Bruin-Owned Businesses: Tech
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ur next feature in the Bruin-owned Business series highlights tech entrepreneurs and their companies. Explore the world of AI, online legal and food ordering services, education and business solutions for your personal and professional needs.
Grad Pad
Founder: Rondale Davis, MBA ’23
Grad Pad
Social Networking Platform
Website: gradpad.online
Email: rondaledavis@gradpad.io
Social: @grad.pad
About:
Enhance your institution’s alumni or professional network with ongoing digital and in-person events that keep your community connected all year round. We break down barriers by engaging alumni through tailored interactions that reflect your network’s unique interests, values and experiences — unlocking fresh opportunities and fostering genuine connections.
Review:
“Grad Pad has been instrumental in helping us build bridges and break down silos within our program. These connections are key to our success as a top-tier MBA program, and the platform has provided a great way for students, alumni and faculty to stay engaged with one another. It really brings people together and strengthens the community, which is invaluable for a program like ours.” - Dylan S.
DriverFly
Founder: Julia Pasternack ’09
DriverFly
Software for Recruiting/Hiring Drivers
Website: driverfly.co
Email: info@driverfly.co
Social: @driver_hiring
Phone: 714-340-5502
About:
At DriverFly, we build software to enhance the bond you have with your drivers. We believe that the key to successful CDL recruiting lies in understanding and fostering personal, meaningful relationships between drivers and employers. Through automation technology, our software is built to maximize those relationships through increased engagement and reach.
Review:
“I highly recommend this company to anyone hiring drivers. Their customer support team is very helpful in answering my questions and resolving any issues. I recently started using DriverFly's ATS and am pleasantly surprised. System is easy to navigate for tracking hires.” - Anonymous
Decipher Something
Co-Founder: Chalisa Prarasri ’14
Decipher Something
Deconstructing Concepts With AI
Website: deciphersomething.com
Email: hi@deciphersomething.com
Social: @decipher.something
About:
Democratizing science, one term at a time. Written by GenAI, verified by experts. Prof Bot is writing a database with millions of terms, acronyms and techniques.
Review:
“Reduced the amount of tangential research I had to do to decipher techniques and terminology." - Student
Idea Maker
Founder: Thomas Kwon ’92, M.S. ’95, Ph.D. ’98
Idea Maker
Technology Solutions for Small Businesses
Website: ideamaker.agency
Email: tom@ideamaker.agency
Social: @ideamakeragency
Phone: 949- 444-2526
About:
Thomas Kwon founded Idea Maker in 2016 to provide boutique development solutions to small businesses and start-ups in Orange County and the greater Californian areas. Following a career as a software engineer, Kwon has long-standing experience in web and application development, making him an expert developer. He chose the company name Idea Maker because, as you may have guessed, we aim to make your ideas a reality.
Review:
“Idea Maker's portfolio is what drew us in. Their design style was in alignment with what we were after. We had initial consultations with three companies that we had narrowed it down to. Once we had our initial meeting with Tom at Idea Maker we knew we had the right choice to make. Their communication style works well for us.” - Oscar M.
DivorceHelp123
Founder: Debra Mignola’90
DivorceHelp123
Technology for Family Law
Website: divorcehelp123.com
Email: support@divorcehelp123.com
Social: @divorcehelp123
About:
DivorceHelp123 is a family law software designed to streamline the legal process for family lawyers and their clients, helping with form filling, deadline tracking and overall organization.
Review:
“As the managing partner of King Law Offices, PC, I can confidently say that we absolutely love using DivorceHelp123. This innovative program has revolutionized the way we handle family law cases and has made a huge impact on the way we provide legal services to our clients.
DivorceHelp123 is an incredibly powerful tool that helps our team of family lawyers fill out forms, track important deadlines and stay organized throughout the entire legal process. The program is user-friendly and intuitive, which means that our attorneys can focus on providing top-quality legal representation to our clients without worrying about the logistics.” - Brian K.
Mint Mobile
Founder: David Glickman, M.A. ’94
Mint Mobile
Mobile Virtual Network Operator
Website: mintmobile.com
Social: @Mintmobile
Phone: 800-683-7392
About:
Mint Mobile is a wireless service provider that operates as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on T-Mobile’s network in the United States. It offers affordable prepaid phone plans by selling service in multi-month packages rather than traditional monthly billing.
Review:
"Their customer service is exceptional. Not only are they friendly, but they are actually able to help you. I wish more companies had customer service like this." - Natasha D.
LegalZoom
Co-Founder: Brian Lee ’93, J.D. ’96
LegalZoom
Legal Technology
Website: legalzoom.com
Email: support@legalzoom.com
Social: @LegalZoom
Phone: 888-379-0854
About:
LegalZoom is an online legal technology and services company founded in 2001, specializing in providing accessible legal solutions to individuals and small businesses. LegalZoom offers a variety of services, including legal document preparation, business formation and access to independent attorneys.
Review:
"I didn't have time to go through an attorney and I figured it would be easier going through LegalZoom... They did all the paperwork for the LLC and everything went great." - James
Blizzard Entertainment
Co-Founders:
Michael Morhaime ’90, Allen Adham ’90, Frank Pearce ’90
Blizzard Entertainment
Video Game Development and Publishing
Website: blizzard.com/en-us
Social: @blizzard
About:
Blizzard Entertainment is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software, and the company is renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games, including World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, StarCraft®, and Diablo®.
Review:
“From the moment I stepped foot into Diablo 4, I was greeted by a breathtaking world meticulously crafted by the visionary minds at Blizzard Entertainment. The attention to detail is second to none, with hauntingly beautiful environments that simultaneously evoke a sense of dread and wonder. Every corner of this world pulsates with life, and the atmospheric graphics draw you in, making it impossible to escape its grasp.” - D.B.
ChowNow
Co-Founder: Eric Jaffe ’00
ChowNow
Online Food Ordering Platform
Website: chownow.com
Email: support@chownow.com
Social: @chownow
Phone: 888-707-2469
About:
For over a decade, ChowNow has been building tech for food people, so restaurant owners can save money, staff members can save time and diners can order better. Because when restaurants thrive, they can keep serving food that gives your community its unique flavor. We want to keep it that way.
Review:
“We are an experienced user of the ChowNow platform, using it here at our location for 8 years. ChowNow provides us with a simple and effective tool, providing our guests with online ordering. Using this we are able to offer a simple way for our customers to interact with our menu and drive repeat business. The information gathered helps us keep customers returning..” - Kent G.
Hatch Labs
Founder: Eva Agapaki, M.S. ’15
Hatch Labs
AI Product Development and Market Strategists
Website: hatchlabs.ai
Email: eva@hatchlabs.ai
Social: @hatchlabs.ai
Phone: 626-460-8050
About:
Our program was conceived from a fervent passion for cultivating innovative products that are either rooted in rigorous research or address complex engineering challenges. Our mission is to empower deep tech entrepreneurs and innovative larger businesses, enabling them to fully realize their potential and successfully introduce their groundbreaking ideas to the market. Our founder, Dr. Eva Agapaki, brings a unique blend of expertise to the table. With a strong background in AI product development, technical research and product-market fit (PMF) strategy, she is ideally positioned to elevate your early-stage idea to new heights.
Review:
"This is a very professional space with solid leadership for entrepreneurs.” - The Photographer
GoGuardian
Founder: Todd Mackey, MBA ’91
GoGuardian
Digital Learning and Student Safety Solutions
Website: goguardian.com
Email: hello@goguardian.com
Social: @goguardian
Phone: 888-310-0410
About:
GoGuardian is an education technology company that provides digital learning and student safety solutions for K-12 schools. The platform offers a suite of tools designed to help educators manage classrooms, monitor online activity, filter content and ensure student well-being in digital learning environments.
Review:
“I love the fact that I can quietly get students back on track without disturbing the entire class. That I can close windows when they are off their assigned task.” - Margie W.
Robinhood
Co-Founder: Vlad Tenev, M.A. ’10
Robinhood
Financial Trading App
Website: robinhood.com/us/en
Email: support@robinhood.com
Social: @robinhoodapp
About:
Robinhood is a U.S.-based financial services company that offers a mobile app facilitating commission-free trades of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2013 by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, Robinhood's mission is to democratize finance for all by providing access to financial markets without commissions or minimum account balances.
Review:
“I love trading crypto and stocks on Hood. I’ve had lots of winning, lots of luck on the site. I love the technology. The graphs and quotes are very detailed and helps me make decisions. Some other brokers don't have good charts, slow tech. Great service. I was called several times after I emailed. Doing very well, very happy. I definitely recommend you to try it. It's fun and relaxing. Some other brokers make trading seem like unnecessary neck choking.” - Ocean
Tutorfly
Founder: Parsa Rezvani ’18
Tutorfly
Online Tutoring
Website: tutorfly.com
Email: info@tutorfly.org
Social: @tutorfly
Phone: 424-653-6159
About:
Tutorfly was founded with the vision of creating an accessible tutoring marketplace that could deliver high-quality tutoring services while simultaneously fostering connections between students and individual tutors who could serve as role models. Today, Tutorfly.com extends its reach to thousands of families across the United States, offering affordable and accessible online tutoring services.
Review:
“My experience with Tutorfly has been amazing from the beginning. I think that the partnership between Butler and Tutorfly is invaluable. We have made a huge difference in these kids' lives (and) we're working toward that achievement gap. I know it has made a big difference in helping our teachers by allowing us to have smaller groups." - Mrs. Rouse
ThousandEyes
Co-founder: Mohit Lad, M.S. ’04, Ph.D. ’07
ThousandEyes
Network Intelligence
Website: thousandeyes.com
Email: facebook@thousandeyes.com
Social: @thousandeyes
About:
ThousandEyes provides a holistic view of all connected elements of digital experience across the networks, apps, and infrastructure that organizations own — as well as those they do not own — so they can ultimately get a deep understanding of digital experiences and can take or automate actions to assure them.
Review:
“The data and insight you see when monitoring your network and application availability using Thousand Eyes is truly unbelievable. As its agents are embedded into the network just like a client, the view is from the client's perspective.” - Kevin A.
Liquid Inc.
Founder: Saujin Yi, MBA ’07
Liquid Inc.
Online Digital Identity Verification
Website: liquidinc.asia/global
About:
Liquid offers a seamless digital onboarding process by conducting online digital identity verification, thus preventing user drop-off. Our solution can be tailored to meet compliance with various regulations, including AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and other specific regulatory requirements relevant to your business.
Review:
“Liquid Inc. helped us achieve a secure and safe gaming environment. Our security measures, including user identification during emergencies and prevention of impersonation, contributed to maintaining a secure environment.” - S.U.P.
***
To submit a Bruin-owned business for future consideration, please send a note to connectfeedback@alumni.ucla.edu.
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- Bruin-Owned Fitness and Wellness Businesses
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