Student-entrepreneur program accepting applications

A new student-run program that aims to encourage collaboration between students interested in starting companies recently started accepting applications.

The new program, called Bruincubator, was started by students in Bruin Entrepreneurs to teach undergraduate students how to work together to start a company, said Varadh Jain, a second-year mathematics and economics student. The applications will be available online until the first week of winter quarter.

Bruincubator is a play on the words bruin and incubator – to describe a program that provides resources for early-stage startups, Jain said.

The program is meant to target students with varying skill sets such as designing, computer programming and business planning. Participants will form teams, brainstorm potential business ideas and attempt to develop technology-based products, Jain said.

“The best way to learn about entrepreneurship is to do it,” Jain said. “We want to be a pathway for any student who thinks they might be interested in entrepreneurship. Different thought processes about similar problems (can lead to) some truly innovative solutions,” he added.

Bruin Entrepreneurs plans to eventually partner with other entrepreneurship-related organizations on campus, such as the Technical Entrepreneurial Community, Startup UCLA and Sigma Eta Pi, a co-ed entrepreneurship fraternity.

Bruincubator will feature guest speakers from Southern California-based startups, including UCLA alumni, and give students a chance to learn from each other about computer coding, design techniques and market analysis.

Compiled by Alex Baklajian, Bruin contributor.