To commemorate the Day of Caring’s founding year, the entire UC San Diego community showcases its loyalty and support with 1960 minutes of giving. Between May 12 at 6 a.m. through May 13 at 2 p.m., supporters can choose their cause, share stories, and make a gift to UC San Diego that will impact the world now and for generations to come. For 2022, Dean Ordóñez has personally committed to match all gifts to any area of Rady, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000 with a gift to the Rady School Career Management Center.
The Rady School’s programs prepare the next generation of diverse, innovative leaders of technology-driven companies through education, experiential learning, mentorship, and venture funding.
The unique experiential learning opportunities that provide students with the opportunity to explore the many sides of innovation and entrepreneurship include:
The nonprofit StartR accelerator offers six focused tracks, including programs for diverse groups and veterans, to participate in focused, hands-on company development.
Pitch competitions: Triton Innovation Challenge and Border Innovation Challenge focus on bringing to the spotlight promising solutions and technologies to address environmental issues and meet the efficiency and security challenges of the region’s ports of entry.
Rady Innovation Fellows program deploys teams of Rady graduate students to support the commercialization of new technologies and assist entrepreneurs in various stages of development.
Our mentorship program DRIvE (Developing Rady Innovation Entrepreneurs) connects teams with high‐level mentors who provide guidance in the early phases of their startups.
The Rady Venture Fund offers investment capital to entrepreneurs as well as education and experience in venture capital management, including opportunities to invest in Rady alumni startups.
Visit giveto.ucsd.edu to choose any gift fund OR click below to support these Rady funding priorities:
In May of 2021, the Rady School community raised $12,905, including funding for Undergraduate Clubs, including the UC San Diego Speech and Debate team, fellowships, MPAc program, and greatest needs.
Powered by your support, we will prepare future leaders for new venture creation and growth, bringing to market solutions for global good and impacting the economy through job creation, revenue growth, and increased diversity.
For almost two hours, students of the Rady School of Management, Rady alumni, a UC San Diego faculty member and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran pitched their startup ideas to a rapt virtual audience of students, faculty and investors.
The presentations were part of Demo Day, an event held twice a year to showcase the startup ideas of entrepreneurs in the StartR accelerator, a program of Rady’s California Center for Innovation and Development (CIID).
The winner was Vogel, a company founded by Rady alum Govind Krishnamurthi (MBA ’07) and his business partner Samir Rayani. The company won the Audience Choice Award of $250 as well as the unanimous vote of the three-judge panel.
The centerpiece of Vogel’s platform is a data privacy app that was launched a year ago.
“Essentially, we are putting privacy control in the palm of your hands,” Krishnamurthi said to his audience. “With one click of a button, you can control what Facebook knows about you, what Alexa is probably listening to you and your wife or spouse in your bedroom, what LinkedIn knows about you when you are changing jobs.”
Since its inception in 2007, StartR has served as a launchpad for entrepreneurs by giving them access to a broad base of mentors, networking opportunities, and guidance to refine and build on their ideas.
The program is offered in six tracks — Rady students and alumni, Inclusion, Impact, Veteran, Teen and Blue. To date, StartR has supported 266 startup teams and helped them raise $212 million in funding for businesses that bridge science, data and innovation. The accelerator’s success is a reflection of the Rady emphasis on quantitative and analytical skills, rigorous discovery, innovation, and cutting edge faculty research.
Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14)
One success story is Rady grad Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14), and a StartR alum ’14. He called in during Demo Day to share his thoughts about the accelerator’s impact on his own entrepreneurial journey. Kanuganti is founder and CEO of two companies in the artificial intelligence space, Aira.io and Personal.ai.
“As founders, we have ideas. We have a lot of conviction about how our background or skills can potentially fulfill that conviction to become reality,” Kanugunti said. “But there’s a lot more to executing your vision. I found being in a group of likeminded people, surrounding yourself with other founders will all of a sudden unlock conversations that you never probably had before.”
Dean Lisa Ordóñez welcomed the Demo Day gathering. Professor Kimberly Davis King, who has over 17 years of experience in the venture capital industry and is currently a partner at Launch Factory, lecturer at the Rady School and an adjunct professor at San Diego State University, moderated. Tim Schwartz, director of Rady’s CIID, introduced the center’s team. The three judges in the panel for StartR Day were Caitlin Wege, president of Tech Coast Angels; Jason Knapp, entrepreneur and CEO of CraftedPour.com; and Olin Hyde, StartR alum, and CEO and founder of Leadcrunch.
Applications for the next cohort of the StartR Accelerator are open through February 24th, 2022. Apply for StartR Rady, Impact or Inclusion. The next Demo Day will be held June 1. We hope you will attend the event and support our next cohort of StartR entrepreneurs!
StartR programs spotlighted at this year’s Demo Day:
Maisha Cobb (MBA ’21): MPact International, a scalable platform to measure and understand diversity of perspectives, openness to change, and psychological safety in organizations.
Lauren Hackney (FlexEvening MBA ’23): Rooted Reusables helps companies meet zero waste goals by providing reusable food ware products and services to eliminate the dependence on single-use plastics and other single-use alternatives.
Govind Krishanamurthi (MBA ’07) and business partner Samir Rayani : Vogel, a privacy platform with an app that aims to ensure data protection and greater consumer privacy.
Mark Thever (MBA ’13): Lift Seltzer is developing micro-dosed, cannabis-infused seltzers with 2mg THC and 6mg CBD for celebrating, socializing, or hanging out.
Cedric Paige (MSBA ’22): Rola, a social media aggregate and digital networking platform that removes the tediousness and inconvenience from the networking process.
Former U.S. Marine Corps Communication Strategy and Operations Officer Zack Doherty: TrueVote, a social platform for empowering Americans to be politically informed and engaged.
UC San Diego faculty member Dr. José Ricardo Suárez: Kryos is developing portable cooling garments for personal and industrial use.
Demo Day Shines the Spotlight on StartR Entrepreneurs was last modified: February 24th, 2022 by Rady School
The global Rady alumni community has become even better connected during the pandemic. Over the past two years, MSBA students and alumni have developed a strong networking program to expand their connections within the Rady community—across San Diego, the Bay Area, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. As they graduate with strong quantitative and analytical skills and embark on their job search, students are connected with alumni working for industry leaders including Petco, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Kimberly-Clark, EY, Deloitte, and the Mayo Clinic.
In early 2020, Snehanshu Tiwari, Vishnu Sharon Ramesh, and Sakshi Sharma (all MSBA ’18) contacted MSBA faculty, offering their support to the graduates who would soon be entering the pandemic job market. Coffey Zhang (MSBA ’20), then a student, co-led the effort of matching alumni with current students based on shared interests, desired industries, or functions. Alumni volunteers met virtually with students to assist with needs including resume review, interview tips, and job referrals. “Essentially this is a long-term relationship you’re building,” says Zhang, who became an alumni lead for the program in 2021. “It has been a very fulfilling experience for me to help the students.”
Anshul Sachdev (MSBA ’21) was a student lead for the networking effort in 2021. When he entered the MSBA program in fall 2020, he began connecting with alumni and assembled more than 100 contacts to form a WhatsApp group called The Rady Alumni Interaction Network (TRAIN). Zhang, Sachdev and their co-leads’ efforts led to increased alumni engagement, and even more students supported in the initiative’s second year. Zhang says that Professor Vincent Nijs was instrumental in fostering connections across cohorts. “Without him being the glue between cohorts, we couldn’t have done it.”
Vishnu Sharon Ramesh, Data Science Tech Lead for Sinclair Broadcasting, was among the initial group of alumni who offered to help. “All the students I have interacted with have been very thankful, grateful and most importantly quite eager to learn.” He says, “The school propelled me to be where I am today and for that I will always be grateful. I will be extremely proud if I can contribute in any small way to the school’s future successes.”
Diego Amenabar (MSBA ’20) agrees, “As you can imagine, it has been an opportunity for me to expand my own network.” The Head of Advanced Analytics for Latin American retailer Cencosud says, “Usually, people only think about expanding their network by connecting with people with more experience, alumni, and so on. But there is value in expanding your network with younger people and from different cultures. You never stop learning.”
Success stories from the networking initiative are plenty. Sanya Khera (MSBA ’21), who helped organize the 2021 effort, was able to match with mentors who leveraged their Rady MSBA into product manager roles. Sachdev also had success, connecting with an alum who helped him secure a referral interview within a week of their first meeting. Organizers of this networking effort say that plans are already in the works not only to continue it next year, but to expand it, including to other programs. “All alums are assets for the school and for each other,” says Sachdev.
MSBA Students and Alumni Lead Virtual Networking Program at Rady was last modified: April 8th, 2022 by Camille Cannon
Since its founding in 2012, the StartR non-profit accelerator program has provided resources, mentoring and access to funding opportunities to more than 230 teams. The program is offered in six tracks—Rady, Inclusion, Impact, Veteran, Teen and Blue, each providing unique opportunities to learn from experts and receive guidance for building a sustainable business. In total, companies that have participated in StartR have gone on to raise more than 158 million dollars.
Traditionally, twice a year, StartR teams have the opportunity to pitch their startups in front of the San Diego business community at a live event called StartR Demo Day. While the event will not occur in-person due to social distancing guidelines, the show will go on February 16th in a virtual format. Get familiar with the StartR teams below, and RSVP to attend Demo Day here.
MPact International
A scalable platform designed to measure and understand diversity of perspectives, openness to change, and psychological safety in organizations. Because when employees feel valued and safe, customer value grows too.
Rooted Reusables helps companies meet zero waste goals by providing reusable food ware products and services. We are rooted in our mission is to eliminate the dependence on single-use plastics and other single-use alternatives.
Microdosed, cannabis-infused seltzers with 2mg THC and 6mg CBD for a light, uplifting, social buzz; whether for celebrating, socializing, or hanging out, Lift Seltzer is here to provide a refreshingly new type of experience.
TrueVote is a social platform for empowering Americans to be politically informed and engaged, in order to increase trustworthiness, accountability, and ultimately effectiveness throughout our political ecosystem.
Zack Doherty
Kryos
We are developing the most powerful portable cooling garments for personal and industrial use.
José Ricardo Suárez
Learn more about the Rady School’s California Institute for Innovation and Development and StartR Accelerator Program here.
Meet the Teams of StartR Demo Day February 2022 was last modified: February 9th, 2022 by Camille Cannon
Over the past couple of months, the world has experienced changes, challenges and grief like we have never known. Each day brings with it new hurdles to overcome, but also new reasons to be hopeful.
The UC San Diego community is working tirelessly to find solutions to the obstacles we face as a result of the the pandemic. From critical research to combat COVID-19 to making masks for healthcare workers, we are proud to witness inspiring acts of resilience and care.
In recognition of the ways the community has shown care during crisis, and to support these efforts as the crisis continues, UC San Diego has organized u.Care, a “Day of Caring” from 6 a.m. on May 14-2 p.m. on May 15. During these 32 hours, our UC San Diego community is encouraged to share inspiring stories, and, if you are able, donate a gift of any amount to make a difference.
We are so proud of the many Rady School alumni, partners, staff, students, and faculty who have found ways to support others in this difficult time. We have shared several of these inspiring stories below:
You can also dedicate your gift to UC San Diego’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and participate in a $350,000 match thanks to a generous challenge grant from The Conrad Prebys Foundation.
Richard Castle (FlexWeekend MBA ’13), the co-founder and president of Cloudbeds, a hospitality management software, launched the #HospitalityHelps initiative. The online platform facilitates connections between hotel properties that want to make their beds available to healthcare agencies, organizations or individuals who need them. Within a few days, the more than 1.2 million beds had been pledged at HospitalityHelps.org.
Alumni working at the Scripps Research Institute are conducting a study to improve the real-time surveillance of contagious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 using data from smartwatches and activity trackers. Through the app-based DETECT study, Katie Baca-Motes (MBA ’09 and Director of the All of Us research project), Royan Kamyar (MBA ’10, physician and CEO and founder of Owaves app) and project manager and incoming MBA FlexWeekend student Lauren Ariniello, along with their colleagues, are crowdsourcing anonymized data across the United States.
“By evaluating individual changes to
heart rate, sleep and activity patterns, as well as logged respiratory symptoms
and diagnostics test results, the Scripps’ team hopes to complement traditional
public health surveillance methods, potentially leading to earlier detection
and containment of current and future outbreaks in various geographical
locations,” said Baca-Motes.
Three MBA 2021 students have organized a GoFundMe campaign to manufacture and distribute 3D-printed mask kits. Since organizing the campaign in early April, Amir Hassan and Nicholas DiGirolamo (MBA ’21) and Mark Schultzel (FlexWeeend MBA ’21) have delivered more than 500 face mask kits to local organizations in need.
Snehanshu Tiwari, Vishnu Sharon R. and Sakshi Sharma (MSBA ’18) contacted Professor Ken Wilbur to offer their help reviewing resumes, preparing for interviews or make introductions for current MSBA students graduating this summer. When Professor Wilbur shared this update on LinkedIn, even more alumni offered to help!
Sean Haggerty (FlexWeekend MBA ’17), founder of Protector Brewery, made curbside pickup and delivery available, in addition to offering the brewery’s supply of filtered water available to those in need. Protector Brewery has pledged to donate $1 from each order to Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization supporting veterans impacted by COVID-19.
Grace Evans Cherashore, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council and Executive Chairwoman of Evans Hotels, is leading an effort to make hotel rooms open and available to healthcare workers. Medical workers who present ID at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Catamaran and Bahia Resort Hotels are eligible to receive a discount of more than 50%. “The medical workers want to be in this fight as long as they can and a hotel allows them to be isolated,” Bill Evans, co-owner of Evans Hotel told 10 News. The Evans family has been a generous partner to the Rady School.
Jaden Risner and Clay Treska (FlexWeekend MBA ’19) founded Family Proud an app to help patients and their caregivers and loved ones manage their care, while they were students at the Rady School. In Spring 2020, the Family Proud platform was updated to include resources and support for those affected by COVID-19.
Steve Prestrelski (FlexWeekend MBA ’06) is the founder and chief scientific officer of Xeris Pharmaceuticals, which is offering its GVOKE Pre-Filled Syringe—an injectable treatment for diabetes patients who experience severe hypoglycemia—for $0 copay through May 31st.
The team at Indigo Marketing Agency, founded by Claire Akin (MBA ’10). prepared a list of tips for working from home. “Indigo Marketing Agency is a company run almost completely virtually by mothers of young children,” said Akin. “We saw so many of our clients struggling to adapt, so we wanted to offer our tips and tricks for working at home (even with small children) … I believe that we are helping our team members support their families and spend time with their children. It’s the best of both worlds and it provides a highly fulfilling lifestyle!”
Rady Alumni Board president Josh Kuss is the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Illumina and the commercial lead for the company’s San Diego Emergency Management Team. The team has been working since March “defining and implementing the strategies for how we keep Illumina’s employees safe, while ensuring supply to our customers, many of which are on the front line of SARS-COV-2/COVID19 research, tracing, and treatment. We tackled how to transition to work from home, and are now in the process of determining a sound return to work strategy,” said Kuss.
Academic Assessment Senior Analyst Christine McMahan volunteers with a national organization that has provided 100,000 masks for front-line workers. McMahan also offered to sew masks for Rady School staff and faculty in need. She made 65 in total, sewing every evening until she ran out of supplies.
Krithi Bindal (MBA ’17) is the founder and president of Aroga Biosciences, a regulatory writing biopharma firm which has been donating their scientific expertise to peer-review pre-print literature related to COVID-19 research.
“We are in a period of information overload,” said Bindal. “Misinformation about COVID-19, especially information lacking scientific rigor, can lead to significant risk to the public. I feel it is our duty as scientists to ensure effective communication and to help delineate scientific factual results from fiction. After all, our job as scientists is to find the truth.”
“The name of our company Aroga is based on the sanskrit term ‘arogya”, which means free of disease. We hope to continue to contribute to freeing the world of disease as we help to develop treatments for ailing patients. As we navigate these challenging times, our mission is unchanged and is stronger than ever.”
Sara Jones (Flex Weekend ’13) is the CEO of Plum Blossom Creations. She is offering free workshops on The Big Four of Mental Toughness.
“As an Unbeatable Mind student, I learned first-hand the power of the Big 4 of Mental Toughness in my fight against Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I used the Big 4 to feed my Courage Wolf, stare down my fears and thrive through the health crisis that threatened my life…
As lives were disrupted by homeschooling, layoffs, new routines and all the rest, I wanted to do what I could to help. As an Unbeatable Mind Coach, I had access to the four habits, tried and tested by warriors for 1000s of years, made simple and doable by Mark Divine, retired Navy SEAL through the Unbeatable Mind Academy. And I wanted to share those tools with others.”
To learn more about the Big Four of Mental Toughness, connect with Sara by email sara.jones@unbeatablemind.com or onLinkedIn. To sign up for coaching, visit https://bit.ly/UMCoachingwithSaraJones.
More ways in which the UC San Diego community is responding to COVID-19:
Medical school researchers launched “MyWellnessCheck,” an online platform to help identify how certain attitudes and behaviors may help increase well-being during a crisis.
UC San Diego Health is offering virtual appointments for people that have tested positive for COVID-19 but don’t require hospital care
UC San Diego physician-scientist Dr. Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, along with a team of researchers, built a rapid response platform to connect clinicians with answers to COVID-19 questions, resources and potential solutions to the challenges they face.
Read more about UC San Diego’s response to COVID-19 here.
Are you a member of the Rady School community who would like to share a story of care? Please fill out this form or email cacannon@ucsd.edu.
How the Rady Community Is Showing Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic was last modified: July 16th, 2020 by Camille Cannon
A message from the Rady School of Management Development Team:
We believe that generosity has the power to unite and heal
communities in good times and bad. A global threat like COVID-19 touches every
person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a
global community.
#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity
that takes place on May 5, 2020 (in addition to the regularly scheduled December
1, 2020 #GivingTuesday) as an emergency response to the unprecedented need
caused by COVID-19.
If you are in a position to give and had plans to
participate in this universal movement, we invite you to join the Rady School
of Management in creating a wave of generosity, community engagement, action
from individuals, businesses and philanthropy, and support our student
community that needs it most.
As UC San Diego mobilizes a holistic response to the challenges
of the coronavirus, we are more aware than ever before that our students rely
on us for far more than their education. By making a gift to the Rady
School of Management Innovation Fund, you can help us protect the academic
and financial needs of our students, and provide compassion and care that
reminds them that we are all in this together.
We also encourage you to join us for UC San Diego’s Day of Caring, u.care, May 14 and 15, 2020 and share stories of care with your community using #UCSDCares and #RadyCares.
Ways to Support Rady School Students on #GivingTuesdayNow and Beyond was last modified: May 5th, 2020 by Rady School
Alumni working at the Scripps Research Institute are conducting a study to improve the real-time surveillance of contagious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 using data from smartwatches and activity trackers. Through the app-based DETECT study, Katie Baca-Motes (MBA ’09 and Director of the All of Us research project), Royan Kamyar (MBA ’10, physician and CEO and founder of Owaves app) and project manager and incoming MBA FlexWeekend student Lauren Ariniello, along with their colleagues, are crowdsourcing anonymized data across the United States.
“By evaluating individual changes to heart rate, sleep and
activity patterns, as well as logged respiratory symptoms and diagnostics test
results, the Scripps’ team hopes to complement traditional public health
surveillance methods, potentially leading to earlier detection and containment
of current and future outbreaks in various geographical locations,” said
Baca-Motes.
Rady Alumni Board president Josh Kuss is the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Illumina and the commercial lead for the company’s San Diego Emergency Management Team. The team has been working since March “defining and implementing the strategies for how we keep Illumina’s employees safe, while ensuring supply to our customers, many of which are on the front line of SARS-COV-2/COVID19 research, tracing, and treatment. We tackled how to transition to work from home, and are now in the process of determining a sound return to work strategy,” said Kuss.
Krithi Bindal (MBA ’17) is the founder and president of Aroga Biosciences, a regulatory writing biopharma firm which has been donating their scientific expertise to peer-review pre-print literature related to COVID-19 research.
“We are in a period of information overload,” said Bindal. “Misinformation about COVID-19, especially information lacking scientific rigor, can lead to significant risk to the public. I feel it is our duty as scientists to ensure effective communication and to help delineate scientific factual results from fiction. After all, our job as scientists is to find the truth.”
“The name of our company Aroga is based on the sanskrit term ‘arogya”, which means free of disease. We hope to continue to contribute to freeing the world of disease as we help to develop treatments for ailing patients. As we navigate these challenging times, our mission is unchanged and is stronger than ever.”
Richard Castle (FlexWeekend MBA ’13), the co-founder and president of Cloudbeds, a hospitality management software, launched the #HospitalityHelps initiative. The online platform facilitates connections between hotel properties that want to make their beds available to healthcare agencies, organizations or individuals who need them. Within a few days, the more than 1.2 million beds had been pledged at HospitalityHelps.org.
Andrea Yoder Clark (MSBA ’17), and her consulting company LiveGoode Programs & Analytics is working with 211 San Diego to analyze statewide data collected from regional 211s to support the state of California’s policy response to COVID-19’s impact on most vulnerable populations.
Jaden Risner and Clay Treska (FlexWeekend MBA ’19) founded Family Proud an app to help patients and their caregivers and loved ones manage their care, while they were students at the Rady School. In Spring 2020, the Family Proud platform was updated to include resources and support for those affected by COVID-19.
Snehanshu Tiwari, Vishnu Sharon R. and Sakshi Sharma (MSBA ’18) contacted Professor Ken Wilbur to offer their help reviewing resumes, preparing for interviews or make introductions for current MSBA students graduating this summer. When Professor Wilbur shared this update on LinkedIn, even more alumni offered to help!
Steve Prestrelski (FlexWeekend MBA ’06) is the founder and chief scientific officer of Xeris Pharmaceuticals, which is offering its GVOKE Pre-Filled Syringe—an injectable treatment for diabetes patients who experience severe hypoglycemia—for $0 copay through May 31st.
The team at Indigo Marketing Agency, founded by Claire Akin (MBA ’10). prepared a list of tips for working from home. “Indigo Marketing Agency is a company run almost completely virtually by mothers of young children,” said Akin. “We saw so many of our clients struggling to adapt, so we wanted to offer our tips and tricks for working at home (even with small children) … I believe that we are helping our team members support their families and spend time with their children. It’s the best of both worlds and it provides a highly fulfilling lifestyle!”
Sean Haggerty (FlexWeekend MBA ’17), founder of Protector Brewery, made curbside pickup and delivery available, in addition to offering the brewery’s supply of filtered water available to those in need. Protector Brewery has pledged to donate $1 from each order to Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization supporting veterans impacted by COVID-19.
Sara Jones (Flex Weekend ’13) is the CEO of Plum Blossom Creations. She is offering free workshops on The Big Four of Mental Toughness. “As an Unbeatable Mind student, I learned first-hand the power of the Big 4 of Mental Toughness in my fight against Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I used the Big 4 to feed my Courage Wolf, stare down my fears and thrive through the health crisis that threatened my life.”
When Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14) arrived at the Rady School of Management, he knew he wanted to leave with an idea that would change the world—he just wasn’t sure where to start. An impactful course in entrepreneurship incited Kanuganti to pull from his experience to address a societal need. A question was posed to the class: How can entrepreneurship inspire positive change in the lives of others?
Motivated by a perseverant friend with deteriorating vision, Suman decided to use his engineering skills to help empower visually impaired individuals to achieve their full potential. Launched by Kanuganti in 2015, Aira was created to help visually impaired individuals navigate the world with more freedom and autonomy. By leveraging leading technologies, such as smart glasses and mobile devices, Aira connects users with a network of trained remote human agents to provide them with instant access to information and assistance in the physical and digital world, when and where they want it.
Aira is one of today’s fastest-growing assistive communities, revolutionizing travel, commuting, and shopping for visually impaired individuals. Aira users are able to connect to agents who are able to see a user’s location and surroundings, providing a clear, live auditory narrative of the user’s environment in virtually any daily activity.
Through partnerships with Lyft, airports, Walgreens, universities (including the University of California San Diego), sports stadiums, museums, and other lifestyle venues, Aira has brought its assistive service to millions across the U.S. and around the world. As the technologist and innovator who co-founded and serves as president of Aira Tech Corp., Kanuganti is reducing barriers and empowering people who are blind or have low vision to fully engage, explore, and experience the visual world.
Kanuganti is an active alumnus at the Rady School of Management, and has hired five other Rady School alumni to Aira. He has also worked with Rady School faculty to host two capstone projects for the Master of Science in Business Analytics. In addition, Kanuganti has spoken at several events to share his story with students, including a TEDxUCSD talk in 2017.
Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14) Honored by AACSB as a 2020 “Influential Leader” was last modified: February 5th, 2020 by Rady School
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As the holidays approach, however, you may find yourself with a to-do list longer than Santa’s Nice List—and that’s why we’re here to help! Below you’ll find innovative gifts for your loved ones, all of which were created by companies founded by Rady alumni. We hope this guide helps make your holiday season bright, and we wish you all the best in the New Year!
Last Christmas, you gave kids new clothes and the very next day … they outgrew them! Skip the store and save by shopping “pre-loved” finds, delivered to your door.
Treat someone you love (or yourself) to some pampering—haircuts, manicures, beard trims and more—at the mobile salon that’s easily accessible to busy professionals.
Take something off your loved one’s to-do list and book an oil change on their behalf! These automotive experts bring their services to office parks and businesses across San Diego for a quick and convenient change during the work day.
For the friend whose New Year’s Resolution is (always) to drink less caffeine, try Cascaraa, an antioxidant rich tea made from coffee fruit that contains about one third the caffeine of your average cup of joe.
No holiday season is complete without snow … shaved snow, that is! Get the family together for a creamy frozen dessert that would satisfy even Santa’s sweet tooth.
Robert Yang MBA ’11
These Companies Founded by Rady Alumni Can Make Your Holiday Shopping Easier was last modified: December 10th, 2019 by Camille Cannon
At 3 p.m. on Fridays, employees at LinkedIn’s San Francisco
headquarters step away from their keyboards and gather on the 17th
floor terrace to enjoy each other’s company. They mingle with colleagues in
different departments. They savor a drink or some snacks. And they soak up the
glimmer and bustle of the SoMa neighborhood below. Doesn’t sound too bad, eh?
In late October, Rady School students had the opportunity to
immerse themselves in LinkedIn’s culture (and others) during the Bay Area Trek
organized by Rady’s Career Management Center. Over the course of two days, Rady
students (primarily MBA students, but also those in other master’s programs) visited
LinkedIn, Facebook, KLA, Komodo Health, Salesforce, AirBNB, Flex and Intel,
touring the state-of-the-art office spaces, asking questions of the working
professionals—many of whom are UC San Diego or Rady alum—and getting a clearer
picture of where their degree from Rady School of Management can take them.
We caught up with two students who attended—Ping Gu and Sitong Liu (MFin ’20) to ask them about their most memorable moments and why they encourage more Rady students to make the trip.
Which companies did you visit and why did you select them?
Gu: I visited Facebook and LinkedIn. I saw the big names and I didn’t think too much! I knew I wanted to go visit these companies.
Liu: I went to LinkedIn, Komodo and KLA. I was exciting to learn about them all. They offered a broad range of experiences. I was curious to know what kind of career advice they would give us.
What left the biggest impression on you from these visits?
Gu: At LinkedIn, all three speakers were UC San Diego alum. They were so supportive of us and said they see Rady growing very fast. Eric Darwin (Head of Corporate Development) shared his story of transitioning from investment banking to working at Salesforce and now doing mergers and acquisitions at LinkedIn. It painted a picture for us of how we can navigate our own careers. After the session, we got a tour of the building. Because it was Friday, we also got to join in on their regular happy hour on the 17th floor. That was so cool! People from every floor of the building came up to join.
Rady students enjoy the views at LinkedIn’s San Francisco headquarters
Liu:I did not know what to expect from Komodo, because they are a small firm, but they ended up being my favorite part of the trip! They have about 200 employees. There were three presenters—two were remote who are based in New York. They shared what it was like to move from a big company to a startup, and then grow in the new role from startup to small company. The employees were all very open. We had a short tour of their office and got to spend most of the time asking questions, even common interview questions, such as how to respond to “Tell me about yourself,” or what kind of opportunities I could be looking for based on my interests. One of their presenters, Brice, who is Head of Engineering, is also involved with recruiting, so he had a lot of great insight to share. I asked the question, “What can I do if I don’t like coding but I do like analytical work?” Brice followed up after the visit with a thoughtful email response to that question and it has really helped me in my career planning.
Komodo Health welcomes Rady students.
What interactions did you have with Rady alum during the Trek?
Gu: On Thursday night, there was an alumni mixer at Atwater Tavern in San Francisco. Dean Ordóñez was there too! I got to meet a lot of Rady alum working in the Bay Area. Some alum even drove from San Jose—almost two hours with traffic—just to come to the event. I talked to Jessica from KLA about Rady life and how much she loved it. I also met Jessica’s classmate Chiara (18). She’s doing consulting for the nonprofit sector and she told me about some really exciting job opportunities. In that moment I realized how networking can work for everyone. She said they needed someone with an accounting background. I studied finance and accounting as an undergraduate. Sometimes you don’t expect too much from just talking, but that is the magic of networking!
All of the alum shared an appreciation for Rady. They love Rady. They love San Diego. And they know what to expect from Rady graduates. They all showed a willingness to help one another.
KLA in Milpitas.
Rady students join alum Jessica Bonilla in KLA’s cleanroom.
Liu: At KLA, three employees—two who are Rady alum—made themselves available for a Q&A session. They offered us great advice about how to negotiate with a supplier. During their presentation, they showed us this video, The Monkey Business Illusion, to demonstrate that if you focus too much on one thing during negotiations, you end up ignoring some really important aspects of the transaction.
What did you gain from going on the Bay Area Trek?
Gu: The company visits allow you to not only learn what these employers do, but then you get to explore what you want to do and what direction you want to go after graduation. At LinkedIn, for example, each speaker had a different route getting to where they are today. Nobody had a typical path. Hearing about their processes and how they made it work opened my mind to what kind of career path I can pursue in the future. If you don’t go on a trip like this, you’ll never get to hear those stories. And if you weren’t attracted by the big company names alone, it’s also a great opportunity to meet Rady alumni and students from other departments.
Liu: Don’t underestimate what you can get out of visiting a small company, or a startup! [On the Trek], you really get to know the companies on a deep level. You can build personal connections with some of the presenters. This is a rare opportunity to take these tours. When you read online about what companies are like or what the culture is, the answer comes for a PR department, or maybe someone outside of the people who are doing the actual work that interests you. On the Bay Area Trek, you get to meet them. You get an authentic answer.
Your Invitation to LinkedIn’s 17th Floor Terrace Awaits was last modified: December 10th, 2019 by Camille Cannon
