Ananya Bala has been announced as the winner of IMD’s 2024 MBA Venture Award.
The MBA candidate will receive 100,000 CHF in funding, as well as mentorship and strategic guidance from a panel of successful IMD entrepreneurs and industry experts. This award aims to support promising entrepreneurs in bringing innovative business ideas to market.
The panel, consisting of serial entrepreneur and IMD alumnus Thierry Maupilé (MBA 1988), venture capital investor Olivier Laplace (MBA 2014), managing partner of Raine Next-Gen Communications Kevin Linker, and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship Jim Pulcrano, voted unanimously.
Despite tough competition from other strong candidates Naga Arapaho, Jakob Johansson, Mariana Otarola, and Juan Romero, Bala’s vision for marleys set her apart.
“It may seem bold for the jury to venture outside of tech, but Ananya’s passion, preparation, and humility won us over,” said Pulcrano. “This competition is about supporting ideas that make a real difference. Ananya’s vision for marleys is not just about dance shoes; it’s about empowering people to express themselves.”
“I discovered swing dancing on a date and fell in love with the community and energy of Lindy Hop,” shared Bala. “Six months into my journey, I wanted a pair of dance shoes and struggled to find a pair I liked. I even paid over $200 to get some online, only to receive shoes that were too big for me. As a consumer brand that offers dancers stylish, comfortable, and accessible shoes, marleys aims to solve this problem for good. We should all dance more – whether that’s at a dance class or a night out with the girls – and marleys will be there every step of the way, making your dancing feet happy.”
The MBA Venture Award was established in 2022 by Maupilé, CEO of ELEO Partners, to strengthen the IMD startup community by providing budding entrepreneurs with the financial resources and guidance they need to launch and grow innovative business ideas. This year, 20% of the MBA class put forward a startup idea and competed for the four final pitch slots by pitching their idea to the jury and their classmates in June. Previous winners include Brandon Taft for hominim.ai (2022) and Jasper Schakel for CIWI (2023), both of which are progressing well with customers and investors.
