Building a successful student startup isn’t just about ideas or code—it’s about people. Trust, communication, and shared commitment shape strong teams, clear roles, and healthy culture from day one. Y Combinator shows that long-term success depends less on perfect ideas and more on the team behind them.
In October of 2025, Riccianne “Chi” Rey joined the UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center as new Program Lead. To welcome and introduce Chi, ANTrepreneur Center Director Ryan Foland sat down with her to learn more about her experience as a founder and what she hopes to accomplish at the Center.
The UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center is launching Product Development Office Hours in collaboration with Invento Design to support students building physical products. This new offering gives student founders access to experienced product design guidance, helping them navigate early decisions and move ideas closer to reality.
We are thrilled to announce that UC Irvine students Lisa Royer (Criminology and Psychology), Ella Le (Nursing Science), and Mariam Sayed (Biological Science) have received the inaugural Choi Endowed ANTrepreneur Scholarship. Learn more about the scholarship, this year’s winners, and how to apply for the 2026 award cycle.
On October 2, 2025, the UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center hosted its Fall Kickoff event and announced its newest expansion, the Santora Pitch Lab. Heralded as a transformative space equipped with modular studios and cutting-edge technology, learn how the Santora Pitch Lab rings in a new era of possibilities for UC Irvine students and community members.
At the UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center, our mission is to share our love of innovation and entrepreneurship with all students, no matter their age or experience. This is why we’ve recently started outreach with local K-12 schools to get younger students interested in...
Introduction: A Hub of Innovation At the UCI ANTrepreneur Center, innovation isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a way of life. As a hub for creativity, exploration, and cutting-edge student support, we are always looking for bold ways to integrate emerging technologies that...
The New Career Landscape Navigating today’s job market is a whole new challenge. College students, graduate students, and PhDs are entering a workforce that looks dramatically different from just a few years ago. From the rise of AI and automation to shifting...
The UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center is the campus hub for student innovation and entrepreneurial development. Located at the heart of UC Irvine, the Center provides programs, mentorship, events, Micro-Internships, maker resources, and access to tools and networks that...
In Fall Quarter 2024, the UC Irvine ANTrepreneur Center launched their brand-new AI Innovation Course. The AI Innovation Course was designed to introduce students to the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academia, professional industries, and...