MBAs Drive Rebrand for Tech Foundry, New Aggie Square Makerspace

When MBA students first met with UC Davis' TEAM Lab leadership for initial consultations related to the Integrated Management Project (IMP), we knew the objective was to go beyond helping them expand into a new space—we were helping them redefine what the lab would become.

Over the course of two separate IMPs, MBA student teams created a rebranding and marketing strategy for a makerspace that is significantly expanding TEAM Lab’s market presence and footprint. Our strategic proposals—including innovative marketing ideas, new logo designs and potential names—would eventually lead to the lab's successful transformation into the newly-branded UC Davis Tech Foundry.

Today, under the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the newly renamed UC Davis Tech Foundry designs and manufactures devices to support research and solve problems. Research and development engineers collaborate with and support UC Davis faculty members, private companies and individuals to produce more than 500 projects and 2,500 objects each year across its locations at the Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility on the UC Davis campus and, now, in the recently opened Aggie Square innovation hub in Sacramento.

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When I visited their new website and saw the bold new name, Tech Foundry, paired with a modern 3D-inspired logo, I felt a quiet sense of pride knowing that our teams' work and recommendations had inspired the new design. This wasn’t just a marketing update. It was our work and ideas, turned into something real.

This moment was the culmination of my experience leading an IMP at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. It was one of the most hands-on, high-impact opportunities I’ve had during my MBA journey.

The Backstory: Rebranding TEAM Lab from Brainstorm to Brand Launch

One of the reasons I chose the UC Davis MBA was the program’s focus on community, collaboration and experiential learning. The IMP capstone course experience reflects that philosophy. Students work with clients on complex challenges during a 10-week, quarter-long engagement.

Our client was a UC Davis 3D prototyping lab formerly called TEAM Lab. It was preparing to grow into a larger facility at Aggie Square, a $1.1 billion innovation district for learning, research and industry partnerships located at the UC Davis Health campus in Sacramento.

Aggie Square provides students and faculty with unparalleled opportunities to collaborate with industry leaders, drive groundbreaking research, and foster sustainable progress in the heart of the state capital.

The TEAM Lab, which stood for Translating Engineering Advances in Medicine Lab, needed more than just marketing help. They were preparing to serve external researchers, industry partners and donors beyond their traditional campus base. They needed a new identity to showcase their evolution.

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Our MBA team built on the work of a previous IMP team. That MBA student team was led by Jesse Pataria, and included team members Jenaye Shepherd, Morgan Offenheiser and Hla Moe Thaya. The TEAM Lab leadership was so impressed by that MBA team’s work that they wanted a second team to move the rebrand even further into reality.

One of our first discoveries was that the name “TEAM Lab” created confusion. It was difficult to find online, and few people could recall what the acronym stood for. To make things more confusing, the lab also operated under a second name, 3D PrintViz, even though both were part of the same operation.

We conducted search analysis and creative brainstorming sessions. Our team proposed a range of names, including “Aggie Innovation,” “UCD Prototyping Solutions,” “AggieViz,” “InsightCraft,” and “Aggie TechFoundry.”

The name “Aggie TechFoundry” stood out in our interim discussion. Ultimately, our team agreed to drop “Aggie” for a cleaner, broader identity. Tech Foundry was born.

We also worked with IMACS, the UC Davis Instructional Media and Creative Services team, to bring the new brand to life visually.

The old logo featured a basic TEAM acronym with an arrow. Our input helped guide the transition to a modern logo incorporating 3D geometry, symbolizing the lab’s expertise in 3D printing and precision design. The transformation from name to logo was a direct result of strategic conversations and shared vision.

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To meet the growing demand for Tech Foundry's services and strengthen UC Davis’ collaborative, translational, multidisciplinary research, the device development facility is expanding to a 7,500-square-foot makerspace at Aggie Square, which officially opened for business this month.

Tech Foundry’s new space will feature cutting-edge machinery for device fabrication, from modern 3D printers and computer numerical control mills to belt sanders and drill presses.

Leading With Purpose and Flexibility

As the project leader of the second IMP, I was responsible for keeping our team aligned, our stakeholders engaged and our deliverables focused. But the biggest challenge wasn’t the work itself, it was ensuring that everyone felt heard, supported and empowered to contribute.

I learned how to lead with flexibility, facilitate creative discussions, and synthesize a wide range of perspectives into a single, cohesive strategy.

Most importantly, I learned that leadership is not just about managing tasks. It is about creating space for collaboration, curiosity and mutual respect amongst the team.

Building Practical Skills and Confidence

This project was much more than a class assignment. It was a chance to help shape the future of a UC Davis entity at a critical moment of growth. Through this experience, I gained more than practical skills in branding and consulting. I built the confidence to lead change in environments where uncertainty and creativity intersect.

Much like my summer internship at TurtleTree, where I combined my food science background with business strategy to support sustainable innovation, this experience showed me that real impact doesn’t always start with the perfect plan. Sometimes it starts with a messy whiteboard, a half-formed idea and a team willing to listen, iterate and believe in the possibilities.

If you’re considering an MBA and wondering whether the work will feel meaningful, it truly can. At UC Davis, you won’t just study how to lead—you will lead with purpose and make an impact. You’ll shape strategies that real organizations and companies implement and see the outcomes firsthand.

You’ll be able to look back and say: “We helped create that.”

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