As graduation day approaches, the NYU students who will walk the stage in cap and gown look ahead to their next chapter. While many anticipate careers at large corporations or in fields like public service, academia, and medicine, others endeavor to create their own jobs by building and launching new startup ventures. Our team at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute created a program called the NYU Summer Launchpad to support these entrepreneurs post-graduation, offering them the resources, training, and mentorship they need as they set out on their startup journeys. The Summer Launchpad program, which will kickoff its third cohort on June 3rd, accepts 9 teams of graduating students (undergrad or grad) who are pursuing their ventures full time after graduation. Accepted teams participate in skill building workshops with experts from the NYU and NYC startup community, and receive mentorship from investors and established entrepreneurs, free co-working space at the Leslie eLab, and a $7,500 stipend. The goal of Summer Launchpad is ensure that by the time the program ends in early August, the teams will have developed skills, networks, and business models to launch and scale successful startup ventures.
This year, we received a record number of applications for Summer Launchpad - nearly 100 - from teams hoping for a spot in the exclusive program. Applicants represented 14 different NYU schools, with Engineering represented on the most applications (23), followed closely by CAS (18), Tisch (16), and Stern (16). Thirty teams that applied are collaborations among students from two or more NYU schools, and just under half the teams include at least one woman. In addition to the high quantity of applications this year, the quality was also particularly strong, making it very difficult to select the 9 teams to accept into the program. After many interviews with the teams and much deliberation, we’re excited to announce this year’s cohort for the NYU Summer Launchpad.
Ephemeral: A tattoo platform that allows tattoo lovers and hopefuls to control the lifetime of their tattoos by providing a safe application and a bio-removal system without painful, costly, and ineffective laser surgery. Anthony Lam (Engineering ’15), Joshua Sakhai (Stern ’18), Seung Shin (Engineering ’15)
Freelancr: a lightweight payment and accounting platform to serve freelance workers by centralizing/automating payment transactions, invoicing, and tax paperwork in a single elegant mobile app and web platform. Alex Chassin (Stern ’15), Jenny Lederer
Healthicare: a mobile health platform for college students with chronic conditions to build supportive peer networks, connect with experts and make informed decisions about products and services. Diana Freed (ITP ’15), Peiqi Su (ITP ’15)
IndieLoop: an online platform designed to allow independent filmmakers to brand themselves and share resources. Dagny Looper (Tisch ’15), Colin Whitlow (Tisch/Stern ’13)
Jozii: a .edu exclusive job-matching platform for students and employers. Xavier Lebec (GSAS ’17), Michael McKay, AJ Smith (Steinhardt ’14), Brandon Tyler (CAS ’14)
Leest: a digital hotel concierge software that provides personalized, updated, efficient recommendations to guests while increasing revenues from their concierge desks. Degerhan Deger, Andrey Nechaev, Irem Yallagoz (SPS ’15)
Magnitend: a cost-effective, portable, and easy to use device capable of increasing the quality of MR imaging by improving accuracy and precision. John Bayer (Poly ’15), Eugene Goncharov (Poly’15)
Olympica: a mobile app that allows individuals inside big organizations to get connected through sports, games and other face-to-face activities. Chad Burgess (Sten ’15), Rodrigo Derteano (ITP ’15), Monique Naoum (ITP ’15), Maximo Sica (ITP ’15)
Studor: a mobile application designed to connect students and tutors, seamlessly. Noah Hyams (Steinhardt ’15)
Stay tuned on this blog to hear directly from the teams as they share their adventures and learning during the program. If you’re interested in meeting the teams and learning more, save the date for the Summer Launchpad Venture Showcase on the afternoon of August 5th - details to come.
