Entrepreneur Chris Varin is a busy man – currently an MBA candidate at the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, he’s the President of the Entrepreneur Association there, as well as the Co-Founder of his own startup, Sportifik. We talked to him about how he manages to balance it all:
1. Your intro says that you're "changing the world through sports." Very intriguing – tell us more! Your website gives us a countdown of a little over 31 days..what can we expect when the day comes?
I’ve always had a passion for sports and spent several months working for an NGO in South America that was promoting social development through soccer. Sports is an incredibly powerful element in most people’s lives and my co-founders and I all truly believe that it has the power to unite people and improve the world for the better so that’s really what my intro is about. As for the countdown to the 31st of August, that’s when Sportifik launches officially! We’re going to have a launch party on the beach where we’ll be organizing volleyball and beach soccer games, playing music and having fun. Everyone’s invited! Just leave us your e-mail on our website to be kept up-to-date.
2. When did you figure out that this was for you, and what what the catalyst?
I still haven’t figured out if I’m cut out for it although I’m loving every single day. I came into entrepreneurship out of a will to build something that I thought would add value to the world and I don’t know if that makes me an entrepreneur. One thing is for sure, I expect to be wearing many hats in my life and while I think that’s partly a generational thing, it’s also a sign that most of us are moving towards a more entrepreneurial approach to our own lives, which is great.
3. What challenges have you faced (or do you face) in developing a business, and building a brand?
I think the entire starting a business and building a brand process is a challenge. Nothing is easy. Everything takes more thought, more research, more time and more money than expected but that’s fine. We’re all first time entrepreneurs and learning as we go. I frequently find myself looking up the most basic stuff on Google and feeling really stupid for it.
4. You're an MBA candidate at the UCLA Anderson School of Business. How has it helped you develop your professional approach?
Anderson have helped me maximize my experience in every way. Educationally, the professors have been world class, the courses are insightful, and the curriculum is tailored for the “new” entrepreneur. Socially, I have met incredible individuals in the program from a variety of backgrounds who have enriched my experience. Finally, professionally it has allowed me to connect to some of the top entrepreneurs, VCs and accelerators in LA which has been invaluable to me and my startup.
5. While you're doing all of that, you're also the President of the Entrepreneur Association at UCLA, which has over 800 members, and presents over 100 events per year. That's impressive! Tell us a little more about that, and as President, what is your role in the organization, and how did you become part of EA?
I don’t know that it’s impressive but I really enjoy it, just like any startup it’s the team that counts the most and I’m lucky to be surrounded by fantastic people who help me run the organization.
My role as president is primarily managing the organization as a whole, making sure that our core events go on as planned and help bring in new programs and activities that are in line with where the industry is going and what the students are looking for. A fair bit of the work is networking as well which I really enjoy doing anyway. I also get to sit on the board of the Price Center (the center for entrepreneurship at Anderson) to report on our work to a group of alumni and donors who are interested in fostering entrepreneurship at UCLA which has been an amazing experience for me.
The EA is kind of the fulcrum of innovation at Anderson and any student interested in entrepreneurship gets involved in one way or the other. I came here to start my own venture so I naturally got involved as early as possible volunteering time to help out whenever I could. I had minor roles as a first year director and participated in most of the events that were put on by the organization, networked with other entrepreneurial students in my program and with the second year board members.
6. EA is a student organization, but can non-UCLA affiliated entrepreneurs get involved?
We definitely want the EA to be outward looking and we’d like to play an important role in the LA entrepreneurial eco-system. A lot of the major events we put up are open to the rest of the LA community notably our hackathon last year was held at ROC in Santa Monica and was a huge success and over two thirds of the attendants at our EA Conference last year came from outside of UCLA. We’re also constantly creating opportunities for startups to come to campus and present to our students through classes, discussion groups or luncheons. Beyond these EA organized events, many of our students get involved with local startups or accelerators as academic interns, full-time employees or even co-founders.
7. Is there advice you would give to entrepreneurs (in LA or beyond)?
I wouldn’t presume to be in a position to give any advice to entrepreneurs at this point but I will say this: people in this industry go out of their way to help you and as a student, nobody will EVER turn you down when you’re asking for advice – it’s an amazing atmosphere we’re working in.
8. Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add, or would like our readers to know?
Just a thanks to the entrepreneurial community for having been so supportive to our organization and supporting our students with your time and resources, we appreciate it and will definitely pay it forward.
And now a quick shameless pitch for Sportifik: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Wordpress and sign up to our website to get updated on our launch. We’re going to be doing some cool things in the local sports industry and we want you to get involved!
