About the Founder Fireside series:
Launching a business or social enterprise is challenging—it requires time, resources, and persistence. Join us at The Basement for Founder Fireside, where UC San Diego alumni founders return to campus to share their successes, struggles, and everything in between. This is a unique opportunity to learn from their journeys and connect with fellow entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a positive impact on society.
Event Description:
Join us as we celebrate The Basement’s 10 year anniversary with a special edition of Founder Fireside! This exclusive event brings together Basement alumni who have navigated a familiar journey—balancing life as UC San Diego students while launching their own startups.
But here’s the twist: while they’re no longer working on the ventures they started in college, they’ve built thriving careers across diverse industries. Hear firsthand how their entrepreneurial experiences shaped their career paths, the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and the advice they have for today’s student entrepreneurs.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear their stories, network with others, and enter to win newly released Basement branded merchandise!
Free Basement tote bags provided to the first 10 attendees!
About the Panelists:
German Flores ‘20 | Cognitive Science w/ Human Computer Interaction | Senior Software Engineer, Intuit | LinkedIn
For the past 4 years, German has been at Intuit developing mobile applications for QuickBooks, and providing mobile-first accounting solutions for small businesses all over the world. Prior to that, he worked at CodePath.org mentoring and training students in iOS development and helped dozens of students bring CodePath cohorts to their university campuses. While at UC San Diego, he developed a burning passion for mentorship, startups and the human-centered design process. He has aspirations to continue his journey in these areas using the knowledge attained working as a professional software engineer.
Julie Yip ‘18 | Bioengineering: Biotechnology / B.S. | Cofounder & Lead Engineer, Ananya Health | LinkedIn
Julie Yip is Cofounder & Lead Engineer at Ananya Health, a medical device startup freezing cervical cancer in its tracks. She has over 5 years of industry experience building medical devices from idea to manufacturing. Her foray into global women’s health was cofounding a student startup focused on maternal mental health, and she has since designed tools for pelvic floor ultrasounds, developed breastfeeding devices, and researched the rising congenital syphilis rates in the US.
Allie Duchnak ‘17 | Nanoengineering | Staff Engineer – Development, Illumina | LinkedIn
Allie Duchnak graduated from UC San Diego in 2017 with a BS in Nanoengineering and from CSU San Marcos in 2020 with a Professional Science Master’s in Biotechnology. She worked in HIV research at UC San Diego and was a founding leader of a student-run startup developing a low-cost HIV monitoring system. Currently, Allie is an engineer in research and development at Illumina, a leading biotechnology company in the genomics market, where she has been contributing for over 6 years.
Fred Grier ‘19 | Business Psychology | Founder, Business San Diego | LinkedIn
Fred Grier is the editor at Business San Diego, a newsletter media company. He has had a front row seat working in the technology and life science sector, with specialized expertise in venture capital and startups. Using his platform, Fred provides visibility and connections to early-stage startups, top VC firms and under-the-radar companies.
Directions to The Basement
This event is located on the first floor of the Design and Innovation Building (DIB). The entrances are located across from the Structural Materials and Engineering building or next to the UC San Diego Central Campus Station bus and trolley stop.
