UPDATED NEWS BRIEFS: MBA's company secures $300,000 on 'Shark Tank'

UPDATE March 8, 2014: Revolights CEO Kent Frankovich got twice what he asked for without giving up more equity on ABC Television's "Shark Tank" Friday night (March 7). Frankovich sought $150,000 for 10 percent equity in the company, and ended up accepting "Shark" Robert Herjavec's offer of $300,000 for 10 percent equity.

•••

A Graduate School of Management alumnus developed the business plan for a company that is diving into — or, rather, cycling into — ABC Television’s “Shark Tank” this Friday night (March 7), looking for investors.

Adam Pettler, who received his MBA in 2011, serves as the chief financial officer of Revolights Inc., maker of wheel-mounted bike light systems.

President and Chief Executive Officer Kent Frankovich, whose idea launched the company in 2011, is the only Revolights representative who appears on camera, but he mentions Pettler, who developed the company’s business plan in an independent study course supervised by Marc Lowe, an adjunct professor in the GSM.

Pettler said his MBA education provided him the tools and the network to help Revolights through the entire process of building a company. “The (Graduate School of Management community) has been there to answer questions as we’ve had them,” he said.

Other UC Davis graduates have successfully navigated the “Shark Tank” waters. Chris Johnson ’02 appeared on the show last October, negotiating a $300,000 investment for his Rapid Ramen Cooker; and in May 2011, Jason Lucash ’06 of OrigAudio received a $150,000 investment after pitching the company’s Rock-It, a device that turns anything into a speaker.

"Shark Tank" is scheduled to start at 9 p.m.

Buy olive oil, get olives for free

Buy a bottle of UC Davis olive oil, and the Olive Center will throw in its California Classics Olive Collection, three cans of California ripe olives, Classic Black, Fresh-Cured Green and Spicy Ranchero, all hand-picked from Manzanillo olive groves in California’s Central Valley and processed by the Musco Family Olive Co.

The deal is scheduled to run through the end of March, or while supplies last, at UC Davis Stores.

Pollinator Gardening workshop

A Pollinator Gardening workshop on Saturday, March 15, will start in a classroom and end up in the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, with lunch in between at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.

The program is sponsored by the California Center for Urban Horticulture, as part of its Your Sustainable Backyard series; the Department of Entomology and Nematology; and the Arboretum and Public Garden.

The workshop is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. in 1001 Giedt Hall. Topics: how to identify common bee pollinators, how to make a landscape pollinator-friendly, which plants pollinators prefer, the latest research on honeybee health and pollinator habitat, and how UC Davis helps honeybees at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.

Presentations are due to conclude at 11:30, so participants can take their box lunches to the Honey Bee Haven, where two of the workshop presenters, Robbin Thorpe and Christine Casey,  will be on hand to answer entomology questions.

Then, from 1 to 2 p.m., participants are invited to a special sale at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery.

Registration: $40 per person, including coffee and scones in the morning, a box lunch and parking.

More information is available online, by phone from the California Center for Urban Horticulture, (530) 752-6642, or by email to Anne Schellman.

New home for Conference and Event Services

Conference and Event Services has moved to 116 A St. (formerly the Athletics Annex), just across the street from the east side of the campus. With the move comes new phone numbers: front desk, (530) 747-3830; and fax, (530) 747-3853.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.

 

Media Resources

Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

Primary Category

Tags