Entrepreneurial energy filled Corwin Pavilion on April 23 as student founders from across UC Santa Barbara presented startup ideas at the annual New Venture Fair, the semifinal stage of the campus’s longstanding New Venture Program & Competition.
 

Organized by UCSB’s Technology Management Department, the event featured twenty-one teams pitching ventures through live demonstrations, prototypes, and poster presentations. Open to students from all academic disciplines, the competition highlights emerging ventures in areas ranging from artificial intelligence and sustainability to software and creative industries. 
 

Following evaluation by judges — including venture capitalists and industry leaders, as well as votes from attendees, six teams advanced to the final round, where they will compete for top honors and startup funding.
 

This year’s finalists are: 
 

• CoListable — a B2B SaaS platform designed to streamline multi-platform inventory management for collectible watch dealers 

• DaJent — a creative workflow platform for DJs 

• LegalTime AI — software that automates billable time tracking for law firms 

• MediMRF — an AI-enabled hospital waste-sorting system 

• Mimic — a platform that transforms sonar data into real-time 3D underwater visualization through augmented reality 

• Yavin Systems — a venture that uses autonomous drones and machine learning to modernize forest inventory management
 

Since its founding in 1999, the UCSB New Venture Competition has become one of the university’s signature experiential learning programs. More than seventy startups have emerged from the competition, collectively raising over $1.2 billion in investor funding.
 

At the center of the competition is an intensive, mentorship-driven program that guides students through the process of building a startup from concept to market opportunity. 
 

“This event is really the culmination of an eight-month program,” said David Adornetto, entrepreneurship program director in UCSB’s Technology Management Department. “We guide students through the process of learning what it takes to build a company, and every team works with multiple mentors, because part of the process is learning how to build those relationships.”
 

Over the course of the program, students refine not only their ventures, but also their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
 

“When you compare their first pitches in October to what you see now, the growth is incredible,” Adornetto said. “The New Venture Fair challenges students to articulate their value proposition, defend their business model, and demonstrate real market potential. In the process, they gain fundamental skills — how to make a business case, collaborate effectively, and tell a compelling story.”
 

Mentorship is an indispensable part of the program.
 

 “Our mentors were incredibly supportive, but they also challenged us with tough questions,” said Ashvini Varatharaj, a fifth-year PhD student in linguistics and leader of the team Thrive. “They didn’t just validate our ideas — they helped us understand the difference between a concept and a viable product, and pushed us to think more deeply about the problem we’re solving.”
 

For Justin Hill-Kocak, a master’s student in Technology Management and a member of the finalist team CoListable, the experience provided an introduction to entrepreneurship. “None of us really came in knowing how to do this,” he said. “But through the workshops and mentorship, the program teaches you how to actually build a company. It’s not just theory; you’re applying it in real time while creating something real.”
 

The New Venture Competition Finals will take place on Wednesday, May 20th at 3:30 PM in Corwin Pavilion on UCSB campus. To attend, register here.