, doctoral and executive education programs embody the school's Think In The Next ethos. Annually, some 1,800 students are trained to be global leaders seeking the business models and community solutions of tomorrow.
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About the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
The Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurial education. With a distinguished faculty as its cornerstone, the Center oversees activities that advance the theory and practice of entrepreneurship as well as the related fields of technology commercialization, venture capital and private equity, and social innovation. Well known for the impact of its outreach programs, the Price Center fosters a spirit of innovation in individuals, enhances the managerial capacity of organizations, and prepares entrepreneurial leaders who will provide significant, sustainable and economic value to society.