Pepperdine University's Waves Innovation Summit Hosts Shark Tank Casting Calls

Shark Tank casting paid a visit to Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus as part of the larger Waves Innovation Summit on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Representing Pepperdine’s entrepreneurial spirit, rounds of alumni, students, faculty, and members of the surrounding community auditioned throughout the day for a coveted spot on the reality business show’s 18th season. 

Mindy Zemrak, Shark Tank’s supervising casting producer since 2009, facilitated the casting calls alongside members of her team. Pepperdine entrepreneurs who advance to the next stage will continue through further rounds of the casting process for a potential opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of investors: the sharks. In her experience Zemrak explained college campuses have been hotspots for creativity, and she was eager to give the sharks “a piece of Pepperdine.”

The Aquadome team were the first to pitch of the morning

“Entrepreneurship is growing mainstream by the day,  and we’re really excited to be working with Pepperdine,” Zemrak said during a break between facilitating auditions. “We know Pepperdine has incredible business programs, so it’s a no-brainer for Shark Tank to tap into the entrepreneur ecosystem here that is clearly building and growing every day.” 

The morning opened with pitches from members of the internal Waves community. Seaver College alumnus Chad Greulach (’92) led the charge with Aquadome, his wildfire mitigation system. As head of brand, Greulach partnered with founder Tim Yeiser to develop a system that can be installed outside of homes to cast high volumes of water—saturating the building with an actual dome of moisture—to put out embers before they can destroy the structure and valuables inside.

“You can feel the energy here today. The electricity and buzz is all around,” commented Greulach before his pitch. “I’m in my element here at my alma mater. And anytime you’re confident in your product and its story, like we are, it makes it easier to present.” 

A Malibu local, Greulach shared that this product was born out of a need to serve his community. With firsthand exposure to the tragedy that the Woolsey and Palisades Fires brought, he explained that more than 22,500 homes were burned down in the Los Angeles area by major fires between 2017 and 2020—even before the devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires. With a technology engineered alongside wildland firefighters, Greulach added that he and Yeiser have worked hard to have their product go to market ahead of this year’s Southern Californian fire season. 

“We’re really fortunate to be able to do something of service to protect communities and their homes,” Greulach said.  

Camille Alleyne poses with her product, Throaties

Many Seaver College and Pepperdine Graziadio Business School students were also Shark Tank hopefuls. Seaver business administration major Helen Lee pitched her creative startup: an interactive toy that teaches children ages 4 to 8 computer coding in an approach similar to learning the alphabet. She was inspired to begin pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities in her first year at Pepperdine. 

Graziadio School alumni duo Nicole E. Limo (MBA ’25) and Sammy Alraies (MBA ’24) echoed Greulach’s comfort in pitching their digital marketplace platform, La Mise, within the familiar terrain of the Malibu campus. Their product connects private chefs directly with clients for any dining or special event, saving time and energy for both parties. Having become fast friends on their first day of classes, both share that the main reason they attended the program was to gain an education on how to scale a business from financing to consulting. 

“It’s a full circle moment being back to pitch our business,” says Limo. “As we became friends during our classes, Sammy and I realized we’re both ambitious and brainstormed startup ideas throughout our time studying at Graziadio.” 

Pepperdine parents also joined the pitching plight. Camille Alleyne heard about the casting opportunity through her daughter Amber Alleyne, a current Seaver student. In the lobby, Amber stood by her mother’s side as she waited to present her wellness product, Throaties. Inspired by the traditional remedy of salt-water gargling for sore throats, Throaties is a mineral patch that has a similar effect as the salt-water rinse. As a woman of deep Christian faith, Alleyne credits God for her success, considering that the business-side of her product, including a pending patent, began only six months ago. 

“Being here with my daughter by my side feels like peace, even though this Shark Tank casting call is a huge step for us,” says Alleyne. “Throaties was an idea that we stood by and worked on and talked about for a long time, planning out where it could go. The speedy  fruition of the product has to be because of God.”  

Klein heard about casting calls while out and about in Malibu

Throughout the afternoon members of the Malibu and greater Los Angeles community shared their creative innovations with Shark Tank’s casting directors. Local Gabriel Klein pitched his aerial firefighting system, AdAstra Defense, to the show’s representatives. With AI-driven fire detection, Klein’s technology is essentially a fire-fighting drone, developed, he said, to save local homes and lives in California’s growing wildfire crisis. 

Klein shared that he heard about the open casting call by happenstance while lunching at the Malibu Country Mart. There he met Austin Bishop, the student organizer of the larger Waves Innovation Summit, and quickly seized the opportunity to join. 

“I have found the people at Pepperdine to be like-minded individuals who are very driven and have creative minds,” says Klein. “This event was fruitful; right out of the gate I met someone who was also in my same industry of wildfire suppression.” 

Members celebrated the successful completion of their casting calls

The Waves Innovation Summit was a student-led endeavor hosted with the Pepperdine Ambassadors Council. It brought together more than 400 registered members of the Pepperdine business community to the campus to address the most pressing topics in innovation and technology, namely AI ethics and business strategy. 

The program featured prominent industry leaders including alumni Mike Umbro (’05); Ulysse Saltiel (’25), founder of the Innovation Summit; Robert Beck (’17, MBA ’17), vice president at ICONIQ; Carl Mergele, CEO of Stats Perform, a leading sports data company; and Fabien Scalzo, Seaver College professor of computer science and director of the Artificial Intelligence in Imaging and Neuroscience Lab. Interactive breakout panels, such as Inside the AI Revolution, provided attendees the chance to share their ideas and to build lasting professional connections, continuing the innovative spirit of the Most Fundable Companies Competition hosted annually by the Graziadio Business School. 

“This is where great conversations about technology and innovations are happening. I think next year’s attendance is going to be doubled,” says Graziadio alumnus and current Board member Bala Sriraghavan (MBA ’16). “AI technology is in my aisle, so I am here to help students shape their careers with AI awareness. The values that I learned from Pepperdine are still driving me now, and I’m glad to be giving back to the community with events such as this summit.”