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In Week 3 of the 2025 Summer Launchpad (SLP), founders moved from early ideation to refining their business strategies based on investor feedback.
Week 3 Recap:
Mock Investor Board Meetings
June 24 marked the first of three mock investor board meetings at Summer Launchpad, a 90-minute session modeled after a real investor meeting. Each startup was matched with an early-stage investor who would mentor the team throughout the summer.
A Few of Our SLP Founders on the Value of Mock Investor Board Meetings:
"It was incredibly helpful to talk through different aspects of our business and product with investors in a low-stakes setting. Getting feedback from people who are thinking with an investor mindset — and hearing different viewpoints from different investors — was so valuable as we continue to refine our approach." — Gaby Berne (Langone Clinician), Co-Founder & CEO of MoveMend
“The mock board meeting was a great checkpoint; it pushed us to clarify our POC process, tighten our GTM strategy, and think deeper about execution.” — Sai Dhruv (SPS ‘26), Founder & CEO of Twinning AI
"We truly got matched with the perfect investor mentors for our unique startup! Not only did they clearly understand our mission and help push us towards a more viable MVP, but I was also invited to present in person and got to visit Venrock Ventures myself. The feedback was unfiltered, poignant, and ultimately grounded us is the most feasible mission-aligned direction which has motivated us to push forward with even more excitement!" — Zoey Ferguson (Tisch ITP ‘25), Founder & CEO of Sheltrium
Workshop: Product Management
Chris Lysiuk (Tandon '17)
On June 25, Chris Lysiuk (Tandon ‘17), senior product manager at Gusto, led a workshop that broke down product management as the intersection of customer needs, business impact and technical feasibility. In the early days of a startup, success comes from taking customers' feedback and executing with intent.
Lysiuk cautioned against overbuilding technical solutions without validating them through marketing and minimum viable product (MVP) testing. He shared examples of teams that spent months developing overly complex platforms that ended up as little more than “glorified Google Drives.” He used a personal example from Gusto, where they pivoted from focusing on invoice reminders to addressing the real customer pain point of payment flexibility.
Lysiuk on Product Management:
“Everyone is a product manager. Whether you're the founder, whether you're in marketing, whether you're in design, all individuals within your company right now should wear the product management hat.”
Ask-Me-Anything Session with Rich Fulop (SPS ‘07, Stern ‘14), Co-Founder & Former CEO of Brooklinen
Rich Fulop (SPS '07, Stern '14)
Later that Wednesday, the founders were joined by Rich Fulop of Brooklinen — the direct-to-consumer bedding and home essentials brand that became one of New York City’s most iconic startups. He launched Brooklinen in 2014 with a $50,000 Kickstarter and a mission to offer high-quality sheets to young professionals at an accessible price.
He delivered a masterclass in scrappy, customer-driven growth — from hand-delivering 50 sample boxes to editors (which inspired 30 news stories) to experimenting with focused marketing channels like subway ads, bus wraps, and even Grindr.
Fulop on Staying Close to Customers:
“The name of my game became: how do I hang around these people as cheaply as possible, until they're ready to pull the trigger? And again, you talk to customers. You go out there. You learn about what those triggers are.”
Workshop: Customer Acquisition Strategy
Ashley Blackmon
Founders attended a hands-on workshop led by Eventbrite's VP of Growth Marketing, Ashley Blackmon, who walked the teams through customer acquisition strategies, from crafting effective messaging to optimizing marketing channels, drawing on her leadership experience at Restream, Pathstream, and Zillow Group.
Workshop: Customer Acquisition Tactics
Gina Gotthilf, former VP of growth at Duolingo & founder of Outsmart College, closed out the week's workshops with a deep dive into her experience in acquiring and retaining users.
In the pre-launch phase, Gotthilf stressed the importance of founder credibility and building early audiences through a clear brand voice and authentic community engagement. Once the product is live, the focus should be on acquiring and retaining users through a mix of creativity and humor, everything from gamification to emotional design (yes, even a crying owl).
Gotthilf on Key Growth Marketing Principles:
“You’re selling a vision. You’re selling a world that’s a better place. You’re selling a movement that everyone wants to be a part of. And that changes everything.”
Stay tuned for more updates from SLP as the teams continue developing their ideas!
