April 06, 2020 • By Sydney Charles
Zarina Bahadur, MIE ’20, won first place at Cal State Fullerton’s Fast Pitch Competition for her start-up Baby Box—a subscription-based service powered by artificial intelligence for parents of children 0-3 years old. The contest, open to all aspiring entrepreneurs, allowed students from middle school through college to compete by delivering a 60-second business pitch to a panel of judges. Bahadur won the grand prize with Baby Box taking home first place.
The competition was comprised of a “bullpen” and “lightning” round. In each round, Bahadur had one minute to pitch the business plan for her monthly subscription-based startup company Baby Box. The company’s goal is to create customized boxes with bundled baby items, such as bottles, bibs and developmental toys. Baby Box uses an algorithm to ensure that parents not only receive age appropriate items but receive them when their baby needs it.
Baby Box’s mission was inspired by Bahadur’s drive to help working parents.
She said, “Our mission is to help working moms and dads by saving them time and money. I was inspired when I saw a mom at Target with a crying baby and a toddler. She was wearing her work clothes and her cart was full of baby products so I thought to myself—we are knee-deep in the technological era, so why couldn’t all these items come to her doorstep when she needed them?”
Baby Box aims to be a time saver for parents.
“Moms will be saving time,” Bahadur explained. “They won’t have to be constantly re-ordering stuff from Amazon or running to Target. They subscribe one time, and we’ve got them covered.”
Bahadur has been drawn to the world of entrepreneurship ever since completing her undergrad at UCI.
“Solving a problem may not be easy, starting your own business may not be easy but nothing great ever came easy.” The greater the risk, the greater the reward. “I’m definitely a risk-taker, she laughed. If I see a problem, I want to fix it, just helping this one mom led to helping so many more moms.”
As a Merage School student, Bahadur’s favorite part of the Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) program is learning how to run a successful business.
“It’s less intimidating to start a new business because the program not only teaches us how to build it from the ground up but also helps facilitate the process by exposing us to the ever-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem of Orange County,” she said.
Zarina’s passion for helping working parents shines through her work with Baby Box,” said Larry Wilk, a lecturer at the Merage School who taught Bahadur’s Pre-Accelerator class. “I enjoy hearing my student’s pitches and being part of their entrepreneurial journey.”
Currently, Baby Box is looking to scale operations while partnering with local charities in order to funnel a percentage of their earnings back into the community.
Bahadur will be pitching Baby Box at the School’s New Venture Competition in the spring, where entrepreneurs will compete for the chance to win up to $100,000 in cash prizes and other professional services.
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