LaunchU Awards $35,000 in Startup Funds to Students and Alumni</h1> <article> <h1>LaunchU Awards $35,000 in Startup Funds to Students and Alumni</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 17:55:50 +0000</p> <span>LaunchU Awards $35,000 in Startup Funds to Students and Alumni</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-03-11T13:55:50-04:00" title="Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 13:55">Wed, 03/11/2020 - 13:55</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>LaunchU awarded a total of $35,000 in startup funding to entrepreneurs of the 91ֱ�� community, including students and alumni, in its eighth annual pitch competition on March 6.</p> <p>A cornerstone of 91ֱ��’s <a href="/innovation-and-impact/about-center-innovation-impact">Center for Innovation and Impact</a>, the LaunchU competition begins in September and culminates in March with final pitches. Teams of budding entrepreneurs undergo a series of intense training sessions, professional development and networking opportunities, and a boot camp during winter term in January to prepare. In March, they present their ideas to a panel of judges who determine awards and distribute the funds. This year, LaunchU trained 14 teams, 11 of which presented at the competition.</p> <p>First place went to Twine, a mobile recommendation service for college students interested in joining different clubs and organizations. The team was awarded $15,000 and will use the funding to work side by side with more schools to expand their business. Twine is led by chief project manager Colton Potter ’21 along with Minh Lam ’21, Khang Nguyen ’21, and Osama Abdelrahman '23. </p> <p>According to Potter, “students lack a personalized window into campus life that they care about. There’s no quick way for them to find events that they’re interested in, and there’s no resource with updated information on student organizations,” and Twine is the solution to that problem, he says. The service will launch in August 2020 as part of 91ֱ�� College’s New Student Orientation program.</p> <p>Second-place winner Henry Aberle ’16, CEO and founder of TVSensei, was awarded $12,000 for his product, ChaCha, cofounded with Kefan Yang. ChaCha is an online marketplace for language learning. The product brings together intermediate to advanced language learners with native instructors for online lessons that are centered on video.</p> <p>“We’re less of a solution for learning a language, and more of a solution for maintaining your language abilities,” said Aberle, who cited ChaCha as a solution to the “use it or lose it” mentality around language learning.</p> <p>The third-place prize of $6,000 went to Iliana Zamorska ’12, CEO and founder of Yoga For Thinking Machines, and McLean Sammon ’19 for their product, Grownote, an app that helps people use social media mindfully by tracking their usage and incorporating mindfulness practices. The team will use the funds to develop a prototype for beta testing at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>Zamorska called Grownote “a new kind of digital community,” one that fosters “authentic expression.”</p> <p>View our <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLT5Ro5">Flickr album</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> for more photos from the pitch competition.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-03-11T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/11/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kyra McConnell ’22</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Eighth annual pitch competition awards seed funding to three teams to further develop their business ventures. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2389">Young Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/computer-science" hreflang="und">Computer Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The first-place prize was awarded to Twine, a venture developed by third-years Colton Potter ’21, Minh Lam ’21, Khang Nguyen ’21, and Osama Abdelrahman '23.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jack Lichtenstein '23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Panel Discussion Celebrates Entrepreneurship in 91ֱ��</h1> <p>anagy — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 21:14:44 +0000</p> <span>Panel Discussion Celebrates Entrepreneurship in 91ֱ��</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-01-28T16:14:44-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 16:14">Tue, 01/28/2020 - 16:14</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>LaunchU teamed up with the city of 91ֱ�� on January 21 for a panel discussion dedicated to entrepreneurship in 91ֱ��. The event was open to the public and took place in the event space at CoWork 91ֱ��, a collaborative workspace for local freelancers and entrepreneurs. The audience consisted of 91ֱ�� community members and business owners, as well as participants in the <a href="/innovation-and-impact/launchu">LaunchU</a> 2020 Winter Term Bootcamp and pitch competition.</p> <p>The panel, moderated by 91ֱ�� College Director of Entrepreneurship <a href="/bara-watts">Bara Watts</a>, featured four local entrepreneurs who spoke about their unique journeys.</p> <p>“If you’re thinking about being an entrepreneur, then you should be thinking about how your ideas are going to fit into this changed world,” said panelist <a href="/john-petersen">John Petersen ’88</a>, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology.</p> <p>In 2004, Peterson cofounded Lucid Design Group, a platform dedicated to energy efficiency in commercial buildings, with a group of 91ֱ�� College students. Now, his work focuses on Environmental Dashboards, which provide information about sustainability and energy consumption to large communities of people. Petersen cited climate change as one of the most important factors entrepreneurs should consider as they enter the market.</p> <p>Another panelist, Dave Sokoll ’10 of 91ֱ�� Food Hub, encouraged the self-starters in the room to learn from their mistakes.</p> <p>“There are things you don’t know until you’re there,” said Sokoll, who emphasized the importance of striking a balance between preparedness and self-preservation.</p> <p>For participants in LaunchU especially, the diverse room of both seasoned and budding entrepreneurs of all ages proved a fertile ground for collaboration and networking.</p> <p>Kieran Minor ’19 is working on his startup curriculum model dedicated to arts and environmental education as a participant in the 2020 LaunchU pitch competition. For Minor, the panel showed him that “the bubble that is 91ֱ�� has a lot of ideas and a lot of opportunities for exchange.”</p> <p>A recurring theme throughout the evening was the power of entrepreneurship to make a difference in one’s community. </p> <p>“Entrepreneurship is about who you are as much as what you do,” said Watts. “There’s no other job out there that will give you the breadth of experience both for knowing yourself and engaging with people, and feeling like you’re actually making an impact.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-01-24T12:00:00Z">Fri, 01/24/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kyra McConnell ’22</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/john-petersen" hreflang="und">John Petersen ’88</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Local entrepreneurs spoke about their journeys during a panel discussion at CoWork 91ֱ��.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Osama Dawood</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>LaunchU Awards $46,500 in Startup Funding to Students, Alumni, and Faculty</h1> <p>eulrich — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:32:38 +0000</p> <span>LaunchU Awards $46,500 in Startup Funding to Students, Alumni, and Faculty</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-03-29T10:32:38-04:00" title="Friday, March 29, 2019 - 10:32">Fri, 03/29/2019 - 10:32</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Housed under the Center for Innovation and Impact, the <a href="/node/120226" target="_blank">LaunchU Bootcamp and Pitch Competition</a> awards startup funding to entrepreneurs at all stages of the venture process—from preliminary ideas to those with proof of concept and initial revenue streams. The program is free to all accepted; current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents of 91ֱ�� students are all eligible to participate.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>LaunchU competitors listen to a guest presentation on market identification and startup financial projections and feedback led by Jaclyn Sommers and Patrick Kurcharson, both from JumpStart<br> Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>The competition process spans fall to spring and integrates mentoring support from 91ֱ�� alumni and parents, as well as professional development sessions led by startup professionals. After being evaluated by a panel of alumni judges, winning pitches are awarded funding determined by their future needs and ability to move forward with their projects.</p> <p>1step2life, a research team lead by <a href="/node/6286" target="_blank">Nancy Darling</a> that is developing app-based technology to help adolescents manage chronic pain, was awarded first place in this year’s competition. 1step2life was awarded $20,000 and will use the funding to transform the <a href="https://1step2life.com/1step2life/about/" target="_blank">current web-based app</a> into an app that can be purchased and subscribed to from the iTunes App Store.</p> <p>Psychology major Max Kramer ’20, who competed on the 1step2life team, says that LaunchU allowed him to apply his academic studies to an entrepreneurial undertaking. “Our mentor meetings were a fantastic resource to learn how to take our scientific background and apply it to the world of business,” he says. “The lessons in pitching, marketing, and networking helped us transition from a lab into a business, and they provided new contacts that have since joined the project.”</p> <p>Second-place winner Alex Tavares ’11 was awarded $15,000 for his project, <a href="https://www.thereadread.com/" target="_blank">The Read Read</a>, the first device that allows children and adults with visual impairments and blindness to independently learn and practice phonics and braille. “It was an absolute pleasure to participate in LaunchU,” Tavares says. “I was able to benefit from the guidance and anecdotes of real-life entrepreneurs, who shared their successes and more importantly, their missteps.”</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Alex Tavares ’11 presents The Read Read<br> Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Third-place winner and environmental studies graduate Jonathan Kaufman ’11 was awarded $5,000 to expand his startup, <a href="https://fullcirclesolutions.nl/" target="_blank">Full Circle Solutions</a>. Founded in 2018, Full Circle Solutions aims to divert organic waste from Amsterdam’s waste incineration process. Kaufman says that by processing organic waste with insect larvae, its value can be increased up to tenfold.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Jonathan Kaufman ’11 presents Full Circle Solutions<br> Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>“I heard about LaunchU from an 91ֱ�� friend and it seemed like a great way to push my business forward,” Kaufman says. “My goal is to leverage the funds awarded to me to create a prototype of my vision and a revenue stream that will allow me to scale.” Long-term, Kaufman plans to develop partnerships with waste haulers and producers in Amsterdam and calibrate the prototype to an industrial scale.</p> <p>Director of Entrepreneurship Bara Watts says that, for many entrepreneurs in the nascent stages of unproven ventures, they are often forced to draw from their own monetary resources. “For many,” she says, “this is the difference between being able to launch or shelving the idea and moving on.”</p> <p>LaunchU not only makes professional development and funding accessible to entrepreneurs, but it taps into the 91ֱ�� ethos of creating positive impacts in the world. Past LaunchU winners include <a href="http://www.gwtp.us/#intro" target="_blank">Get With the Program</a>, a nonprofit promoting STEM education for preschool through 12th-grade students, and <a href="https://www.saltpointseaweed.com/" target="_blank">Salt Point Seaweed</a>, a company devoted to reducing the high carbon footprint of seaweed imports by sustainably sourcing seaweed.</p> <p>“If you want to change the world, you need more than knowledge,” Watts says. “You need to know how to activate that knowledge and execute for success. Those who employ this skill set in launching a venture have the potential of creating a new force in the world, providing services and products delivered through job creation and support for others.”</p> <p>Now in its seventh year, LaunchU continues to facilitate opportunities for learning and professional growth with the support of the greater 91ֱ�� College community. This year’s competition marked the second year of the Entrepreneurship Mentorship program, in which 14 volunteer alumni and 91ֱ�� parents shared their professional prowess with competitors.</p> <p>“These mentors provide real-world insights and knowledge that is very hard to get otherwise,” Watts says. “Having professionals dedicate their time at no cost to help a founder realize their dream is a tremendous resource.”</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/sets/72157705957514931" target="_blank">View LaunchU photo gallery</a></p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-03-29T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/29/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>LaunchU has awarded $46,500 in startup funding to budding 91ֱ�� entrepreneurs, and has awarded first place to a faculty team for the first time in the competition’s seven-year history.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2499">Competitions</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25286">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/nancy-darling" hreflang="und">Nancy Darling</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Nancy Darling presents 1step2life</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Psychology Students Develop Technology to Help Adolescents Manage Chronic Pain</h1> <p>eulrich — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 16:57:11 +0000</p> <span>Psychology Students Develop Technology to Help Adolescents Manage Chronic Pain</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-03-08T11:57:11-05:00" title="Friday, March 8, 2019 - 11:57">Fri, 03/08/2019 - 11:57</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Darling's research team was awarded $20,000 for winning first place in the annual <a href="/node/120226" target="_blank">LaunchU Pitch Competition</a>. The funding will be used to transform the current web-based app into an app that can be purchased and subscribed to from the iTunes App Store.</p> <p>Chronic pain affects 20 percent of adults in the United States—nearly 50 million people—and poses tremendous challenges for those who suffer from it. Difficulties include completing daily tasks such as getting out of bed, showering, and walking. Living with chronic pain can be especially challenging for the 5 percent of children and adolescents in the United States who suffer from it. Pain can interfere with school, friendships, and everyday activities. Because most adolescents still live at home, chronic pain can cause immense strain for families as well.</p> <p>Psychology major and computer science minor Max Kramer ’20 says that in Darling’s lab, he and his peers have studied how adults and adolescents differ in their responses to chronic pain.</p> <p>“For adolescents, the proposition of doing something unpleasant now (such as giving up cheese or working out five times a week) for a potential decrease in pain months or years from now is unsavory at best,” he says. “Adolescents are more motivated by short-term rewards, which is a critical finding that 1step2life has integrated into the app’s educational materials.”</p> <p>These findings are the rationale for the app’s reward system. Users—adolescents aged 13-22—are rewarded for every step they take toward functioning better, including getting out of bed, getting to sleep on time, or making it to school. Darling says that this feature not only helps kids take control of their own decision-making, but also allows parents to focus on what their children are doing, rather than on what they are not doing.</p> <p>“Otherwise,” she says, “all you talk to your kid about is their pain. Instead it’s, ‘Oh, they got out of bed. They smiled.’ If you pay attention to those things, it really makes it easier.”</p> <p><a href="https://1step2life.com/1step2life/about/" target="_blank">1step2life</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> allows users to input their current behaviors and doctors’ recommendations into the 1step Planner, which uses the information to predict users’ functioning levels over a two-year period.</p> <p>Users can also apply the tool to see how their pain levels would change over the same two-year period if they change their current behaviors. Such adjustments could include stress reduction, changing their diet, or exercising daily. These behavioral modifications can have immense long-term benefits.</p> <p>Cinema studies and psychology double major Ava Dishian ’19 says that 1step2life’s approach is ideal because young people’s phones are already at their fingertips—literally. “People are in and out of doctors’ offices,” she says, “but your phone is always right there.” Dishian says that the app is also designed to provide support to people who cannot afford or access health care.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Nancy Darling with 1step2life student researchers<br> Photo by John Seyfried</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>1step2life not only allows adolescents to manage their health from the ease of their mobile devices, but the app also helps parents advocate for their children without dictating.</p> <p>“All of the things that doctors want kids to do and parents have to make them do are exactly the kinds of things that kids believe their parents have no right to tell them to do,” Darling says. “I can tell my kid to go to school, but it’s considered wrong to tell them to meditate.”</p> <p>Instead of parents lecturing their children on why they should follow their doctors’ advice, the app spells out the science behind pain and management techniques in language adolescents can understand, including an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfF2dYCn51U" target="_blank">animated video</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-file-video-o"></span> explaining chronic pain. Per 1step2life’s motto, the app helps young people take back their lives on their own terms.</p> <p>Several of Darling’s students have worked on 1step2life and the research behind it for more than two years and have even shifted the course of their academic and career trajectories because of their involvement in the project.</p> <p>Kramer is pursuing an honors thesis focused on improving the app’s current model and implementing methods that will help the technology more accurately represent users' trends. He was also on the LaunchU team and says that the skills he has learned from the experience have been tremendous assets.</p> <p>“Our mentor meetings were a fantastic resource to learn how to take our scientific background and apply it to the world of business,” Kramer says. “The lessons in pitching, marketing, and networking helped us transition from a lab into a business, and they provided new contacts that have since joined the project.”</p> <p>Dishian, who produced the animated video explaining pain, is now exploring the prospect of a career in filmmaking for clinicians.</p> <p>“It feels really good to be a part of something that can actually help people,” she says. “I feel like I’m contributing to society, and it’s satisfying to be able to be a part of something so big.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-03-13T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/13/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Professor and Chair of Psychology <a href="/node/6286" target="_blank">Nancy Darling</a> and her students are developing 1step2life, a web-based app that helps adolescents manage chronic pain.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25286">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25256">Cinema and Media</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/nancy-darling" hreflang="und">Nancy Darling</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/cinema-studies" hreflang="und">Cinema and Media</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students involved in Professor Nancy Darling’s 1step2life student research group</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">John Seyfried</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Doing Concerts for Good</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 18:18:42 +0000</p> <span>Doing Concerts for Good</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-02-02T13:18:42-05:00" title="Tuesday, February 2, 2021 - 13:18">Tue, 02/02/2021 - 13:18</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Long before pianists Jingning “Jenny” Huang ’19 and Celina Kobetitsch ’19 began their studies at 91ֱ�� Conservatory and participated in the college’s venture incubator LaunchU, they both dreamed of using their music to do good. Jenny admired the huge sacrifice her Chinese parents endured to afford her first piano lessons, while Celina was crushed by the poverty she discovered in her own backyard. While brainstorming in an entrepreneurship class at 91ֱ��, they stumbled upon the idea to partner with nonprofits to grow donations through community-wide music programming. Their teacher, Director of Entrepreneurship Bara Watts, urged them to take the concept one step further.</p> <p>Huang and Kobetitsch have organized their first concert for good: Living in Harmony, which will be hosted by Bay Presbyterian Church in Bay Village, Ohio, on Saturday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. They have partnered with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless to raise funds for those in need. This is an exciting first step in an effort to bring resources and music to underserved people in communities everywhere.</p> <p><strong>When did you first dream up Concerts for Good? What inspired you to investigate this idea that’s now come to life?</strong></p> <p><strong>Huang:</strong> “I choose music because I love it, and I am going to use music to help those who are unprivileged.” This was my response to a college essay when I was 18 years old. In the small town where I grew up, music was a luxury. For years when I was young, my parents drove six hours for my piano lessons every week. I watched as my parents earned just enough to support the family; they sacrificed so much for my music education. And because of that, it had always been my dream to use music to help people in need. This dream has stayed with me through the past three years at 91ֱ��. After lots of thoughts and research, I decided to partner with my friend Celina, who shares my passion to use music to help others. Together, Concerts for Good was born.</p> <p></p> <p><strong>Kobetitsch:</strong> I very clearly remember a day in October when I was driving through an impoverished neighborhood of Cleveland. I remember looking to my left and seeing two girls on their front lawn, using a shopping cart as a trampoline in front of a house that looked like it could collapse at any moment. My heart hurt. Jenny and I both took Bara Watts’ Intro to Entrepreneurship class last fall, and I believe it was then that I started thinking more about what kind of impact I wanted to make as a musician. I decided that for my winter term project, I wanted to get out of the practice rooms a bit and start helping the community by creating benefit concerts, the first being for Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. I went to Bara Watts to ask if she would be my winter term sponsor, and she encouraged me to really work with this idea. I never thought of it being more than just a small project.</p> <p></p> <p><strong>What was your vision when you started and how has it evolved through the LaunchU program?</strong></p> <p><strong>Huang:</strong> When I started out, I only thought about how to use music to change people’s lives, but I wasn’t thinking too much about a long-term plan. Throughout the LaunchU program, I learned about business models, marketing, business law, sales strategies, finance and forecasting, fundraising and team building, and more, all of which led me to expand my vision for the future of our dream. We created an innovative business model that is sustainable and a social enterprise. It wasn’t easy, but we hustled it. For us, having a business means committing to our goals and persevering to achieve our goals.</p> <p><strong>Kobetitsch:</strong> At first, all I wanted to do was hold a benefit concert: give up some of my time, get some musicians together, and raise funds and awareness for poverty in Cleveland. At that time, I had no idea how much work it takes to organize a single event, and until Bara Watts proposed the idea to me, I never thought of it becoming a business. During the LaunchU program, we took this idea, we doubted it, we stretched it, we threw it away, we picked it back up, we rebuilt it, and we came out with a sophisticated business model that we feel confident about. Now we just need to test it out, and we know our model might change and numbers might change, but our desire to create new opportunities for musicians and do service in our community remains at the core of our mission.</p> <p></p> <p><strong>What was your biggest takeaway from the boot camp weeks in January and the pitch competition in March? What was the highlight of the experience for you?</strong></p> <p><strong>Huang:</strong> I think the LaunchU program as a whole was the highlight of this journey. I have learned so many practical skills and so much information, met wonderful colleagues, built a network with amazing mentors. In addition, I have stayed up all night for five days to produce a complete three-year financial forecast, which I knew nothing about prior to LaunchU. During the final pitch, which included a very intense two hours of Q&A, I had the opportunity to present our ideas to people. The LaunchU experience was remarkable, and it’s an unforgettable experience. </p> <p></p> <p><strong>Kobetitsch:</strong> There are always going to be people who doubt our idea and tell us it will not be scalable, necessary, or lucrative. That’s part of starting a business. The most important things I took away from LaunchU were resilience and persistence. Bara Watts always said, “There’s never a problem. Just a challenge waiting for a solution.” I will remember this phrase!</p> <p><strong>What skills do each of your bring to your team?</strong></p> <p><strong>Huang:</strong> I discovered a love for strategy through my professional training in the game of Go, which is a popular Asian abstract strategy board game that is similar to chess. As a national game of Go winner, strategy has become my way of thinking, and it drives me to focus more on the financial and strategic planning of our business.</p> <p><strong>Kobetitsch:</strong> Jenny balances me out in every possible way, and I appreciate this so much. I am more conscious of what other people think, whereas she stands her ground despite what anyone else says, and I really admire this. Whenever I’m overly thorough, she knows how to be perfectly concise. She’s great with numbers, whereas I enjoy writing. We both strategize and ideate in different ways, and although different personalities and different skill sets can be difficult to balance, I believe it makes us the strongest team that I could ever ask for.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-04-02T12:00:00Z">Mon, 04/02/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Conservatory musicians join forces with a LaunchU venture.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35116">Violin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=29541">Piano</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Entrepreneurial Thinking in the Innovation Economy</h1> <p>anagy — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 15:42:11 +0000</p> <span>Entrepreneurial Thinking in the Innovation Economy</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-03-16T11:42:11-04:00" title="Friday, March 16, 2018 - 11:42">Fri, 03/16/2018 - 11:42</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p dir="ltr">The environment of a small liberal arts campus was something new to 91ֱ�� parent Shannon Liston. During an orientation event for parents, she was introduced to LaunchU, 91ֱ��’s annual venture incubator, and the program immediately hit home. A couple conversations later, Liston became an entrepreneur mentor for the 2017-18 LaunchU class.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was a natural fit for Liston, who is corporate legal counsel for Techstars, a venture capital and private equity firm with a worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed with three-month accelerator programs.</p> <p dir="ltr">Techstars opens applications for a period of two to three months and typically receives 10,000 applications for 10 spots. “We get to pick those 10 companies and surround them with intense mentorship and support. At the end of the program, companies get to pitch their product to investors,” Liston explains.</p> <p dir="ltr">The format is strikingly similar to LaunchU, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/albums/72157691432423462">91ֱ��’s startup accelerator, boot camp, and public pitch competition</a> held primarily over winter term. The program is open to current students, alumni, and college staff members.</p> <p dir="ltr">Four ventures were <a href="/news/launchu-awards-37k-startup-funding">awarded a combined $37,000 in startup funding</a> in this year’s final pitch competition.</p> <p dir="ltr">As a mentor, Liston conducted several Skype sessions with three of the competing ventures to provide coaching and feedback. She also gave a presentation to all of the participants sharing advice on creating your company, keeping it in good form, and approaching investors.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Techstars does a lot of events like this,” Liston says. “LaunchU is incredible and well organized. I’ve been really impressed with the format and structure.”</p> <p>The entrepreneur mentor program is a new addition to this year’s competition, and Director of Entrepreneurship Bara Watts says it made a considerable difference in the growth and development of the ventures. Twelve alumni and several 91ֱ�� parents volunteered to work virtually with one or more of the entrepreneurs during the bootcamp and throughout the pitching process.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Their specialized expertise is an added ingredient that has enriched and accelerated many of the ventures' development,” Watts says.</p> <p dir="ltr">Liston, who began her career as an accountant, says she volunteered to be a mentor because she feels like she can relate to graduates entering the workforce now.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was amazing to have been a student in the ’80s when there was job stability and very well defined career paths in corporate America,” she says. “After my kids were in school, I made the decision to go to law school. I was entering an incredibly tough job market, and I didn’t look like everyone else. I experienced what students are going through now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Liston says she realized the need to be entrepreneurial. “You need to make connections and build a network, find and recruit mentors who can support you, and be open to something different.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Director of Entrepreneurship Bara Watts<br> Credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> <p>The goal of LaunchU, Watts says, is to engage all members of the 91ֱ�� community in creating a generation of entrepreneurs who build beneficial, ethical, and profitable enterprises. The program is relevant to all disciplines because students today are entering what she calls the innovation economy.</p> <p>“All organizations—for-profit and nonprofit, legacy and startup, public and private—are forced to innovate to remain relevant and successful,” Watts says. “Entrepreneurial thinking is a skill that enables individuals to see opportunity, employ innovation, and execute for the benefit of their organization—whether it be their own startup organization or one they are employed by. An entrepreneurial mindset can accelerate your career.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Professor of Politics Eve Sandberg, who launched her own <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eve-sandberg-31b0404/">political consulting</a> ventures, says LaunchU is a good training ground for developing the powers of persuasion.</p> <p>“Regardless of the field they are entering, graduates will have to persuade others of the merits of their ideas, whether they will be working in a team or for a boss,” Sandberg says. “During brainstorming sessions, they have to be willing to not see ideas as either ‘yours’ or ‘mine,’ but rather as many ideas and multiple components that make up single project. LaunchU forces its participants to learn those lessons.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Victor Yalom ’82, one of the alumni entrepreneur mentors, echoes that sentiment.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many, if not most, businesses start inadvertently. I just wanted to produce a video so I could capture the work of one psychologist,” says Yalom, who started his career in clinical psychology and went on to discover a niche market for<a href="http://www.psychotherapy.net"> professional psychotherapy training videos</a>. His company has produced a library of more than 300 training videos featuring the leading practitioners in the field.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Business is a creative enterprise. But for creative people to be successful in life, one of the key skills they must have is getting other people to part with their time and money,” Yalom says. “Say you aren’t a software developer, but you have to get someone to help you write code. You have an idea, but you’re not a natural salesperson. You need persuasive powers or the vision to attract people to join forces with you.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Watts says this year’s participants were hungry to learn and refine their business models.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They took full advantage of the 19 speakers, 12 business coaches, and three presenting entrepreneurs. We had very strong contenders. It’s been very exciting.”</p> <p> </p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-03-21T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/21/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>LaunchU doesn’t just accelerate business ventures—it also builds careers. </p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">A LaunchU participant at work in the Birenbaum Innovation and Performance space during winter term.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>LaunchU Awards $37K in Startup Funding</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 18:53:01 +0000</p> <span>LaunchU Awards $37K in Startup Funding</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-03-14T14:53:01-04:00" title="Wednesday, March 14, 2018 - 14:53">Wed, 03/14/2018 - 14:53</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p dir="ltr">The annual LaunchU pitch competition awarded a combined $37,000 in startup funding to four business ventures. The creators of 10 ventures competed before a panel of judges and potential investors on March 10.</p> <p dir="ltr">In first place, the team of Tessa Emmer ’11, Catherine O’Hare ’11, and Avery Resor received $20,000 for their venture <a href="https://www.saltpointseaweed.com">Salt Point Seaweed</a>, a company that offers high-quality nutritional seaweed sustainably harvested by hand in northern California. The three are committed to using their business as a force for environmental protection, community development, and food system transformation.</p> <p dir="ltr">The second-place prize of $10,000 was awarded to <a href="https://virtu.academy">Virtu.Academy</a>, a platform for digital music education created by Bryan Rubin ’18, an environmental studies and politics major, and Benjamin Steger ’19, a double-degree student majoring in biochemistry and trumpet performance. Their business model aims to build a nationwide network of music educators who will provide affordable, convenient lessons to middle and high school students.</p> <p dir="ltr">Third-place winner Hassan Bin Fahim ’18, an economics and politics major, received $5,000 for uPage, a platform that provides simple and affordable website creation tools for Internet users in the developing world. uPage will introduce a localized website creation platform in Pakistan, where existing website creation tools are unable to fill the needs of Internet users who want to share their voice with the world.</p> <p>An honorable mention prize of $2,000 was awarded to Katie Kim ’21 for BOBALIN, a local venture specializing in boba (more commonly known as bubble tea), a fast-growing drink trend that originated in Taiwan.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pitch competition is the culmination of a venture incubator and intensive bootcamp held primarily over winter term. Participants experience one-on-one mentorship, pitch prep in support of their launch. Seventeen ventures competed in a preliminary pitch competition on February 24.</p> <p dir="ltr">During the bootcamp, held January 15-26, 31 participants worked on business model exploration, followed by programs in marketing, business law, sales strategies, finance and forecasting, fundraising, and team building for startups. Nineteen professionals presented materials on business formation, for-profit and nonprofit fundraising, social venture management, branding, business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing, intellectual property law, and financial forecasting.</p> <p dir="ltr">Director of Entrepreneurship Bara Watts says the competition had many strong contenders.</p> <p dir="ltr">“At LaunchU, participants work to make their own ideas a success. It’s real world, hands-on learning. During the bootcamp, everyone was all-in the entire time—and that is saying a lot because they were there for 12 hours a day for 12 days straight.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Watts says she is honored to work with seven passionate and active LaunchU board members.</p> <p dir="ltr">“LaunchU was founded and funded by a group of inspired alumni who felt strongly that this kind of high-impact, real-world learning was a critical ingredient to a well-rounded liberal arts education. The program is predominantly supported through donations made by the board and other alumni and parents who are passionate about entrepreneurship at 91ֱ��. It is a wonderful example of how 91ֱ�� comes together across all groups within its community to promote growth and opportunity.”</p> <p> </p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-03-14T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2406">Innovation and Impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The winners of the LaunchU 2017-18 final pitch competition, from left: Catherine O'Hare '11 and Tessa Emmer '11, Salt Point Seaweed; Benjamin Steger '19 and Bryan Rubin '18, Virtu.Academy; Katie Kim '21, BOBALIN; and Hassan Bin Fahim, uPage.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Collective Style</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:35 +0000</p> <span>Collective Style</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:35-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Over the last several years, a group of enterprising students has worked to create a collection of apparel and accessories that reflects 91ֱ��’s culture. Originally launched as ObieWear, the project created designs that were produced and distributed in the college bookstore.</p> <p>Bronwen Schumacher ’15 and fourth-year Shea Renusch revived the effort in 2015 when they participated in LaunchU, 91ֱ��’s venture accelerator, and received an ignition fund to rework their business model. Rebranding themselves as 91ֱ�� Apparel Collective, the group is working toward becoming an autonomous, self-sustained venture by creating and selling its own products.</p> <p>This spring, the collective is producing a minimalist line of T-shirts, stickers, and a tote bag with student-designed sketches celebrating 91ֱ�� icons. They plan to sell limited quantities of each item during Commencement/Reunion Weekend, May 20-23.</p> <p>In addition to T-shirts, the group is “focusing on smaller, more accessible items,” says second-year Griffin Hogrogian, a neuroscience and psychology double major who joined the collective this year as co-president. He led an Experimental Course last fall that recruited new designers. “We try to listen to the student body. We found that everyone gravitates toward icons such as DeCafé, the Feve, Blue Rooster Bakery, and the Apollo Theatre. Most people come here for a unique experience. We want to offer an affordable, unstigmatized way to show your school spirit.”</p> <p>The concept of 91ֱ�� icons is carried throughout their current line. The T-shirts feature DeCafé creamer carafes, a menagerie of campus containers (including Mason jars and DeCafé smoothies), 91ֱ�� windows, and a sketch of Tappan Square. A tote bag depicts the Claes Oldenburg-designed giant three-way plug sculpture outside the Allen Memorial Art Museum, and a “Drunk in Mudd” sticker is a playful twist on the Beyoncé song. Hogrogian says the collective plans to offer several T-shirt styles along with two new poster designs, vinyl decal bundles, and the tote bag for commencement.</p> <p>“The icons are kind of our response to a school mascot or logo,” says Renusch, a studio art major and Hispanic studies minor. “I think that a lot of students at 91ֱ�� don't really identify with the sporty-style college spirit wear, so we are trying to create an alternative. The icons we choose are all things that the designers, and ourselves, think represent or speak to our 91ֱ�� experience in some way. We are trying to represent what is so special and unique about this place, and I think that really appeals to the students, alumni, and 91ֱ�� community.”</p> <p>A new partnership with the student printmaking collective YeoPress will provide access to silkscreen equipment and will allow them to produce items by individual order. Renusch says her ultimate goal for the apparel collective is to have a physical space on campus where the products can be sold.</p> <p>“We want it to continue to be a place where students are able to gain entrepreneurial and design experience that is really hands-on,” she says. We also want our products to speak to the 91ֱ�� College community and experience in a way that feels very personal. Hopefully alumni and students see our products and are reminded of something they love about their time at 91ֱ��.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-05-11T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/11/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2379">Student Life</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">A playful twist on the Beyoncé song. </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Apparel Collective</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>LaunchU Awards $45K to Ventures</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:50 +0000</p> <span>LaunchU Awards $45K to Ventures</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:50-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Five entrepreneurs were awarded a total of $45,000 in prize money for the 2016 LaunchU venture accelerator and pitch competition. Now in its fourth year, LaunchU provides resources, training, advisors, connections, and investment capital to help start, accelerate, and grow 91ֱ�� community members’ ventures.</p> <p>Alesandra Zsiba ’10 received the grand prize of $20,000 for <a href="http://www.theidentityproject.us/founding-artist">The Identity Project</a>, a program that uses documentary arts to foster identity development in underserved youth. Brandon McKenna, Matthew Fox, and Soren Zeliger ’15 were awarded $15,000 for Storybook, a consumer-oriented mobile app that enables users to enjoy real-time documentation, sharing, and storage of media from multiple perspectives. And Bryon Skvor received $10,000 for <a href="/innovation-and-impact/projects/humble-grounds-roasting-company">Humble Grounds Roasting Company</a>, a company that seeks out, roasts, and sells exceptional coffees that can be used to create stable economies in farming communities around the world.</p> <p>Holford, who <a href="/news/elyzabeth-holford-named-director-entrepreneurship">joined the 91ֱ�� community</a> in October 2015, says this year’s program built on the successes of prior years to create a better overall experience for everyone from participants to judges and reviewers. “Using the feedback we had from previous years, we had a slightly tighter timeline in terms of the amount of time teams could pitch and the amount of time for questions,” she says. “We also built in a live feedback loop so reviewers and interested parties could have time with the teams to ask more questions and give feedback.”</p> <p>These feedback sessions included members of the LaunchU Executive Committee, who served as judges for the pitch competition. “They were positive change,” Holford says of the sessions. “Teams were able to have direct feedback and hear a different set of questions, reviewers who had given up their day to be with us were able to dig a little deeper into the ideas and also share their thoughts and reflections, and the judges heard the reflections of other people who had heard the pitches and had their own questions. [The sessions] really affected the judging in a great way.”</p> <p>With this year’s accelerator and pitch competition behind her, Holford is focusing on teaching Introduction to Entrepreneurship and further refining the LaunchU program for next year. “I can say with confidence there will be even more refinements and tweaks to the process. I’m also working hard to be sure people know that 91ֱ�� is not only a place for new ideas but it is also a place for making those new ideas happen. This program is designed for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and locals to know there’s a place you can go that will always be here ready to share expertise on how to start things up and bring ideas to reality.”</p> <p>For more information about LaunchU, including more about the 2016 pitch competition winners and other participants, visit <a href="/innovation-and-impact/launchu">the Launchu page</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-02-10T12:00:00Z">Wed, 02/10/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Lisa Gulasy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Director of Entrepreneurship Elyzabeth Holford presents a $20,000 award to Alesandra Zsiba ’10 for her LaunchU venture, The Identity Project.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>LaunchU Awards Top Prizes</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:03:18 +0000</p> <span>LaunchU Awards Top Prizes</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:03:18-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:03">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:03</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As in life, business often comes down to just a few moments. For a small throng of budding 91ֱ�� student and alumni entrepreneurs, or “91ֱ��eurs,” one such moment happened in the Bertram and Judith Kohl Building on January 31.</p> <p>The entrepreneurs participated in the <a href="/news/venture-accelerator">third annual LaunchU venture accelerator and pitch competition</a>. Evolved out of 91ֱ��’s signature Creativity & Leadership Program, <a href="/innovation-and-impact/launchu">LaunchU</a> provides resources, training, advisors, connections, and investment capital to help start, accelerate, and grow 91ֱ�� student, alumni, and faculty ventures.</p> <p>“LaunchU is an extension of 91ֱ�� College’s <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/about/mission.dot">mission and ethos</a>,” said Chris Hausman ’94, executive vice president of gloProfessional and LaunchU executive board member. The program, he explained, helps participants clarify their entrepreneurial aspirations and provides the resource, relationship, and financial capital new ventures need to get off the ground. <strong>In other words, LaunchU helps 91ֱ��eurs find and leverage the resources they need to change the world.</strong></p> <p>According to program director Matt Utterback, more than 100 students and alumni registered for this year’s accelerator and pitch competition. Of those registrants, 55 complete applications were reviewed and 19 finalists selected. Those finalists—divided into startup, social impact, and local venture tracks—participated in the three-week accelerator course and presented their ventures before a panel of potential investors and judges for $50,000 in prize money. Of these teams, three won the top prizes:</p> <h3><strong>Joseph Rubin Venture Prize</strong></h3> <p><em>Pop Up Plus</em><br> Camille Newman ’02</p> <h3><strong>Local Venture Prize</strong></h3> <p><em>Subtletees</em><br> Minh Jeffrey Lê ’16</p> <h3><strong>Social Impact Prize</strong></h3> <p><em>MyChair</em><br> Suman Giri ’11, Mazen Sakr, and Ahmad Zia Wahdat ’10</p> <p>“I’m excited that I won. I didn’t expect to win,” said Camille Newman ’02, winner of the Joseph Rubin Venture Prize and founder and CEO of <a href="http://popupplusonline.com/">Pop Up Plus</a>, a New York-based pop-up and online shop for women sizes 14 and up. Newman, whose grandfather and father are both entrepreneurs, started Pop Up Plus in 2009, but first had the idea of creating a business that would provide trendy, high-end clothes for curvy women when she was at a student at 91ֱ��. “I have always been curvy myself, and I remember crying in fitting rooms because I couldn’t fit into anything,” she said.</p> <p>Personal experience, albeit of a different kind, also led to the founding of MyChair, winner of the Social Impact Prize. MyChair is a fully functional, light, and portable chair-desk that doubles as a backpack for students ages 7-18 in rural communities that lack proper seating infrastructure. MyChair CEO Ahmad Zia Wahdat ’10 experienced firsthand how the lack of proper seating can affect students’ academic performance and physical health.</p> <p>“My family took refuge in Pakistan in 1988. During summers of the mid-90s, my family would visit our village in Wardak, Afghanistan, where village schools operated beneath apricot trees and students sat on plastic mats with blackboards resting against tree trunks,” he said. “In 2001, my family moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, and I continued studying throughout high school sitting on a concrete floor.”</p> <p>Wahdat transferred from Kabul University in Afghanistan to 91ֱ�� in 2007, after being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. At 91ֱ��, he met Suman Giri ’11, chief operating officer of MyChair and Business Scholar alumnus, who moved from Nepal to the United States also in 2007. “In 2013, I was wondering what could be changed for education in developing countries. Seating was the first thing that came to mind,” he said. “After some research, I found that 87 million students will be needing seating in poor communities of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and it was no longer just a personal problem; it was problem shared by [students in] most developing countries.”</p> <p>With their business ideas, both Newman and Wahdat uncovered a need that wasn’t being fulfilled, which, according to Jim Margolis ’78, GMMB senior partner and LaunchU keynote speaker, is essential for entrepreneurial success. “I think sometimes people think if you’re just passionate enough about it, you’ll get through, but that isn’t the case. You have to have a plan,” Margolis said in his keynote. You also have to surround yourself with the best people, he said: “Nothing is more important than the people you get. Surround yourself with people smarter than you. Treat them right, value them, listen to them.”</p> <p>Subtletees’ Minh Jeffrey Lê ’16, winner of the Local Venture Prize, knew just how important working with the best people was before the idea of the subtletee—a limited edition, handmade T-shirt with matching pockets and cuffs—was even conceived. Lê cofounded the San Francisco-based company with his friend, Nate Stern, who, he said, has been instrumental in helping the company grow to what it is today.</p> <p>“I just really wanted to do something I could call mine, so I reached out to Nate. The matching pocket and cuff idea didn’t come until later,” he said. Stern, who resides in Los Angeles, was busily preparing Subtletees’ winter line while Lê was participating in the three-week accelerator course.</p> <p>91ֱ�� programs like LaunchU and <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/office/bonner-center/students/co-curricular-programs/bonner-scholars-program.dot">Bonner Scholars</a> have connected Lê with even more experienced and passionate people who can help Subtletees make an impact in San Francisco and beyond. He said the mentorship offered by LaunchU Entrepreneurship Fellow Ty Diringer ’14 has been especially beneficial.</p> <p>“Entrepreneurship is kind of dreamy, very aloof. There aren’t a lot of concrete parts to it, especially in the beginning. Ty gave me a lot of concrete steps. Every time I reached a step, I felt like I was leveling up,” Lê said. “LaunchU is a great program because of the people and 91ֱ�� alumni involved. There is just so much opportunity for positive backing.”</p> <p>“I am grateful for the money, as every entrepreneur would be, but what I’m even more excited about are the relationships I formed with Ty and other [91ֱ��] alumni,” Newman concurred.</p> <p>“The value-added piece of LaunchU is the alumni network,” Hausman said. “Many of the people involved in the executive board have relationships with investors and angel investors. This program has drawn all of these successful alums back in, creating a network that can be leveraged by these teams.”</p> <p>This year’s winning entrepreneurs and select other ventures will have the opportunity to tap into this network even further during the LaunchU Coast to Coast Investor Road Shows, happening through May. “The purpose of the road shows is to put these ventures in front of [potential] investors. A fair amount of money—in the millions—has been raised through the road shows,” Hausman said.</p> <p>At the same time, the winning entrepreneurs are busy making moves to continue to grow their ventures. “We are going to attract some funding for our pilot project among two schools without seating in Nepal. Meanwhile, we are talking with some manufacturers in China and Nepal,” Wahdat said. “In 2016, we will start MyChair distribution in Afghanistan and Nepal through organizations and corporations.”</p> <p>Newman and Lê said their priorities are to update their company websites with new inventory and to increase their marketing efforts. Newman is also exploring the idea of a starting mobile boutique.</p> <p>“I tell people all the time, you sleep when you’re dead. [To be an entrepreneur], you have to be tough, you have to have a lot of stamina, and you have to keep going,” Newman said. “91ֱ�� taught me to go out in the world and change it. That’s what I’m going to do.”</p> <p>Other ventures receiving honors at this year’s LaunchU accelerator and pitch competition include:</p> <h3><strong>Joseph Rubin Venture Prize Runners-Up</strong></h3> <p><em>Dissectibles</em><br> Glen Gerbush ’12</p> <p><em>LumenEd</em><br> Henry Harboe ’15, Saksham Khosla ’15, Thomas Kreek ’15, and Prakash Paudel ’15</p> <h3><strong>Social Impact Prize Runner-Up</strong></h3> <p><em>Base.PK</em><br> Hassan Bin Fahim ’18</p> <h3><strong>LaunchU Grant Winners</strong></h3> <p><em>Built by Women</em><br> Nancy Nguyen ’08, Carol Shapiro</p> <p><em>Call and Response</em><br> Taylor Greenthal ’15, Gabriel Pollack ’11</p> <p><em>Get with the Program</em><br> Jason Williams ’05</p> <p><em>Greenstart</em><br> Andrew Liang ’10, Michael Woods</p> <p><em>InPlay</em><br> Rod Hsiao ’87</p> <h3><strong>MindCamp Prize Winner</strong></h3> <p><em>Get with the Program</em><br> Jason Williams ’05</p> <p>To learn more about these and other ventures from this year’s accelerator and pitch competition, visit <a href="/innovation-and-impact/launchu">91ֱ��.edu</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2015-02-25T12:00:00Z">Wed, 02/25/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Lisa Gulasy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3238">LaunchU</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">A sampling of 91ֱ�� student and alumni entrepreneurs, or “91ֱ��eurs,” who participated in the third annual LaunchU venture accelerator and pitch competition.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>