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This summer, the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, is proud to welcome a stellar lineup of speakers to our Summer Launchpad — NYU's premier startup accelerator. These founders, investors, operators, and creatives will join us to share their insights with the next generation of NYU entrepreneurs. Meet the leaders who will be inspiring this year’s  Summer Launchpad cohort:

• Alex Iskold (Courant ‘00), Partner at 2048 Ventures and former Techstars NYC MD, is a 5x founder and NYU instructor with a deep interest in systems thinking.
• Andrea Breanna (Gallatin '97, Tisch '03), Founder & CEO of RebelMouse and former CTO of Huffington Post, champions inclusive leadership and media innovation.
• Andrew Kangpan, Co-Founder at Metalayer Ventures and Stern alum, focuses on early-stage blockchain investments.
• Ansh Jhaveri (CAS '24), Co-founder of Intoit and NYU CAS alum, builds technology that connects people through personalized nightlife experiences.
• Ash Blackmon, CMO at Eventbrite, brings her extensive marketing leadership and expertise from her career journey across Restream, Pathstream, and Zillow Group.
• Ayman Mukerji (Silver '20), Founder of Jivika, blends neuroimmunology, mindfulness, and AI to combat burnout in healthcare.
• Britt Martin(GSAS '17) is strategic consultant and founder of Food Period, a functional food startup.  She has a wide range of expertise across product and growth, and is an NYU Journalism alum.
• Caren Maio (Gallatin ‘07), CEO of 100, a platform that makes rental applications and screenings easier, safer, and more equitable. She is a  PropTech thoughtleader and was recognized as one of Inc.’s Women to Watch in Tech.
• Caroline Huber (Stern '23), Co-CEO at Jones and Stern MBA grad, tackling nicotine addiction through thoughtful consumer products.
• Chris Lysiuk, Senior Product Manager at Gusto and NYU Alum, has launched startups and business lines across multiple sectors.
• Dasha Rettew (Gallatin ‘14), Co-Founder of Reservoir Advisors, is an executive coach and long-time NYU supporter, long-time Summer Launchpad alum, now in her 8th year supporting the accelerator.
• David Isaacs, Creative Director at R/GA and NYU alum, has helped over 200 startups raise $3.5B through design and storytelling.
• Dror Margalit (Tisch ITP ‘24), Co-Founder of Context, brings his background in EdTech and marketing to the NYU startup ecosystem.
• Gabe Warshaw (Tisch ITP ‘23), Founder of Baton and NYU ITP grad, blending music and tech to help artists manage unreleased music.
• Giff Constable, product leader and author, has led product at Meetup and advises founders on building things that matter.
• Gina Gotthilf, the growth expert behind Duolingo’s scale to its first 200M users, is now launching a new edtech venture.
• Henry Armistead (SPS ‘24), Director at Splash Sports and Summer Launchpad alum, brings a unique perspective from the responsible gambling space.
• Jeff Dachis, CEO of One Health Biosensing and Razorfish co-founder, is a tech pioneer and NYU alum advocating for T1D awareness.
• Jerry Chen (Stern), CEO of Latte and Techstars and SummerLaunchpad alum, mentors founders across NYU schools.
• Johnnie Walker, Director at Rooled and NYU professor, advises growth-stage companies on finance and impact investing.
• Julia Maksimova (Stern ‘25), founder of Mova, brings 15 years of real estate experience to the future of corporate housing.
• Kunal Mehta (Stern ‘11), Partner at Isos Capital, is an investor and author. Former Hearst Ventures investor.
• Manya Ellenberg, SVP at Thyme Care, has scaled HR teams at top startups like Hyperscience and Bowery Farming.
• Marcos Brisson, CEO of Kaizntree powering inventory automation for growing brands. NYU Shanghai alum, mentors early-stage founders.
• Nyamitse-Calvin Mahinda (Tandon ‘23), CEO of Vital Audio, redefining remote health monitoring with AI and voice biomarkers.
• Phuong Ireland, Partner at Interplay, leading a high-touch incubator and bringing e-commerce experience from major consumer brands to the Summer Launchpad.
• Rebecca Sperling (Stern ‘18), design strategist, advising startups on product and service innovation, NYU Stern alum
• Rich Fulop, founder and former CEO of Brooklinen, built one of NYC’s most beloved brands.
• Sebastian Jimenez, Founder of Rilla and Cloud 100 Rising Star, is an NYU CAS alum leading in AI-driven retail intelligence.
• Thomson Nguyen, Co-Founder at Metaplane and NYU alum, is a serial founder with exits and deep data science expertise.
• TJ Allison, early-stage sales expert and ex-Google leader, helping startups reach their first $1M in sales.

This incredible roster reflects the depth and diversity of the innovation ecosystem built to power NYU’s entrepreneurs with the knowledge they need to scale flourishing ventures. We’re excited for our founders to learn from these entrepreneurship experts—and we can’t wait to see what this summer brings!