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Silver and purple balloons spelling “NYU SLP” floated above the crowd at the Leslie eLab on Wednesday, setting the scene for the 2025 Summer Launchpad Demo Day.
For nine weeks, 11 startups had worked side-by-side, refining their ideas, troubleshooting roadblocks and testing assumptions. Now, they stood before a room of mentors, alumni, and VCs to present what they had built — and where they hoped to go next.
“They’re going to cover the gamut from protein-rich pizza to processing insurance claims and whatever is in between those things,” said Frank Rimalovski, executive director of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute. “That’s just a typical day at Leslie eLab.”
Medicine and health innovation runs through this year’s cohort. MoveMend gamifies physical therapy to keep patients engaged, StewardGuard automates antibiotic prescribing to streamline hospital workflows, and Vitalis has developed a platelet-rich plasma and biopolymer blend designed to work with the patient’s body — not against it.
“It’s amazing to talk with people who have a background in medicine and the life sciences because we can share ideas and much of their expertise applies across experiences,” said Vitalis founder Asser El Ashwah (Tandon '26). “Every great technology and company paints that picture: here’s where we are, and here’s where we could go.”
AI-driven innovation was another highlight. Clique automates Reddit engagement, Context Data speeds up insurance claim reviews, and Twinning AI builds “digital twins” to test ads before spending money.
“We learned that we should start testing out everything right now and figure out the most cost-effective way to do so,” said Clique founder Vihaan Agarwal (Stern '28), referencing the constant trial and error of working with new technology.
For IndieApp founder Annan Yang, the only team that didn’t present at Demo Day, testing led to a major pivot when the “vibe coding” trend that inspired his startup fizzled. “I have this product, but I don’t know its value,” Yang said. “Our process is a little delayed, but the most valuable part is learning about the journey — knowing where I am, the problem, and the next step I need to take to figure it out.”
His mentor, Nobu Nakaguchi, co-founder and chief design officer of Zola, has guided him throughout the process. “Regardless of industry, there are some familiar patterns,” Nakaguchi said. “What he’s trying to build is something I would find value in from an internal process standpoint.”
SLP also sparked moments of fun and unexpected customer discovery. For Pupil — the edtech startup guiding parents through their children’s college journey — founder Dario Anaya (Gallatin '26) turned his breaks into outreach opportunities, setting up just outside Leslie eLab’s glass windows. The spot, a prime stop on NYU’s campus tours, let him connect directly with prospective users as they passed by.
“There’s a parent of a senior in high school who thought it was too late to use Pupil, but once we told her we also help with the transition into college, we were able to get her back in the game,” Anaya said. “She’s now in our early access program.”
As the founders wrapped up their presentations and looked back, not every moment of the summer had been about strategy. There were ice cream runs, lighthearted campaigns to make their mentor crack a smile, Loopini Pizza’s “unabashed Italianness” as the cohort’s only food startup, and Stella — a Siberian husky and emotional support dog who quickly became the unofficial mascot.
Before the founders began their next chapter, Rimalovski offered one last reminder: keep talking to customers. The advice reinforced Sheltrium’s focus on helping homeowners rebuild for stability and a better life after environmental disasters, and led Mentivista to recognize the beauty industry’s greater need for soft skills training — not just the technical expertise and procedures they had assumed at the start.
“You’ll face many moments when everything pulls against your intuition. It’s not that you’re wrong — but it’s better to base decisions on facts and evidence,” Rimalovski said. “CEOs of public companies spend a lot of time with their customers. There’s a reason for that.”
