The Final Round of the Lowell Milken Institute-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs was a public competition in which the final six teams, Good Luck Gaming, Mechanodontics, Original Collins, White River, Who's Got Game and YT AG., each had 25 minutes to present their venture and answer questions from the judges. For the 2016-17 competition, there was a first place Prize of $70,000, a second place Prize of $30,000, and an Audience Favorite Award of $1,000. Team Mechanodontics, a startup that has invented hygienic and aesthetic braces that halve treatment time and require fewer dental visits, was chosen as the recipient of the first place prize. The second place prize went to YT AG., a first-in-market industrial-grade pollinator healthcare IT provider, and the Audience Favorite Award went to Good Luck Gaming, a startup that gives fans a chance to play with their favorite video game celebrity while supporting a good cause. You can learn about all of the finalist teams below.

This event was sponsored by Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy and UCLA School of Law. For more information, please contact lowellmilkeninstitute@law.ucla.edu.

The Lowell Milken Institute-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs is a business plan competition for teams of UCLA students with a total of $100,000 in prizes. Each team consists of two to six members and must include a current UCLA School of Law 3L student in good standing or a 2016 UCLA School of Law graduate. This competition is for any Team that has developed a Startup Business that the Team has already started to build or intends to build within the next 12 months. A Startup Business is any proposed business or existing business, for profit, not-for profit, or public benefit. The Startup Business must be a new, independent venture in seed or startup stages. Visit our website for information about the next competition.

Check out the blog post Jules Miller, one of the five Final Round judges, published regarding the Final Round of the Lowell Milken Institute-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs.

View Pictures from the 2017 Final Round of the Competition:

Finalist Teams

1. Good Luck Gaming -- Good Luck Gaming was created to allow any consumer a chance to play with their favorite video game celebrity while supporting a good cause. Twitch revolutionized the way fans interact with their favorite gamers but it is still a one-way method of engagement. So we created an avenue where fans can interact at a deeper level with the celebrities that they watch every day. For each gaming session, fans can buy raffle tickets that democratize the opportunity to participate in unique gaming experiences that they cannot attain anywhere else. The proceeds from the raffle are split between the video game celebrity, charity of the celebrity’s choice, and Good Luck Gaming.
2. Mechanodontics (First Place Winner) -- Mechanodontics is making a new type of braces that reduces the overall treatment time by half, cuts the number of visits to the orthodontist from 25 to 6, reduces overall pain, is invisible, and increases oral hygiene.
3. Original Collins -- Original Collins is the first-to-market, full-proof, craft cocktail in a portable, convenient 12oz. slim can, capitalizing on current alcohol industry trends, based on our proprietary recipe of the classic Tom Collins drink.
4. White River -- White River designs, manufactures and sells sustainable sneakers to drive a more conscious approach to fashion and retail by sourcing materials that were historically wasted by the fashion industry (a process known as “upcycling”). This allows the company to reduce the waste created by the industry instead of generating new waste. White River uses sustainable manufacturing processes to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance.
5. Who’s Got Game (Audience Favorite Award) -- Who’s Got Game? (“WGG”) is a web and mobile application that caters to sports fans who want to watch the sports and e-sports game of their choice in a public setting. In major cities across North America, home town teams are blacked out for fans by regional sports networks owned by cable companies. Dodgers games in Los Angeles are blacked out for the fourth year in a row! Coverage disputes are a nationwide pain for both professional and collegiate sports. WGG solves the problem of where to watch the game for these frustrating black-out scenarios. We help college alumni find their alma mater’s games from across the country. We help expats find the soccer and rugby match, we help hockey fans in non-hockey cities join others, and we ensure travelers they won't miss their favorite team while on the road. Our utility tells you what’s playing like TV Guide, gives you venue choices like Yelp and checks you in like Facebook. Who’s Got Game? is always free to users because we’re in it for the fans.
6. YT AG (Second Place Winner) -- Large commercial bee pollination operations are losing bees at a rate of 50% per year due to insufficient maintenance practices. YT Ag. seeks to bridge this maintenance gap by becoming the premiere healthcare information technology company for the pollination industry. We provide bee health diagnostic technology to commercial pollination businesses and corporate farms, thus allowing them to control this 50% bee loss down to 5%.

Past Competitions

Learn about last year's Final Round of Lowell Milken Institute-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs Competition here.