UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business hosted the grand finale of its 22nd annual Stella Zhang New Venture Competition on May 21, 2026. The competition aims to spark innovation and empower entrepreneurs from the university and the broader community, helping teams turn their ideas into viable businesses.
Dan Jenkins, who has co-chaired the event since 2014 and is an honorary board member for UC Irvine’s Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, highlighted the ambition required. Imran Currim, faculty director of the Beall Center, described the collaborative effort behind the competition, stating that "it takes a village."
The journey for participating teams begins in the fall. Contestants, comprising students, faculty, researchers, staff, and community members, submit a three-page concept paper detailing their startup idea. For the 2026 competition, 160 concept papers were submitted, involving over 500 participants across campus. Teams compete in one of five tracks, each requiring two to six members with at least two enrolled UC Irvine students.
Approved teams receive guidance and feedback from 160 volunteer mentors and judges. This support helps them refine their ideas for the semifinals, where 54 teams presented 10-minute boardroom pitches followed by a question and answer session. The top two teams from each track then advanced to the grand finale, delivering three-minute pitches and participating in a five-minute Q&A.
Larry Wilk, faculty director of the ANTrepreneur Center, welcomed attendees to the SB1 Auditorium, and Merage Dean Ian Williamson noted the extensive effort involved, saying, “It took months and months and months.”
Among the ten teams that took the stage, CuraVoice was the first to present, competing in the Consumer Services category. Sakhi Patel, CEO and co-founder of CuraVoice, is a graduate student in UC Irvine’s School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her team addressed the issue of communication failures in healthcare, which result in an estimated $12 billion annual loss.
CuraVoice developed an AI-powered platform for healthcare students to practice patient conversations and receive real-time feedback. The platform utilizes a proprietary small language model built on 2,000 patient-student conversations and clinical guidelines to ensure accurate and empathetic feedback. The platform's users include healthcare students, providers seeking continuing education and workforce training, and hiring managers evaluating communication skills. CuraVoice currently serves over 500 users across 100 healthcare institutions, has been featured by NVIDIA, partnered with the Orange County Pharmacist Association, secured a business-to-business contract, and piloted its software with the UCI School of Pharmacy.
