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The First Generation to College Founders Fellowship provides training and mentorship to student entrepreneurs at NYU, and will also have the opportunity to apply for up to $5,000 scholarships! This Fellowship is sponsored by Santander through their Santander’s Universities program.
This semester, the Fellows attended an Orientation in February, met with Olivia Landau (Steinhardt ‘13), Founder & CEO of the Clear Cut, in an “Ask Me Anything” event in March as well as learned Project Management skills from Communications Manager, Carol Ourivio (Steinhardt ‘16 and Wagner ‘23). They participated in a Pre-Bootcamp workshop where they worked on their business thesis and learned about problem-solution fit. In April, Riley Jones (Law ‘20), Founder of Sector Software and Founder in Residence, shared his best practices on seeking grant funding opportunities. We greatly appreciate our guest speakers for taking the time to support our Fellows. The Fellowship concluded with a Lessons Learned & Final Presentations.
Overall, the key insights were the importance of community, staying organized, and making time for self-care. The First Gen Fellows really supported each other this semester and made significant growth as founders. They will continue to receive 1:1 startup coaching this summer. We look forward to seeing how these different ventures evolve.
Sophia, Founder of Cozies Club said that her favorite part of the Fellowship was, "the community aspect and support from the coaches and other founders."
Applications to join the Fall cohort of First Gen Fellows will be shared in August 2021.
Learn more about the First Gen Fellows and their ventures below:
Aliyah Brooks (Stern ‘21), Founder of INVIYT
INVIYT is an app that helps professional, travel minded women interested in networking with other professionals find suitable travel buddies based on similar budget, psychographics, and destination
Angie Galas (CAS ‘23), Founder of Daily Cup
Daily Cup is a coffee subscription service that eliminates the hassle of making delicious, everyday coffee. Members are able to select the time and day they want their premade hot or iced coffee delivered without the expenses that other food delivery services entail.
Beatrice Fontana (Gallatin ‘22), Founder of RISA VENEZIA:
RISA VENEZIA is an intersectional sustainability platform positioned at the cross-road between tech, design and mental health, catering to fashionistas who are conscious about mental health and the environment but are dissatisfied with unfashionable sustainable brands and with the Italian artisanship's high price tag. The short term vision involves producing an upcycled prêt-à-porter line.
Carolina Valenzuela (SPS ‘22), Founder of Food for Thought
Food for Thought looks to create an online food pantry as a platform to serve food insecure students at NYU, with a specific concentration in commuter students, where they will be able to request assistance anonymously to shop at local supermarkets.
Elissa Ha (Liberal Studies ‘21), Founder of Abeona
Abeona aggregates travel content for BIPOC women looking for resources for domestic travels.
Hope Ellingburg (Tisch ‘22), Founder of Ugly Cousin Film Productions: A film production company for Native American film-makers
Joe Scott (Steinhardt ‘23), Founder of 1120 Records: Record Label that helps develop younger artists
Lavar Gold (Tisch ‘23), Founder of Splash of Positivity: a lifestyle that encourages optimal health, mentally and physically, by selling sports apparel for young teens and adults who face depression, and at risk of living a non-productive life.
Mehrin Ali ( CAS ‘22), Founder of Food for Thought: We look to create an online food pantry as a platform to serve food insecure students at NYU, with a specific concentration in commuter students, where they will be able to request assistance anonymously to shop at local supermarkets.
Sophia Hiller (Tisch ‘22), Founder of Cozies Club: is both a lifestyle and form-fitting loungewear brand for every body, each set with the customers unique horoscope in mind. Members of Cozies will learn the best strategies to stay cozy in these times of turmoil, and should feel extremely cozy in the loungewear set just for them.
Tiffany Truong (CAS ‘21), Co-Founder of Sanus Civitas: is an artificial intelligence software that mediates communication between patients and their doctors
Vijay Kallem (Tandon ‘23), Founder of Ryme: a microblogging short video sharing app
Zuleica Alcantara (CAS ‘21), Co-Founder of Sanus Civitas: is an artificial intelligence software that mediates communication between patients and their doctors
