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With the start of the 2021 academic year and our programs and events in full swing, we are excited to announce a few new members who have joined the Entrepreneurial Institute.

In addition to the core Institute team, each year we bring on additional talent from the NYU community, including students and alumni who have recently completed our programs, to help in our work supporting entrepreneurship across the university. This includes a team of:

• Founders in Residence, recent alumni entrepreneurs who help our early stage teams

&

• Undergraduate interns, who support the Entrepreneurial Institute staff in communications and community building

If you’re a current or aspiring entrepreneur and you want help on your venture, sign up for coaching with a member of our team today.

Founders in Residence

Founders in Residence provide coaching to NYU students and faculty through 1:1 coaching and through the NYU Startup Bootcamps. If you're interested in meeting with a Founder in Residence for venture coaching, please sign up via this link.

Jonas Guenther (Tandon '18), is the Founder of We Are the New Farmers, an urban algae farm located in Brooklyn, NY on a mission to make the worlds oldest food source a mainstream staple. Jonas also started the magazine, Finding Tomorrow that offers a glance of a future in which we have overcome climate change and implemented solutions that make the future exciting. Prior to launching New Farmers, Jonas completed his Masters degree at NYU Tandon where he built the Urban Food Lab - a project platform and indoor farm that enables students to learn about sustainability and food by running their own mini-projects connecting their studies to the world of farming.

Mir Hwang (CAS '19) is the Co-Founder and CEO of GigFinesse, an online music booking platform that reinvents the way artists and venues connect. Prior to founding GigFinesse, Mir was a touring session drummer studying Chemistry at NYU College of Arts and Science. He was always around fellow artists who were constantly searching for a more efficient way to book shows and venues looking for ways to streamline their booking procedure. After having felt the pain from both sides, Mir decided to put his medical school aspirations aside and start GigFinesse.

Riley Jones (Law '20) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bloc, a company using software to help upskilling organizations digitize their services, centralize their data collection, and monetize their programming. He's also a J.D. graduate from NYU Law, and was named a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur. Riley is a program alumni from NYU Summer Launchpad, NYU Ignite Fellowship (Beta), and won the 2019-2020 NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge in the Social Venture Track. Meet with Riley to discuss anything related to: social enterprise, business development, grant funding or education.

Jade Kearney (Steinhardt '21), a Mental Health Entrepreneurs & Advocate, is the Founder & CEO of She Matters, a community designed to support the mental health needs of Black women.

Adriana Letorney (GSAS '21) is the Founder & CEO of Visura.co, a market network for publishers to easily connect and hire the world's top freelance visual storytellers. She is also the Co-founder and Executive Producer at Scout Film Festival.

Christopher Mitchell, PhD (Courant '15) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Geopipe, a deep tech startup building the authoritative whole-Earth digital twin. Geopipe leverages a cutting-edge AI pipeline to turn the real world into rich digital environments for gaming, simulation, architecture, and beyond. Geopipe has been awarded over $2M in grants, including from the National Science Foundation (SBIR Phases I and II). Christopher earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from NYU Courant, and is an Adjunct Professor at NYU Courant. Christopher participated in NYU Summer Launchpad and NYU Ignite Fellowship (Beta) and won the NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge in the Tech Venture Track.

Anshul Pandey, PhD (Tandon '17) is the Co-Founder and CTO of Accern, a venture-based No-Code AI startup, where he leads the AI technology development and innovation efforts. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University (Tandon), and a B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani, India.

Laura Rocha (Wagner '20), is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dathic, an artificial intelligence startup building a market location and recommendation software for CPGs that understands US hispanic consumers and recommends the best location to deliver products that communities love. She is also a lawyer and Masters of Public Administration graduate at NYU Wagner. She works on innovation using data analysis and artificial intelligence models to empower communities and companies in the US and Latin America.

Undergraduate Interns

Ellie Gershenwald (Steinhardt '22) is a senior in Steinhardt studying Media, Culture, and Communication with minors in Web Programming and Food Studies. This is her 4th year involved with the Leslie eLab and she’s excited to be the Chair of this year’s NYU Entrepreneurs Festival. Ellie is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and NYU’s Bite Club. Combining her interests in food and design, Ellie has worked in marketing at several startups and media agencies.

Graham Harris (Courant '22) is a senior in Courant studying Math with minors in Computer Science and Italian. He's a third year intern working on data analytics and program engagement. He's been involved with the startup community at NYU since freshman year and is looking to start his own... as soon as he gets an idea. Graham spends his free time with an NYU club called Bite Club, a food publication that runs events for the NYU community. He's a hobby botanist and ice cream enthusiast!

Brandon Lee (Gallatin '22) is studying Data Science & Design and is from Queens, New York. His past work experiences include graphic design and product development internships. In his downtime, he enjoys photography and playing chess. Brandon participated in the Summer Launchpad 2021 cohort with his startup, Middlemen, a secure marketplace that reimagines how people trade collectibles like sneakers, handbags, and jewelry online.

Neev Mittal (Courant '22) is studying Computer Science with minors in Mathematics, Economics, and Business Studies. He co-founded CoStudy two years ago and has been involved with the startup community at Boston University and NYU since his sophomore year. He follows European soccer religiously and loves exploring New York’s museums, parks and shows.

Carolina Valenzuela (SPS '22) is studying Leadership and Management with a concentration in Human Resources. She is passionate about food security and higher education equality, which has led to her being involved in the First Generation to College Founders Fellowship working on research on how to address and prevent food insecurity. She looks to continue her research and her efforts in these areas throughout her senior year and after graduation by starting her own start up non profit organization.