Whether it be to find a cooking recipe or help with schoolwork, most people use AI as a tool in their daily endeavors.

But for UCLA alumni Sid Pandiya and Yen Tan, the technology instead provided an opportunity to create a remote working tool.

Kona is an AI-powered meeting assistant tool designed by UCLA alumni to help managers save time and propel productivity during digital meetings.

Pandiya, Kona’s co-founder and CEO, said he met Tan, Kona’s other co-founder, while they were both UCLA undergraduates the summer before entering their third year. They then founded Kona in October 2019 to help people manage and collaborate effectively.

Pandiya said he started helping local tech companies in his hometown while in high school with communication skill training.

Prior to meeting, Tan said they and Pandiya had been doing an internship that taught them about the tech world and startups. Pandiya and Tan found a common interest in wanting to support remote work after attending a Startup UCLA summer event.

Pandiya said Kona was initially intended as a tool for managers to better understand members of their team and streamline communication. However, the app eventually evolved into a way to improve managers’ efficiency in the workplace, Pandiya added.

“There’s so much science and proof to how managers impact employees and people’s lives and just their enjoyment of work,” Tan said. “To make that big of a splash and how to make work happier, healthier – it just means a lot.”

Pandiya said the co-pilot takes notes, suggests preparation for future meetings and offers coaching and performance reviews built into Slack and virtual meetings.

Kona was recently acquired by 15Five, a software platform that serves to help businesses manage and engage employee performance, according to the 15Five website.

Tan said they first came up with the name “Kona” while sitting in the accelerator office at the Anderson School of Management. The company was named after the Australian Shepherd dog breed, which is a man’s best friend, because the product is meant to be a manager’s best friend, Tan said.

Whether it be through technology or making a passion project, he said all Bruins are welcome to immerse themselves in the process of creating something great through the Anderson Venture Accelerator program.

Antonio Bernardo, Anderson School of Management’s dean, said the accelerator program is a free, entrepreneurial resource available to the UCLA community – including undergraduate and graduate students and alumni.

Bernardo said the program aims to address societal issues faced by the general public. He added that innovations like Kona fulfill the goal of the accelerator – to make the world better through creating solutions to larger problems at hand.

“The greatest challenges we face really are going to require a lot of deep innovation to meet those challenges,” Bernardo said.

Pandiya said he and Tan interviewed numerous managers before writing the code for the AI, initiating the process by asking managers about their challenges and day-to-day schedules. He added that their ultimate goal was to determine the most streamlined way for managers to use the tool.

Olav Sorenson, a professor of strategy and sociology and faculty director of the Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said the founders were paired with formal entrepreneur mentors to help advise them on the project.

Pandiya said it has been rewarding to create something that serves such an important purpose to business managers. He added that Startup UCLA and the Anderson Venture Accelerator have had a positive impact throughout their launch of Kona.

Sorenson said students should find an idea they are passionate about and then take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

“Lots of entrepreneurs fail. Lots of startups fail,” he said. “Persisting through a lot of innovative feedback and the process of getting there – it takes a fair amount of determination.”

Pandiya said he encourages Bruins to take the risk of starting a company.

“You’re a student, like this is the time to take a risk,” he said. “I think college is a great time to build things, start companies, if you are the type of person who wants to do that.”