SOM Students and Startup Yale 2019
Earlier this month, Yale student innovators participated in three days of cross-campus panels and pitch-offs to celebrate Startup Yale 2019. An annual event, Startup Yale helps to bring together students from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and expertise. Culminating in a full day of student pitch-off competitions, there is an energy during Startup Yale that can be sensed at each event as entrepreneurs compete for major prizes, while also cheering on their fellow student innovators.
Although teams for the entrepreneurship prize competitions were comprised of individuals from across Yale University, many of the finalists included School of Management students on their list of co-founders. In total, SOM was represented by student ventures in three of the four large entrepreneurship prizes:
Thorne Prize
A $25,000 award by InnovateHealth Yale to the best student-led venture focused on social innovation in health or education.
Brio Fund - Daisy Rosales ‘20 is the co-founder of Brio Fund: a nonprofit venture philanthropy focused on mental health innovation through engagement with local partnerships in high-need communities. By working directly with mental health entrepreneurs through all stages of consultation, evaluation and funding, Brio Fund is aiming to build long-lasting, sustainable interventions on a global level.
Edsightful - Chris Cutrona ‘19 is the founder of Edsightful: an education technology tool that helps school districts to more effectively manage their instructional coaching, teacher observation, and evaluation programs. By providing a user-friendly dashboard as part of the tool, data is easier to collect and review so that schools can make better, more informed decisions regarding teacher supports.
Edsightful was awarded with both the Thorne Prize and the Audience Choice Award.
Miller Prize
A $25,000 award by Tsai CITY for the best student-led venture with a tech or tech-enabled service startup.
Statera Therapeutics - Owen Yang ‘19 and Jen Fischer ‘19 are two of the four co-founders of Statera Therapeutics. The team aims to unlock the full potential of antigen-specific immunotherapy by boosting efficacy with improved delivery. Statera accomplishes this boost through an innovative nanoparticle that allows the sequential release of multiple agents to targeted areas of the body.
Sabin Prize
A $25,000 award by CBEY to students and/or faculty with the best idea for products, services, or programs that advance a more sustainable way of life.
AIRpower - Jennifer Gammond ‘19, Alejandro Alonso ‘20, and Tanon Protpagorn ‘19 are three of the five co-founders of AIRpower. The team’s goal is to build self-sustaining electric powertrain systems for class-8 semi-trucks.
Greater Good Solar - Hannah Beinecke ‘20 and Evan Beinecke ‘19 are the co-founders of Greater Good Solar which provides financing for lower and middle-income neighborhoods to go solar. One unique aspect of their plan involves grant funding in their capital stack. The inclusion of grant funding allows Greater Good Solar to push money back into the local community in order to provide green jobs training and environmental education through a nonprofit partnership.
Hand Me Up - Founded by Melissa Mazzeo ‘20 (joint degree FES), Cyndi Chen ‘19, and Jatin Batra ‘19, Hand Me Up is a children’s secondhand marketplace. Through their online store, subscription boxes, pop-up events, and brick-and-mortar shops, Hand Me Up makes shopping for parents convenient and affordable while also reducing textile waste.
Hand Me Up was awarded with both the Sabin Prize Audience Choice Award and the MIINT Prize.
For a full list of the Startup Yale 2019 finalists and winners, visit their website here.