In addition to a splashy new name, the startup incubator at GPS is enhancing the resources it provides to early-career entrepreneurs
The Wavemaker Lab had a fantastic first year — and it’s gearing up for an even bigger second go-around helping the next generation of startup ventures.
The lab — which is nested inside GPS’s Cowhey Center on Global Transformation — allows the founders of startups to receive guidance and practical help from a mentorship council of industry leaders and GPS faculty members, all of whom have different sector focuses and areas of expertise.
If “Wavemaker Lab” doesn’t sound familiar, that’s because it’s the new name of the Policy and Strategy Entrepreneurship Lab (also known by its shortened name, PSE-Lab). Elizabeth Lyons, associate professor at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), said that in addition to being catchier, the title is also meant to tie into the university’s Triton identity.
“One thing that we realized in our first year is that the entrepreneurship ecosystem is just thriving right now at UC San Diego,” she said.
In its second year, the Wavemaker Lab aims to leverage this strength of the university’s startup culture. One way it will do so is by collaborating with The Basement, another startup incubator on campus, to offer workshops that help startup founders navigate the thornier parts of starting a business.
But that’s only one of many changes. Lyons said that in addition, this year the lab is looking to accept more venture founders into the program. It’s also planning to offer a condensed version of the program for startup founders who don’t need an entire academic year’s worth of guidance. Applications for this express program are slated to open up in January.
In the future, Lyons said that the Wavemaker Lab hopes to provide financial grants to founders in addition to the mentorship opportunities currently available.
Ravi Chawla can attest to the impact the lab has had on his company, ChakraTech, which produces sustainable materials by harnessing the power of bacteria that consume greenhouse gasses as their food and produce biodegradable plastic as a byproduct. As a member of last year’s cohort, he said the guidance he received from the program played a large role in getting his startup off the ground.
“Last year, when I was applying to the lab, ChakraTech was not even incorporated as a company,” he said. “A year later, we have lab space and we have interns working with us.”
In addition, the company secured two major donations: a $200,000 bioreactor (a device that allows biochemical processes to take place), $100,000 worth of additional equipment and $30,000 worth of chemicals to serve as the raw ingredients of the biodegradable plastic.
Chawla said that he was confident in handling the technical aspects of the operation, given that he has interdisciplinary training in science and engineering, including a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.
“But when it comes to the third leg of the stool, business — I attribute my success purely to the mentors at the Wavemaker Lab,” he said.
Applications for this year’s cohort are open now. To receive more updates, follow the Wavemaker Lab’s Instagram page.
