The Ignite Fellowships are a peer-to-peer mentorship program that follows the intensive work of the Startup Sprints with mentorship and accountability to help the teams keep growing. Participants get peer support and coaching as they apply the skills they honed in the Startup Bootcamps and Startup Sprints to reach their venture objectives by the end of the program.

Teams regularly discuss progress against their own objectives, learn from and help other teams tackle current challenges, and meet other entrepreneurs who join from time to time to share their lessons learned.

The Ignite Fellowship currently has two cohorts for 2019-2020 academic year: Ignite Alpha and Ignite Beta.

Ignite Alpha

provides early-stage ventures access to weekly lunch & learn panels, peer-to-peer learning, monthly coaching through the Startup Coaching Program, along with access to a network of seasoned coaches in diverse industries.

Meet the teams:

KinNect is a web/app based marketplace for formerly incarcerated individuals to connect with jobs that are ready/ willing/ and able to hire them. KinNect is dedicated to also address the common pitfalls in the application process for formerly incarcerated individuals and employers.

Founded by: Thanisa Pariage (Wagner ‘20) & William Coit (Wagner ‘21)

Polite Products offers creative financial options for pet owners seeking affordable vet care.

Founded by: Hunter Jamison (CAS ‘20) & Joyce Woo (CAS ‘20)

Grounded Upcycling partners with coffee shops to divert and upcycle spent coffee grounds. Our mission is to give “waste” new life while reducing methane emissions attributed to organic waste in landfills.

Founded by: Parker Reposa (Gallatin '20) & Drew Enyedi (Stern '20)

StudentBody lets college students ask health-related questions anytime, anywhere to get actionable health nudges to improve health + well-being via a chatbot.

Founded by: Sonia Gonzalez, DrPH, MPH (Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Public Health), Samaria Filosa (Global Public Health '19), Elizabeth Hucul (Global Public Health '19), Amy Kwan & Charles Platkin

Heybor is an app that allows users to rate and review their residential buildings while connecting with their neighbors socially.

Founded by: Tyler Benjamin (Gallatin '17) & Kiola George

Releasur is an online platform connecting aspiring Hip Hop artists to local videographers to help them complete projects at industry standard.

Founded by: Charles Le Pelley du Manoir (Gallatin '19), Antowan Wallace (Stern '19) & William Talley

Ignite Beta

consists of ventures who have participated in the NYU Summer Launchpad Accelerator where they validated product-market fit and continue demonstrating ongoing progress through their own reported metrics. Each venture will be provided with advanced peer-to-peer learning opportunities, extensive coaching through the Startup Coaching Program, and access to exclusive benefits.

Meet the teams:

GigFinesse provides a platform that connects artists and venues to create unforgettable shows.

Founded by: Mir Hwang (CAS '19)

Miranda is creating an intelligent web app that digitizes independent insurance agents’ front-desk operations by integrating chatbot framework with popular messaging apps and CRMs.

Founded by: Sara Liu (Stern '22) & Alberto Chierici (Tandon '22)

PIVOTtag creates luggage tags that are 100% reusable, saving money and time for companies in the the hospitality industry.

Founded by: Emily Long (SPS '20)

SeaStraws produces drinking straws made of compostable paper as well as reusable stainless steel and silicone that aim to cut the amount of plastic entering our oceans.

Founded by: Sophie Kennedy (CAS '19), Echo Chen (Gallatin '20) & Antonio DiMeglio (Stern '20)

Curtain is creating a mobile dating application with the mission of bringing face-to-face human interaction to dating in the digital age.

Founded by: Brenden Strauss (SPS '20), Ben Honig & Alexa Strauss

Bloc provides a management platform for soft skills training that utilizes smart career tools to help workforce programs prepare their talent for the future of work.

Founded by: Riley Jones (Law '20) & Amina Yamusah

The Ignite Fellowships are an invite-only program. If you're interested in learning more about it, visit the Ignite Fellowship page. If you're considering starting a startup, book a coaching appointment and learn more about our startup accelerator series.