This past weekend has been a bittersweet touch point in a larger global pause.  For so many, especially the class of 2020 and their families, there is a collective and deeply felt sense of poignancy.  The end of the semester, especially for graduates, is just not the same.

For those of us who build communities from the head, heart and soul, nothing feels right. As we moved to the on-line space, we learned that we can work together virtually all day.  But we cannot replace what it is to be a living, breathing, animated community.  It’s this we grieve right now.  Especially for the chance for a proper send-off and to celebrate students who discovered themselves and others in collaborative spaces like the LaunchPad.

It’s hard to leave without saying goodbye.  Anyone who has done that knows that it is an ache you carry with you for a long time.

As a celebration of their time together, our talented LaunchPad graduates made this welcome video for new students.  In some ways, it’s also a goodbye present to each other.  Thinking about that will make you both smile and cry when you see it that way.

As we say good luck to our dear LaunchPad graduates, and get ready to welcome new ones to the fold this fall, this much we know:  We remain one in spirit.  We remain a place where magic happens.

We’ll always be here for you.  We’ll be back. We promise to see you again. It’s been a brilliant and heartfelt chapter in your story — with the whole book of your life still to be written. We can’t wait to see how it turns out.

It’s the week after graduation, which means it is officially summer.  We’re still here for you and want to stay connected.  We’ll continue our “Tea Talks” on a bi-weekly basis to keep conversations going around interesting topics, featuring great speakers.  The newsletter will be brief and bi-weekly to keep you up in the loop on programs, activities, events, and resources. The LaunchPad remains open virtually through the summer, with the LaunchPad team and mentors available to faculty, staff, students and alumni.  We are also planning an Innovation Showcase, featuring our top ventures in an east coast-west coast pitch venue. Here are five fun ways to be engaged this summer:

1. Get coaching.  We’re still running all programs virtually this summer, so now is the time to double down on coaching.  Connect with us by e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu to get paired up with a mentor.  Our mentor list rapidly expanding through alumni and industry connections who are happy to help provide feedback and guidance.  Learn more about our mentorship program here.
2. Catch up on summer reading. The Blackstone Launchpad Innovation and Entrepreneurship Book Collection continues to grow, with many titles available in electronic editions.  This award-winning collection, crowdsourced with the help of faculty, staff and students, is one of the most widely circulated categories of books at SU Libraries. Entrepreneurship starts with exploration, and there is no time like summer to kick back and read.  Here’s a link to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship book collection.
3. Earn some startup badges.  Blackstone Global Fellow Nick Barba has created an ingenious badge system to track progress of LaunchPad ventures.  As you continue make progress, be sure that you are connecting with our official “Badge Master” Nick to document your milestones and award you badges.  The badges follow students from idea to commercialization, including badges like Incorporation, First Sale and Investment Ready. They are a fun and motivational way to track student entrepreneurs in their progress developing their business ideas. See the badge book for a full list of badges with descriptions.
4. Be part of a virtual accelerator program.  This summer we’ll be hosting our first virtual accelerator program for students who want to work on their business in a more intensive way.  With meeting meetings and check-ins, and a more structured approach to mentor-driven venture development program.  The program will start mid-June and run through late July and will include some guest speakers.  If interested, e-mail us LaunchPad@syr.edu
5. Apply for a Summer Startup Fellowship. As LaunchPad students approach graduation the first summer during/following the COVID-19 crisis and following economic downturn, their concerns are centered on more challenging job and internship prospects. In an effort to both distribute financial assistance and to encourage continued work on some of the most promising graduating LaunchPad startups in a remote setting, The Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars network will host a unique, new opportunity for a LaunchPad Summer Startup Fellowship. The Summer Startup Fellowship program is funded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and administered through Techstars. Applications are now online here, with an application deadline of May 18, 2020.  The virtual program will run June 8 through July 27, 2020.  Accepted applicants will be notified by the first week of June.  In this eight-week Fellowship, participants will be awarded $5,000 in grant funding to support their time working on advancing their startup companies. The Fellowship is largely self-driven, but will include weekly reporting requirements, a number of webinars to support the program, and a final report. The Fellowship is open to all current students with priority to recent graduates in the LaunchPad Network and will accept 50 participants.   Learn more and apply here.

Congratulations to Syracuse University faculty, staff and students on receiving 2020 One University Awards, honoring scholarship, teaching, academic achievement, leadership and service.  A number of LaunchPad members are award recipients, and we could not be more proud of them.

Among the award winners are:

Chancellor’s Citation Awards

Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence in Student Research Undergraduate Awards

• Matthew Ambalavanar ’20, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Naiya Campbell ’20, a communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Tatiana Hernandez-Mitchell ’20, a psychology and forensic science major in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Megan Hu ’20, a marketing management major in the Whitman School of Management
• Julia Riley ’20, a biochemistry and neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences

Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence in Student Research Graduate Awards

• Adrienne Atterberry, a doctoral student in sociology in the Maxwell School
• Emily Judd G’20, a graduate student majoring in Earth sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences

Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives

• Rebecca Kelly, assistant professor of communications design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (faculty)
• Kalpana Srinivas, interim executive director for student success in the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience (staff)

Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction

• Robert Doyle, professor of chemistry and Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences

Chancellor’s Citation Lifetime Achievement Award

• Charles T. Driscoll Jr., University Professor of environmental systems engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship Undergraduate Award

• Brianna Howard ’20, a public health major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship Undergraduate Graduate Award

• Breanna LeCompte, a graduate student majoring in higher education in the School of Education

Student-Athlete Award

• Amanda Bäckebo ’20, a communications and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and a member of the women’s ice hockey team
• Jamie Trimboli ’20, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the men’s lacrosse team

University Scholars

University Scholar is the highest form of academic recognition Syracuse University bestows on an academically outstanding graduating senior in a baccalaureate degree program. This year’s University Scholars are Alexander Aguirre, Nicholas Barba, Adam Bayer, Margaret Garber, Lara Hicks, Natasha Liston-Beck, Bethany Murphy, Serena Omo-Lamai, Natalia Rice, Nicole Stallings-Blanche, Morgan Trau and Tyler Youngman.

Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Scholars

The Remembrance Scholarships were founded as a tribute to, and means of remembering, the 35 students who were killed in the December 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of distinguished academic work, citizenship and service to community. Current Remembrance Scholars are: Hassina Adams, Adam Bayer, Mamoudou Camara, Gabrielle Caracciolo, Sarah Crawford, Lauren Crimmins, Michael DiNardo, Charlene Fowajuh, Erin Gavle, Julia Gregoire, Cleo Hamilton, Ahlam Islam, Taylor Krzeminski, Rachel Lange, Joann Li, Marshall Lipsey, Sabrina Maggiore, Alizée McLorg, Bethany Murphy, Molly Murphy, Hanna Nichols, Francesca Ortega, Anna Poe, Daniel Preciado, Alex Rouhandeh, Sally Rubin, Ghufran Salih, Gaelyn Smith, Izmailia Sougoufara, Morgan Trau, Hanz Lionel Valbuena, Mary Kate Washburn, Allison Westbrook, Azarius Williams and Tyler Youngman.  Each year two students from Lockerbie, Scotland, are selected to study in Syracuse for one year. To our communities, these students represent the 11 people who died in Lockerbie in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and our commitment to Remembrance. The 2019-20 Lockerbie Scholars are Brodi Chambers and Rowan Chisholm.

Senior Class Marshals

The Senior Class Marshals are distinguished individuals who exemplify the spirit of the senior class, exhibit excellent critical-thinking skills, and have excelled during their time at Syracuse. This year’s Senior Class Marshals are Serena Omo-Lamai and Kyle Rosenblum.

School and College Marshals

Marshals for each of the University’s schools and colleges are selected for their distinguished achievement in scholarship, academic honors, student organization involvement, leadership and collegiality, as well as campus and community engagement and service.

School and College Marshals:

• College of Arts and Sciences, Matthew Ambalavanar, Paige Bernecker and Jessica Holman
• College of Engineering and Computer Science, Courtney Davis and Isabela Ramirez Velez
• College of Law, Omar Mosqueda
• College of Visual and Performing Arts, Michael Fernandes and Katherine Skafidas
• David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Rachel Brennan and Tess Harper
• Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Lauren Sutkus
• S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Madeleine Davison and Sam Rothman
• School of Architecture, Anthony Bruno and Natasha Liston-Beck
• School of Education, Kylie Walter and Isabel Reedy
• School of Information Studies, Adam Bayer and Ghufran Salih
• The Graduate School, Shaundel Sanchez
• University College, Katherine O. Veley
• Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Nicholas Barba and Warren Johnson

A complete list of all 2020 One University Award winners, including faculty teaching and service awards, is here.

May is Mental Health Month, and the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries has invited clinical psychologist Tishin Donkersley, manager of Global Education at Techstars to join us for our next “Tea Talk” on Wednesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. via Zoom at this link. Co-moderating the conversation will be SU alumnus AJ Damiano ’18 (Whitman), co-founder of PowerSpike, who is a member of the LaunchPad’s Founders Circle, as well as a graduate of the Techstars Atlanta program. We’ll be discussing mental health for entrepreneurs, a topic that is rapidly losing its stigma. More than 300 million people globally suffer from depression and anxiety annually according to the World Health Organization. It’s a topic that is very relevant to the intense pressure-driven world of entrepreneurship, and it is a particular struggle for people around the globe in this period of COVID-19 social isolation.

An educator, editor and successful serial entrepreneur, Donkersley holds a double masters in clinical and sport psychology from Arizona State University. She taught psychoscience at the collegiate level for 10 years, and also mentored collegiate to NFL athletes during their season. She is the author of articles about neuro and consumer technology, combining her love for cognitive science, technology and startups. She later became the editor-in-chief for a paper and online magazine startup, and within two years she helped build it to an exit. She was chief editor for two more startups, the latest of which was Tech.Co, with 1M readers per month, which she exited in January 2019. During her 12+ year entrepreneurship run, she became a national tech editor and reporter, and a tech expert for local network news, an Emmy award-winning show, radio, podcasts, TechCrunch, and more.

She joined Techstars in September 2019 and was promoted to Manager of Global Education. Read more about her here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishind/

Also joining in the conversation as discussion leaders will be Louis Bookoff ’17 (Whitman), co-founder of Busie and and Daniel Fridliand ’18 (Whitman), co-founder of Awning Mental Health, an app which helps manage stress and anxiety. Damiano, Bookoff and Fridliand all remain active members of the LaunchPad and mentor student and alumni founders.

Tea Talks are virtual fireside chats, structured like good conversations over a cup of tea with thought leaders on topics related to innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership.  The LaunchPad at Syracuse University is pleased to present these conversations in partnership with The Republic of Tea.

Join the Zoom chat here.  If a password is required for admission, use LaunchPad.

The results are in! The 2020 Minute to Win It – Virtual Edition competition has officially come to a close. All of the participants of this competition sent in a 60-second video pitch for their new business idea for the chance to win up to $300 to help them launch it. This year’s entrepreneurs were incredibly innovative, having to work around quarantine and limited resources to create their video pitch. This ingenuity and passion surely made it difficult for the judges to decide on just a few winners.

However, our qualified judges rose to the occasion and decided on what participants best earned their startup capital. First, we want to thank all of our judges for helping make this event possible: Kelsey Davis, Founder of CLLCTVE, Matt Shumer, Founder of Visos, Sam Hollander, Founder of FSCL, Will DeVito, Founder of WD40 Productions, and Phil McKnight, Co-Founder of Promptous.

The judges selected the winners based on 4 criteria:

Creativity — Is this idea unique? Is the business providing a product or service that doesn’t exist? Are they approaching a traditional business with a new angle?

Market Opportunity – Is there likely a market for this product or service? Will consumers be motivated to purchase it? Are there platforms that the entrepreneur can sell through?

Problem Solving – Is the idea solving a definitive problem? Is this problem widespread or niche?

Feasibility – Is this a business that the entrepreneur can reasonably start up? Does the idea require an unrealistic amount of startup capital?

Now, we present to you the winners of the 2020 Minute to Win It competition!

1^st Prize and $300 – Nancy Wang, Girl Power

2^nd Prize and $150 – Miles Felstein, WYD

3^rd Prize and $50 – Sammy Steiner, Eyes and Ears

Congratulations to this year’s winners! All of the entries showed the passion, problem-solving, and creativity our Syracuse entrepreneurs have, and we encourage all of our participants to meet with one of our Mentors to help launch their business idea!

To meet with one of our mentors, please reach out to ldhart01@syr.edu for more information.

Tishin Donkersley, manager of Global Education at Techstars, and educator, editor and entrepreneur, joins the LaunchPad for our next “Tea Talk” on Wednesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. via Zoom at this link.

May is Mental Health Month, and the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries has invited her to share insight about mental health for startups, a topic she has been engaged with throughout her career.  It’s estimated that by 2020 there will be nearly 1,000 mental health startups launched in response to a topic that is rapidly losing its stigma because people are acknowledging it.  One in five U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness each year, and 300 million people globally suffer from depression and anxiety annually according to the World Health Organization.  Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34.  It is a topic that is very relevant to the intense pressure-driven world of entrepreneurship. It is also a struggle for many in this current period of social isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donkersley holds a double masters in clinical and sport psychology from Arizona State University and taught psychoscience in college for 10 years where she won outstanding teaching awards.  She also mentored collegiate to NFL athletes during their season. During that tenure, she wrote articles about the latest neuro and consumer technology and became an expert in her field — combining her love for cognitive science, technology and startups. Growing up with a father as a professor in computer information systems and college dean in the business school at Arizona State University, she reveled in learning about the latest technology and tinkering with it to see how it worked and coming up with new business ideas.

Later, she became the editor-in-chief for a paper and online magazine startup, and  within two years she helped build it to an exit. She was chief editor for two more startups, the latest of which was Tech.Co, with 1M readers per month, which she exited in January 2019.

During her 12+ year entrepreneurship run, she became a national tech editor and reporter, and a tech expert for local network news, an Emmy award-winning show, radio, podcasts, TechCrunch, and more.

After six months of hanging out after the exit, boredom set in. She jumped back into the startup scene at Techstars in September 2019 and was promoted to Manager of Global Education within a year.

Her proudest career moments were receiving the Arizona Governor’s Council Diversity award for her efforts in diversity leadership in the workplace, and “meeting some of the most innovative and coolest people throughout the world.”

She is a mother and owner of two humans, two dogs, and one husband of 20+ years, and says what’s kept her going is a good sense of humor.

Read more about her here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishind/

Tea Talks are virtual fireside chats, structured like good conversations over a cup of tea with thought leaders on topics related to innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership.  The LaunchPad at Syracuse University is pleased to present these conversations in partnership with The Republic of Tea.

Join the Zoom chat here.  If a password is required for admission, use LaunchPad.

In 30 days, Julia Haber ’18 (Newhouse) has made a big pivot.  As founder of award-winning student startup WAYV which creates pop-up immersive experiences on college campuses, she realized the environment had quickly changed.  So did her business model.  “In light of current world conditions, as internships and jobs were being rescinded, classes transitioned online, and social distancing created a lack of human connection, I knew that college students needed support now more than ever.”  That’s why, after spending the last two years building a college focused experiential agency, she realized it was time to go digital, and conceived Home from College (HFC). She previewed it last month to the LaunchPad as a virtual guest speaker, coming full circle to the place where she got her start, and HFC officially launched on May 1.

HFC is a digital platform and community geared towards providing aspirational advice from business leaders and trendsetters across industries. It will cover topics specifically relevant to college students.  Haber has already lined up dynamic speakers that include Head of U.S. Sales at Pinterest, Head of Creative Shop at Instagram, Founders of Bombas, and ThirdLove and many more.

Additionally, HFC will eventually offer mirco-internships as three-week projects with companies, weekly live office hours with leaders across industries, and The 2009 Club, a program that matches 2009 college graduates to mentor 2020 seniors who will be overcoming similar obstacles.

The HFC website is divided between two major areas:  Content and Community.  Access to content is free to community members, and will feature a video speaker series with industry leaders, providing inspiring and relatable content.  Becoming a community member involves creating a profile that takes about 15 seconds on the website.

HFC’s Instagram account already has 1,200+ followers, and Haber has gathered a group of 80+ social media influencers and 560 students who have been diligently helping us craft our launch/promotional strategy.  Many team members are college students who have found themselves Home From College, helping build a social platform that combines the best elements of LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook

“Though we didn’t initially see this as our plan, we are realizing that by building a digital-first brand we are able to reach students at scale,” says Haber.  “The goal of HFC is to be the brand of the college market, not just during these challenging times but also in a post-COVID-19 world.”

The venture has already been featured in college publications.

Sign up to become part of the community here.

Supporting founders in the big city, Techstars NYC is seeking a generalist intern to work throughout the 13-week program and help startups build businesses. Learn more here.

Home to a thriving tech ecosystem, Techstars NYC supports a diverse group of founders with world-class resources that help them grow and scale, and is part of the larger Techstars program, helping entrepreneurs succeed. Through the Techstars network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. 

Techstars NYC is looking for credit-based interns to help build the next batch of startups, as they grow from early stage to venture-backed companies. Interns will work with one of our ten portfolio companies in a very hands-on environment, serving as a key member of the team throughout the 13-week program. Applicants must be passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, and being part of the startup ecosystem in NYC.  They will assist in research, operations, maintaining a mentor database, and helping run events that support founders and the ecosystem.

Ideal candidates are rising juniors or seniors at the undergraduate level who are enrolled in business, entrepreneurship or management, nd who part of the campus Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars program.  They should be required to receive college credit towards their degree in order to fulfill the role. 

About Techstars

Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs, Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships, and the Techstars Venture Capital Fund. Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in the most innovative and disruptive Techstars companies to fuel their success. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships helps brands create world-changing products and services. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.

The Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries is part of a network of 24 university programs supported through a partnership between the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Techstars.

Read the job description and apply here.

Photo: Jenny Fielding, Managing Director of the Techstars New York City Accelerator , where she leads the program. She is also the founder of The Fund, a first check fund investing in local founders. Her portfolio includes more than 120+ companies.

Looking to intern at a fast-pace digital health startup?  LaunchPad venture Promptous is looking for a virtual intern to work in database administration. The ideal candidate has experience with writing SQL queries, views, and triggers and optimizing queries, for speed and/or memory.  The Promptous team is looking for candidates excited about #data and entrepreneurial at heart. The position will offer academic credits.  If this sounds like you, e-mail co-founder and CEO Josh Jackson G ’19, jjackson@promptous.com

Promptous provides a full-service self-insurance platform for small to medium sized businesses that allows them to streamline claims and reimbursements, making their annual dental plans 30% more cost-effective. This is a big market, since U.S. employers and their employees spend $52 billion-dollars on dental coverage each year.  Promptous can save millions of dollars simply by making the process simpler and more transparent through its blockchain powered software solution.  Its first product, Policy Hero, is a web and mobile platform that is currently entering beta phase. The team met at Syracuse University in 2018 and incubated at the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars where it met our first beta partner, OneGroup, an insurance brokerage which serves more than 12,000 businesses and employees.  Promptous has recently closed early stage pre-seed investments from Launch NY and CenterState CEO and is now building a data-driven customer acquisition strategy to rapidly expand its customer base and drive sales. This market power, combined with the simplicity of its platform, gives Promptous the ability bring affordable dental coverage to millions who need it.

Three Syracuse University alumni companies are teaming up to offer virtual internships and job opportunities for students during summer and the school year. Rookie Road Inc., founded by Michael Gursha ’10 (Whitman and Newhouse), PowerSpike, founded by AJ Damiano ’18 (Whitman), and Laylo, founded by Alec Ellin ’16 (Newhouse) were all launched by students who were collegiate entrepreneurs during their time at Syracuse. During their time on campus they were active participants in Newhouse’s Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, Whitman’s Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, the iSchool’s Student Sandbox program and the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars.  They are now giving back by offering current students the opportunity to help with research, content creation, software development and data, and other responsibilities remotely.  Rookie Road is based in Portland, Oregon, PowerSpike is based in NYC and Laylo is based in Los Angeles.

The program is being offered in conjunction with the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship.  Learn more here.

Rookie Road Inc. is a leading digital media destination that provides the rules, lingo and gameplay for all sports globally. The company’s focus is creating high-quality, unique and engaging educational/informational content to audiences around the world.

PowerSpike provides programmatic influencer marketing technology that enables brands and advertisers to instantaneously launch scalable influencer marketing campaigns in the esports and gaming space.

Laylo is a platform for artists and their teams to identify, connect with and monetize their superfans across the internet. Laylo covers over 1.3 million artists and can categorize taste preferences and interests for hundreds of millions of fans in real time, and deliver that directly to artists via their Laylo dashboard.

Photo: Mike Gursha, founder of Rookie Road Inc.