This program is Part 1 in our

Startup Accelerator Program

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Startup Bootcamp

Spring Dates: Feb 11, Mar 13, Apr 7

Startup Bootcamps consist of a half-day workshop to help student founders test the value of their ideas and validate (or invalidate) the core of their business: the problem they are solving for their initial target customers. During the Bootcamp, founders learn the fundamentals of building a successful startup and test their initial ideas through customer discovery, interactive workshops and dedicated support.

Apply Here

Application Deadlines

The Spring 2026 Bootcamp deadlines are as follows:

  • Bootcamp #1: February 3rd @6pm for February 11th Bootcamp
  • Bootcamp #2: March 5th @6pm for March 13th Bootcamp
  • Bootcamp #3: March 30th @6pm for April 7th Bootcamp

Who Can Apply?

Open to all NYU student, faculty, or staff-led teams who:

  • Have an idea for a unique and compelling startup or social venture
  • Have expertise and/or insights into the problem they hope to solve with their venture
  • Are interested in building a highly-scalable venture

Benefits

  • Learn proven startup practices
  • Interactive workshops to refine your idea
  • Access to our dedicated AI Copilot
  • Pre-requisite for the Startup Sprint, Female Founders Fellowship, and Leslie Founders Membership
  • Certificate of completion

Success Stories

Baton is a blockchain-enabled collaboration protocol designed to facilitate the future of creative digital exchange to help artists maintain control over their material and get the credit they deserve.

Gabe Warshaw

Founder

(Tisch '23)

Dathic creates an AI-based platform for CPG that understands the US Hispanic consumers, recommends the best locations to grow and connect communities with the products they love.

Laura Rocha

Co-founder

(Wagner '20)

Frich is the first social finance app that enables Gen Z to develop mindful spending habits by setting goals together with friends and keeping each other accountable. Imagine a fitness app but for your finances.

Aleksandra Medina

Founder

(Abu Dhabi '21)

A platform that connects artists and venues to create unforgettable shows.

Mir Hwang

Co-founder

(CAS '19)

Jones is a judgement-free journey to a vape-less life, through a personalized nicotine replacement subscription, behavioral support and digital community.

Caroline Huber

Co-Founder

(Stern '23)

Matching individuals with quality therapists to ease access to a personalized healing relationship and enable therapists to help more people.

Alyssa Petersel

Founder & CEO

(Silver '17)
Meet the Founder

The first brand to design products specifically for women with small boobs, starting with bras.

Lia Winograd

Co-Founder and Co-CEO

(Stern '19)
Meet the Founder

Rilla provides conversation intelligence software for outside sales and service. Industries such as roofing, solar, interior design, banking, and telco send sales representatives to talk to potential customers face to face in their homes and businesses. Rilla uses AI to automatically transcribe, analyze and give feedback to sales managers on their representatives’ performance with customers, enabling them to remotely monitor their teams, saving two to three days a week from having to accompany field sales reps on training calls.

Sebastian Jimenez

Founder & CEO

(CAS '18)

Visura is a curated market-network for publishers to discover and hire the world’s top freelance visual journalists.

Adriana Teresa Letorney

Co-founder

(GSAS '21)

Sports analytics platform for performance tracking and insights.

Sachin Dasari

Co-Founder & CEO

(Stern '25)

Building a pipeline into key roles in states for young leaders to close the talent gap and create better government.

Kyleigh Russ

Co-founder and COO

(Wagner '19)

Shop Rodeo is a mobile application that leverages short-form video content to streamline the discovery-to-checkout process for the young, socially-driven shopper and effectively compensates content creators for their direct impact on brand sales.

Lindsay Perper

Founder

(Stern '23)

Theatre Advocacy Project solves the problem of unsafe, inequitable, and costly working conditions for theatre artists and administrators by providing external HR services and offering personal consultants for accountability to regional theatre managers.

Caylin Waller

Co-founder

(Steinhardt '22)

Baton is a blockchain-enabled collaboration protocol designed to facilitate the future of creative digital exchange to help artists maintain control over their material and get the credit they deserve.

Founder(s)

  • Gabe Warshaw (Tisch '23) |

Website

Social

Dathic creates an AI-based platform for CPG that understands the US Hispanic consumers, recommends the best locations to grow and connect communities with the products they love.

Founder(s)

  • Laura Rocha (Wagner '20) |
  • Jose Daniel Ramirez |
  • Luis Felipe Giraldo
  • Santiago Alvarez
  • Diana Prieto
  • Juan David Ramirez

Website

Social

Frich is the first social finance app that enables Gen Z to develop mindful spending habits by setting goals together with friends and keeping each other accountable. Imagine a fitness app but for your finances.

Founder(s)

  • Aleksandra Medina (Abu Dhabi '21) |
  • Katrin Kaurov (Abu Dhabi '19) |

Website

Social

A platform that connects artists and venues to create unforgettable shows.

Founder(s)

  • Mir Hwang (CAS '19) |

Website

Social

Jones is a judgement-free journey to a vape-less life, through a personalized nicotine replacement subscription, behavioral support and digital community.

Founder(s)

  • Caroline Huber (Stern '23) |
  • Hilary Dubin |

Social

Participated in

Matching individuals with quality therapists to ease access to a personalized healing relationship and enable therapists to help more people.

Founder(s)

  • Alyssa Petersel (Silver '17) |

Website

Social

The first brand to design products specifically for women with small boobs, starting with bras.

Founder(s)

  • Lia Winograd (Stern '19) |

Website

Social

Rilla provides conversation intelligence software for outside sales and service. Industries such as roofing, solar, interior design, banking, and telco send sales representatives to talk to potential customers face to face in their homes and businesses. Rilla uses AI to automatically transcribe, analyze and give feedback to sales managers on their representatives’ performance with customers, enabling them to remotely monitor their teams, saving two to three days a week from having to accompany field sales reps on training calls.

Founder(s)

  • Sebastian Jimenez (CAS '18) |

Website

Social

Visura is a curated market-network for publishers to discover and hire the world’s top freelance visual journalists.

Founder(s)

  • Adriana Teresa Letorney (GSAS '21) |
  • Graham Letorney |

Website

Social

Sports analytics platform for performance tracking and insights.

Founder(s)

  • Sachin Dasari (Stern '25) |

Website

Building a pipeline into key roles in states for young leaders to close the talent gap and create better government.

Founder(s)

  • Kyleigh Russ (Wagner '19) |
  • Octavia Abell |

Social

Shop Rodeo is a mobile application that leverages short-form video content to streamline the discovery-to-checkout process for the young, socially-driven shopper and effectively compensates content creators for their direct impact on brand sales.

Founder(s)

  • Lindsay Perper (Stern '23) |

Website

Theatre Advocacy Project solves the problem of unsafe, inequitable, and costly working conditions for theatre artists and administrators by providing external HR services and offering personal consultants for accountability to regional theatre managers.

Founder(s)

  • Caylin Waller (Steinhardt '22) |
  • Colette Gregory
  • Jillian Weimer
  • C.J. Malloy

Tell Me More

What You Can Expect

The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute offers Startup Bootcamps for founders to learn how to test the value of their solutions with future customers and partners by Getting Out of the Building.

Each Bootcamp is a 3.5 hr intense workshop via Zoom that covers the following:

  • Introduction to Customer Discovery: Learn about our proven method to de-risk your startup idea and test your concept in the real world
  • Target Customer & Market: An interactive workshop on nailing your target market and beachhead customer.
  • Hair-On-Fire Problem: Great founders fall in love with the problem they are solving, not the product they are building – we show you how!
  • Conducting Customer Interviews: “Talking to Humans” is a critical skill for every founder to conduct primary market research and derive crucial business insights.
  • Following the Bootcamp: Teams will be provided with our dedicated AI copilot “Leslie” to refine their ideas and are encouraged to apply to the Leslie Founders Membership.

Who the Startup Bootcamp is For

Bootcamps are open to all NYU student, faculty, or researcher-led teams who:

  • Have an idea for a unique and compelling startup or social venture
  • Have expertise and/or insights into the problem they hope to solve with their venture
  • Are interested in building a highly-scalable venture (i.e. consulting and small and/or undifferentiated businesses will not be a fit)
  • For Faculty and researchers hoping to explore the commercial potential of their research, please consider applying to the NSF sponsored Tech Venture Workshop instead of the Bootcamp.
Bootcamp Dates

Bootcamps are offered 4 times during the fall and spring semesters. The Spring 2026 Bootcamps will be held on:

  • Deadlines: Feb 3, Mar 5, Mar 30
  • Sessions: Feb 11, Mar 13, Apr 7; All  sessions takes place from 1-4:30pm

If you would like to draft your answers before applying, you can find all of the application questions here.

Sponsors & Partners

Max Stenbeck Charitable Trust