success category: YES! Alumni Triumphs

In a world where over 109,000 Americans lose their lives annually to laced drugs, YES! Program alumni Vienna Sparks and Skye Lam are taking bold action. Their company, MabLab, is developing a revolutionary 5-in-1 rapid test that screens for the five deadliest lacing agents in recreational drugs, designed to save lives through its accessibility and unparalleled accuracy in screening for lethal substances in under three minutes. The co-founders bring complementary strengths to this ambitious venture. Vienna Sparks, CEO and Columbia University graduate, combines biotechnology expertise from her research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center with proven entrepreneurial success, having previously scaled a social enterprise to over 70,000 active users. COO Skye Lam, a Harvard University graduate and Roberts Family Fellow at Harvard Business School, brings strong business acumen developed at prestigious firms like BlackRock and Bank of America, along with an impressive track record of generating over $1 million in sales revenue at Harvard Student Agencies. Since graduating from BizWorld’s YES! Program, MabLab has achieved remarkable momentum. The company recently emerged as a Top 5 Finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024’s Startup Battlefield, joining an elite alumni network that includes tech giants like Dropbox, Discord, and Cloudflare. They’ve also secured first place victories at multiple prestigious competitions, including the Life Changing Labs Demo Day, Columbia Engineering Fast-Pitch Competition, and the Evolve Founders & Funders Summit. What sets MabLab apart is not just their innovative technology, but their commitment to addressing a critical yet often overlooked public health crisis. The founders are passionate about decreasing the stigma surrounding recreational drug usage, particularly in marginalized communities that are frequently overlooked by startups and investors. Their mission-driven approach, combined with scientific rigor and business acumen, positions them at the forefront of harm reduction innovation. MabLab exemplifies the transformative power of supporting young entrepreneurs who dare to tackle society’s most challenging problems. Through their continued growth and success, they’re proving that business innovation can be a powerful force for saving lives and creating positive social change. Learn more about MabLab’s mission at mablab.tech

YES! 2022 Summer Cohort alum, Joe Knopp sold his first business Ripple over this summer. Joe was a 2022 Demo Day Finalist, where he secured $8,000 in funding from BizWorld. He used that funding to decrease his laser engraving costs of the Ripple Water bottles by over 60%. According to Joe, he wasn’t super serious about selling at first. He listed Ripple just to see the interest he would get. After receiving over 100 responses, Joe found two brother-in-laws from Cleveland who are as passionate as he is about Ripple’s mission. Joe is staying on as an advisor, where he can stay focused on the mission and creating partnerships to push the mission forward. Joe’s advice for others: “The product wasn’t radically disruptive, but I talked to customers and I was able to connect communities together. That was what made me successful.” He later went on to write in a LinkedIn Post, “But here’s what I’ve since realized: growth and success reside outside of our comfort zones. Embracing uncertainty and stepping into the unknown is where true opportunities lie. So now, I’m embracing discomfort again and using it as my compass, guiding me toward growth and new opportunities. Successes are not a reason to settle but rather a foundation to reach even higher.” Joe is already working on his next venture, Mica. Mica will be an employee-centered software in the social impact and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) space. “We are so proud of Joe and the hard work he put into making Ripple a success. To see him sell his first successful business and move onto his next big idea tells us we are on the right track. Investing in young people, supporting their ideas and growth, is what we believe will make the difference in the generations to come,” said Charlene Vaca, BizWorld CEO.

At just 17 years old, Bella Lin, a Summer 2023 BizWorld YES! Program alumna, has taken the small pet industry by storm with her company GuineaLoft. Featured recently on CNBC, Bella shared her inspiring story of turning her passion for guinea pigs into a thriving business. GuineaLoft, which sells products for small pets including cages, bedding, food feeders, and water bottles, has seen incredible growth. In 2024, the company is averaging roughly $71,000 per month in revenue, more than doubling last year’s average of $34,000 per month. In total, GuineaLoft brought in an impressive $409,000 in 2023