Entrepreneurship looks glamorous. The rewards and fulfillment of creating a successful enterprise often attract many people, but what we often overlook are the efforts and hard work that go into becoming successful at it. Entrepreneurship is fraught with challenges, rejections, and failures and the life of every successful entrepreneur tells a story of courage and resilience. An entrepreneur who exemplifies this dedication is Maxim Glagolev.
Glagolev started Geeklama, an online coding school that makes quality live coding lessons available to all kids – regardless of where they live. Geeklama builds content, products, and educational technologies to support coding lessons, including in tier-2 cities and countries.
Glagolev is a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. From Russia, he has several international degrees in Engineering and Business Economics and obtained a postgraduate degree in International Leadership from Maxwell.
With three other founders, Glagolev started Geeklama to prepare the next generation for the future. In a tech-driven world where coding powers everything, the ability to code has become a must-have skill. According to Glagolev, no one is too young to learn how to code. Geeklama started in January by teaching students in-person but later adopted online classes. This model supports the company’s growth as the world manages the COVID-19 crisis.
Glagolev credits his entrepreneurial experience in the US for his knowledge on how to start a company. “Startup culture is much more developed in the US – it’s the motherland of great companies.” Glagolev became involved in the Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars while studying at Syracuse University. He participated in the LaunchPad’s Startup Weekend and gained insights into entrepreneurial practices in the US. “Environments such as the LaunchPad are crucial in creating a continuing innovative culture and inspiring future innovators.” The LaunchPad then later helped connect him with US experts in specialized areas such as incorporation and finance as Geeklama launched in this country.
In starting Geeklama, Glagolev found that user research was one of the most important keys to success. “Our main difficulty was that we didn’t have strong insights into kids’ education. We had to go through test marketing”. After extensive market research and a dedication to creating a user-friendly product, Geeklama has become a fast-growing company. They currently teach coding classes in the United States and Ghana and plan to expand to other countries in the future.
Glagolev’s interest in entrepreneurship is motivated by his desire to make a difference. “It gives me room to do a lot of different things and live for someone other than myself. A challenging environment is a good thing for growth.” Glagolev’s lifelong pursuit of innovation speaks to his commitment to entrepreneurship despite its difficulties. Although filled with constant adjustments to user needs, agility in responding to arising challenges, and continuous market research, entrepreneurship is a path that Glagolev agrees is worthwhile and rewarding.
Proven by the brilliant companies and products created by people like Glagolev, the LaunchPad agrees wholeheartedly.
Story by Claire Howard, ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow, photo supplied by Maxim Glagolev
James Rudman ‘21 grew up in the town with the highest concentration of log cabins in the world. Medford Lakes, N.J. was the backdrop to the budding filmmaker’s first videos, which were recorded on a Go-Pro and edited on his high school’s computers. Jumping into lakes, roaming the woods, biking around, Rudman filmed his friends and edited clips together to put on Vine, the now non-existent video sharing platform.
“I thought it was really unique to be able to capture memories and then go back and look at them whenever I wanted to,” Rudman said.
Now a senior studying information management and technology at Syracuse University’s iSchool, Rudman joined the Blackstone LaunchPad this academic year as an Orange Ambassador. In that role he will work to support outreach and engagement with entrepreneurial students across campus. Eleven Orange Ambassador positions were funded for the 2020 – 2021 year through a generous contribution to SU Libraries by Todd R. Rubin ’04 (School of Architecture), Minister of Evolution and President of The Republic of Tea.
Rudman himself has experience starting his own business. This past summer, as he crouched on his hands and knees as a landscaper, Rudman decided he wanted to do something different. He worked with his friend to co-found 3D AID, a digital marketing company, where he took on the role of chief solutions officer (@threedaid). They produced videos that captured the business’s product, showed their service, and explained how they were adapting in the time of COVID-19. Their first client, a local Açai Bowl shop, helped them build a portfolio and spread the word about their service. Soon enough, they had many local clients. That was the first time Rudman turned his passion for videography into profit.
Throughout the past few months, Rudman has also been adding to his personal YouTube page, producing videos about do-it-yourself dorm décor, quarantine activities, and summertime adventures. He has also spent time taking a step back during COVID-19. Isolation has allowed him to curate new ideas and get back to running and working out. Rudman says exercising helps relieve anxiety and serves as an outlet.
He has also put his work into a personal portfolio, which he built using his knowledge of web development. It showcases his talents in photography, videography, marketing, and web design.
“I’m a creative in the tech world,” said Rudman
Exploring this intersection of creative pursuits and tech is accessible to anyone said Rudman. He started on free editing software like iMovie before graduating to paid programs. He learned web development in his classes at the iSchool. YouTube tutorials helped him as he gained new skills, so later on he made his own tutorials.
James Rudman with his drone camera
Before joining the LaunchPad, Rudman was an IT intern at Miles Technologies, and before that he was the co-founder of Rescape, a landscaping company. He also has worked at Sidearm Sports as a streaming specialist.
Rudman is looking forward to his final year at Syracuse University working with the LaunchPad to help further student’s entrepreneurial and creative pursuits. His breadth of experience adds expertise and creative energy to the center already teeming with ideas.
“I like the idea of entrepreneurial and creative minds doing more,” said Rudman. “I always thought those people were cool and interesting, and it will be a really cool environment to be involved in.”
Story by Patrick Linehan ‘21, LaunchPad Global Fellow; photos supplied by James Rudman
Emma Rothman ’21 has been selected as the Syracuse University Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar for the 2020 – 2021 academic year. The role is funded through a generous gift to Syracuse University Libraries from the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund to honor the life, passion, and entrepreneurial spirit of Hunter Brooks Watson, a rising junior at Syracuse University majoring in Information Management and Technology, who died tragically in 2016 in a distracted driving car accident.
Inspired by Syracuse University’s Remembrance Scholar program, the Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar is a way to honor the life and entrepreneurial spirit of Hunter Brooks Watson who was a passionate entrepreneur interested in music — playing multiple instruments, performing, recording and producing music videos — as well as sports, and technology. He was especially interested in the emerging field of big data and had been working on new ventures related to predictive data.
The LaunchPad coordinates the Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar program and the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards for Syracuse University.
Rothman, a food studies major in the Falk College, served as the Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar in fall 2019 and was previously both a LaunchPad Global Media Fellow and the LaunchPad’s Engagement Scholar (in partnership with the Maxwell School’s Citizenship and Community Engagement program). This year she also has the distinction of being selected a Rubin Family Innovation Mentor, providing peer mentorship to Syracuse University startups, particularly those with a social impact. She helped organize and run last year’s Impact Prize competition hosted by the Syracuse LaunchPad.
Emma was selected in spring 2020 for the DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia / Semester at DIS Copenhagen, recognizing her passion and expertise in the areas of sustainability, food security, and food access, as well as her work fostering social impact ventures. DIS is a non-profit study abroad foundation based in Denmark with locations in Copenhagen and Stockholm. The program offers high-impact learning experiences for upperclassmen through an intellectually challenging curriculum.
She is also a Falk College Ambassador and has been very active in area community-based food initiatives during her four years at Syracuse University.
Rothman has been passionate about community engagement since she was 12 years old, saying “I have been passionate about leaving my community in better standing than when I entered it. Each day I hope to become more involved with opportunities that inspire, interest and motivate me. In the future I hope to serve my community through food, nutrition and public health education programs for children.”
In 2013, Rothman and her family established a nonprofit called Hearts for Emma, which supports families of children with heart disease and heart transplantation in crisis; as well as, promotes educational initiatives relating to heart transplantation, and organ, tissue and corneal donation. In the summer of 2014, Rothman co-designed (with the New Jersey Sharing Network) the High School Heroes Curriculum, “You Have the Power to Save Lives,” which is required by New Jersey state law that all public high schools teach about organ and tissue donation in physical education class. Since the launch of the campaign, over 60,000 high school students have seen this presentation in four years. In addition to supporting the Hero Act, Hearts for Emma funds two college scholarships to promote organ, tissue and cornea donation on college campuses across the United States.
In addition to creating high school organ, tissue and cornea donation and transplantation educational materials, Hearts for Emma also funds annual scholarships to a Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Nurse, Child Life Specialist, or Nurse Practitioner at New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital’s. This past summer, Hearts for Emma expanded to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—many of the ongoing family support initiatives started at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital will now benefit families in crisis on the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Working on these initiatives with the Hearts for Emma Board of Trustees, Rothman understands the value of community building and connection. She is passionate about leaving her community in better standings than when she entered it by being a leader in raising awareness and encouraging the discussion about the need for organ, tissue and blood donation through collaborating with educators, students, faith-based leaders, first responders and other community members to help spread the life-saving message of the importance and vital need for organ and tissue donation.
Rothman is very touched and honored to have been selected as a Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar. “I am so excited to work with, and be surrounded by, so many entrepreneurs and like-minded thinkers,” said Rothman. “I look forward to helping build a community of innovators who share a vision of making a difference.”
Rothman will be working with the LaunchPad to help peer mentor other students who are in the process of developing their own ideas for ventures, along with helping prepare them for awards programs and competitions.
In addition, she will be helping run the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards at Syracuse University an annual spring competition that is part of the Raymond von Dran iPrize competition. The awards are made possible through the support of the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund to recognize Syracuse University students who have demonstrated a passion and enthusiasm for their ventures or ideas. Four awards of $2,500 each are presented during the annual spring competition to teams or individuals who best demonstrate: passion and spirit; intrinsic drive; level of cooperation and candor between the team members; innovative idea; clear plan as to the continuation of the venture; proficiency and personality that exemplifies charisma and competence.
As companies and higher education continue to implement virtual working and learning due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it has never been more imperative for Gen Z and Millennials to maintain a productive and comforting home office. Whether it be from reduced social interaction, a monotonous routine, or a general lack of inspiration, quarantining tends to promote lethargic, unmotivated behavior that is quite easy to normalize. Balancing home leisure and productivity can be a tricky task, especially during this unprecedented period. However, it’s not impossible to attain with some focus and persistence. Here are a few helpful tips for transforming your room into the ideal virtual workspace:
Plants, Plants, Plants.
Buying a few plants for your workspace is not only inexpensive but also can ultimately improve your overall mood tenfold. In a 2018 NBC News article, author Anna Johansson wrote that humans have an intrinsic desire to be connected with nature; thus, a sight of natural scenery for just 40 seconds is enough to stimulate the brain into a more relaxed state. With four plants of my own, I not only spent under $30 in total (including terracotta pots which go for about $3 each), but my overall mental health and proactivity has drastically improved despite being socially isolated for so long. If plants aren’t your expertise, I recommend starting with succulents as they require much less water while still bringing your mind at ease. Regardless, adding more green to your room can do wonders for your work ethic, and you can only understand if you give it a try!
Make It Shine: Let In The Natural Light.
If you plan on turning your room into a fully operable workspace, you also need to plan on letting in an adequate amount of natural light. While your bed may only be feet away from your office, it is crucial that you avoid the temptations of laying down and losing your concentration, both of which are easiest to do in a dark, poorly lit room. In a 2018 Harvard Business Review article, a research poll of 1,614 advisory firm employees found that 47% of the employees admitted they felt tired or very tired from the absence of natural light or a window at their office. Nevertheless, it is a commonly held idea that a brighter room promotes higher rates of productivity, lowers chances of lethargy and increases one’s general willingness to work. If you’re curious, open up your windows, let in the light and see for yourself!
Lighter and Softer Colors Are Your Best Friends.
As people have developed countless psychologically, culturally and biologically conditioned perspectives on colors and their meanings over the course of millennia, there are definitive emotions and feelings associated with every slice of the color wheel. When designing your ideal virtual workspace, look to lighter and softer colors like orange, yellow, green and blue (lighter shades of these colors work too). According to an article by Changing Minds, these colors collectively evoke feelings of creativity, enthusiasm, happiness, comfort, reliability and even liveliness. Incorporating these colors and tones into your room will not only help foster these feelings organically, but it will also help you recognize your room as a place of professionalism when you aren’t snoozing in bed.
Burn Baby, Burn
Burning incense or sage is an ancient ritual that has been practiced for centuries among a diversity of cultures. According to Maha Living, the burning process produces negative ions, which help eliminate nearly 94% of airborne bacteria, calm the mind and increase focus. As an incense and sage consumer myself, I find that these products really aid your critical thinking while reducing your stress and anxiety levels with their aromatherapeutic capabilities. While these products are both more expensive and harder to obtain than plants, I personally find them to be more effective in motivating me to work for longer hours.
Background Music is Key.
Have a record player or speaker lying around your room? If so, put it to good use whenever you’re in the office. While many psychological studies report that listening to music while you work is counterproductive, I have found that it is truly dependent on your personality and work style. Songs that are unfamiliar to you yet still align with your genre preference serve best for background music, especially if the track is instrumental. If you keep your music at a low, conversational volume, it can only reduce your tendency to become bored and unmotivated. As long as you feel confident that the music isn’t grabbing too much of your attention, you’re good to go.
By implementing these helpful tips into a virtual workspace of your own, both your willingness and motivation to work is guaranteed to increase. During a time of unfathomably low serotonin (I’ve been depressed in some capacity since March), it is incredibly important to develop healthy habits that keep you invigorated with life and energy. Follow this guide, and I can ensure that you’ll be ready to tackle all of your professional tasks with passion and efficiency, rare commodities in this age of uncertainty.
Be sure to sign up to join CLLCTVE’s waitlist + receive exclusive updates about our platform’s launch.
It’s no question that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has drastically limited employment opportunities in America, especially for recent college graduates. Businesses are laying off workers left and right; the unemployment rate is nearly 11 percent and the professional plans that many young prospective employees once had have been halted indefinitely. During this time of economic strife; however, Gen Z targeted brands are lending a platform for this age demographic to build small businesses of their own.
With a network of nearly 20 million users, the London startup Depop, founded by Simon Beckerman in 2011, is redefining the model ways in which one can make a living. With a download of the platform’s app, users become clothing vendors in a matter of seconds, uploading images of their own clothing to their profiles for other users to purchase. Depop vendors even have the option to leave their sold items on their profiles, creating a unique fashion collection that, in time, has the potential to amass hundreds of followers.
Photo by Alixe Wiley/Philadelphia Magazine
“While I never really care about my number of followers, it definitely takes a while to build them,” says Kate Regan, a Syracuse University Depop ambassador and rising senior who has been uploading her clothing on the platform for more than five years now — and she has achieved much success in doing so.
Regan admits that she always struggled to find employment even before the coronavirus outbreak, making her Depop profile at the young age of 16 when she had her first sales on the app. On Depop, Regan takes on the role of momjeans25, her profile name, which has amassed over 1,500 followers.
“One feature they have which is super cool is you can see how many items you have sold at the top of your profile, which for me is 535,” adds Regan, having made thousands of dollars since the start of it all.
“I definitely think it has allowed me to feel more independent. When I sell something by myself, I feel so accomplished and satisfied,” says Regan, one among the many members in the platform’s innovative community of young entrepreneurs.
Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between itself and its users, Depop takes a 10 percent cut of all digital sales while giving other creatives the opportunity to make money of their own. Moreover, creatives can even avoid paying Depop’s fee by meeting with buyers in person. Ultimately, the company values its active buyers and sellers as they maintain constant dialogue with the platform’s community members, composed of 15 million+ stylists, designers, collectors, vintage sellers, sneakerheads and more.
Besides having this remarkable network of digitally native creatives that value ambition and authenticity, Depop prides itself on being a sustainable force in the current fashion industry.
“I believe they generally want to help the horrible construct that is fast fashion,” says Regan in regards to the company’s main objective of repurposing overlooked clothing into fashionable streetwear. While fast fashion brands like Forever 21 and H&M continue to produce their products unsustainably, and in turn, devastate the environment, Depop commits itself to a generation that adores turning novelty, second-hand items into eye-catching gems. Consequently, Gen Z has dominated this digital space, where people like Kate Regan can not only utilize their creative assets while making an honest living but also feel valuable for the digital contributions they make in a community of sustainably-minded individuals.
Photo by Sam Frost/The Guardian
As many schools plan to reopen for the Fall 2020 semester, finances are a major concern for many struggling college students. “This is my only way to make money,” says Regan, who will continue rummaging through her closet for hidden gems to sell as a means of income amidst these uncertain times.
Be sure to sign up to join CLLCTVE’s waitlist + receive exclusive updates about our platform’s launch.
Jacob deHahn ‘19, is an energetic and bubbly New England native who is determined to make the world a more accessible place. Through his college career as an industrial and interaction design student in the School of Design in VPA, he was focused on accessibility and inclusive entrepreneurship. Now, the San Francisco based innovator and professional designer has taken his startup spirit and put it to work as cofounder of accessiblemasks.org. Jake started the venture with his brother Patrick to build a resource website showcasing clear masks and to advocate for making the masked world more accessible amidst a global pandemic. The site prioritizes mobile-first design, and is entirely accessible following web content accessibility (WCAG 2.0) guidelines which makes web content more accessible to people with disabilities by including natural information such as text, images, and sounds, and code or markup that defines structure, presentation and other features.
The goal is to “make the masked world accessible, one accessible mask at a time,” according to Jake. The platform features a hand-curated selection of transparent face coverings, with styles ranging from tie-back to ear loop, to specialty or face-shield, and include reusable, disposable, anti-fog. They come in both adult and child sizes.
Jake and his brother come to this venture from a very personal perspective. Both are deaf. Jake was awarded the 2017 HearStrong Champion Award from the Hear Strong Foundation while he was still a student at Syracuse University. Jake says that his secret weapon is his hearing loss. He says that despite daily struggles, his hearing loss gives him the ability to see things that need to be fixed and ways to improve quality of life for all people. Both he and his brother are cochlear implant users and Jake proudly enjoys sharing his personal story at conferences around the nation, building a platform to show how having a disability shouldn’t stop anyone from defying stigmas and dreaming big.
“My older brother Patrick lives in Brooklyn, is a freelance journalist and a brilliant writer and researcher,” says Jake. “He is very focused on validating that what we are sharing is reputable. I am a UX/UI designer who is very dedicated to accessible design. Together, we wanted to merge our talents and do something important to help people connect in this difficult time, and at the same time, help create accessibility awareness in the general population.”
Jake and Patrick have had a unique bond since birth. Patrick is four years older and was born profoundly deaf. When Jake arrived, his parents quickly had his hearing tested and discovered that he was also profoundly deaf. Both parents can hear so they were surprised to learn they had two deaf sons. They did not miss a beat. The family quickly mobilized resources and Jake says they all learned together that “deaf people are as capable as anyone else.” Moreover, the brothers formed a support system for each other at a very early age that no one else will ever understand. “Patrick and I have a bond that we don’t need to vocalize.” Over more than two decades Jake says that the brothers have learned that, “Disability awareness is still lacking. We both want to contribute to that.”
Jake’s family become more than advocates. They become actively engaged in language education. “My mom works for Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Northampton, Massachusetts and also with a nonprofit, OPTION Schools, Inc., that is a national resource for children with hearing loss. The organization’s mission, according to its website, it to help children with hearing loss to listen, talk and reach their full potential.
The bond helped the brothers launch their venture in less than two months. “There were 12 hour video calls with Patrick to focus on our value proposition,” says Jake. “The target for the website is not just the deaf, but for hearing people. In the pandemic, we wanted to bring back human interaction. We need facial and visual cues. We need to understand the emotional content of what people are saying.” And, he points out, dealing with COVID public health measures can make the deaf feel even more isolated as the world has become “masked.”
Jake says that these are not just “cheeky smile masks” as people often refer to see-through masks. Yes, they enable smiles, but so much more. “We can’t hug right now, but we can better see each other, read each other, relate to each other and laugh. When I wear an accessible mask I am far more inclined to talk to people and I find that is reciprocal.”
These are what Jake calls “purposeful masks.” He points out that 15% of Americans are deaf or hard of hearing, a number that is growing as the population ages. That is one reason that people who are not deaf should be wearing accessible masks, especially in service industries. “Imagine if you could see and read the full faces of flight attendants, teachers, health care providers, or those in the service industry. In an era of COVID, we can only read eyes and eyebrows. We are missing the meaning that comes with reading a full face.” Deaf people are particularly expressive, notes Jake. “In our world, you learn to emote and also to read emotions. It’s essential.”
As they curated the website they wanted to keep their collection small and focused. It was important to them that they validate the offerings they were promoting through social media, leveraging Instagram and networks through both deaf and hearing communities. Within a few days of launching, the site has already achieved great traction, reaching several thousand people on Facebook and the website seeing more than 1,000 views and interactions. Their posts have been widely re-posted by the deaf community and accessible mask providers are seeing sales upticks.
This new venture builds on Jake’s career at Syracuse University. As a student, he worked closely with the LaunchPad to embed accessible design into tools and resources, and collaborated with the LaunchPad and InclusiveU on a number of workshops and projects that built the framework for the LaunchPad’s inclusive entrepreneurship program, Intelligence ++, which launched this fall with InclusiveU and VPA’s School of Design.
He is now a designer at Breinify Inc. in the San Francisco Bay Area where he is launching a brand new website with UI crafted via Figma and designing a visual identity across the website, UI, and marketing content of an enterprise MarTech startup bringing in $2M ARR & $20M+ in funding. He has already created 60+ pieces of custom content, including mockups helping sales team close 3 deals with billion-dollar companies with an average deal size of $250K.
In addition, he is a self-employed freelance designer. Some of clients include former Syracuse LaunchPad student startups who are alumni and who have now launched their ventures full time.
“My design philosophy is also my greatest motivator in life, to utilize my design skills to make the world a more accessible – and better – place,” says deHahn. “Whether it’s through UX/UI interfaces, visual design and branding, or design research, I am driven to make my work approachable and impactful for the greater good. At the end of the day, I pride myself on being a positive, vibrant, and energetic soul. Whether it’s finding joy over the smallest of things or working with brilliant minds, I thrive when surrounded by people who also appreciate our differences as individuals.”
Jake’s first entrepreneurial venture at Syracuse University started with Jake’s Patches, a business selling hand sewn, word-based patches via Etsy, street fairs, and pop-up shops. He then launched Bowtie Boulevard as a student, which won first place in the the 2019 RvD iPrize. The venture featured limited edition handmade bowties and accessories from upcycled fabrics.
The LaunchPad is so proud of Jake and Patrick, and is committed to supporting them in their mission to re-define accessibility.
Five years ago, Chris Hosmer ’99, (VPA Industrial and Interaction Design), co-founded an air wearables company dedicated to innovating consumer respiratory protection because his own children were suffering health reactions due to pervasive air pollution.
Since 2015 that company, AirPop, has been committed to creating the best consumer experience for PPE masks. “Because our global team has been assisting healthcare systems and municipal governments in China and the US since the COVID-19 outbreak began, we’ve developed valuable insight into the extreme needs of, and ideal mask features for, front line workers,” says Hosmer. “That includes N95-equivalent filtration, 2-way respiratory protection that is long wearing, high performing, exceedingly breathable, extremely comfortable and skin friendly.”
The newest AirPop mask, developed specifically for COVID-19, is now available for shipping to the United States. The AirPop Light SE is an entirely new kind of mask, custom designed specifically for essential workers, as well as those returning to work and other settings. “It exceeds the N95 filtration standard and offers the same barrier protection as a 3-ply medical mask,” says Hosmer. “It is professional-grade protection with consumer level comfort and lasts 40 hours. It protects against fine particle pollution, environmental disasters like wildfire smoke and airborne pathogens down to 0.3μ in diameter such as droplets and aerosols.”
AirPop was named a World Changing Idea by Fast Company magazine (May, 2018) and was also honored by SXSW Startup Accelerator in the Health & Wearables track. The company is focused on healthy breathing solutions for the 5B+ people living in pervasive air pollution globally. AirPop is a strategic partner to Xiaomi’s product eco-system platform and Chris was the first foreign founder to be invested in by Xiaomi.
Hosmer is an American designer and entrepreneur with deep experience in applied innovation and business transformation. Previously he served as a Managing Director of Continuum (now EPAM Continuum), the global innovation design consultancy based in Boston, MA which was founded by Gianfranco Zaccai, a Syracuse University VPA School of Design alum.
From 2000-2008 Chris was an Envisioner in the firm’s pathbreaking Design Strategy Group which innovated new businesses for clients of the firm’s product, service and brand offering. DSG was an early incubator of what would become widely known as Design Thinking and which ushered in the era of human-centered design. Chris then founded and managed Continuum’s China office in 2009 and led the firm’s Asia-Pacific portfolio until 2015. His work centered on China’s unique mobile-first, direct-to-consumer internet companies and deeply understanding the emerging middle class consumer that is driving domestic demand for rapid innovation.
During his six years in Shanghai, he and his core team vastly expanded Continuum’s services in S.Korea, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. As part of the firm’s global leadership team he was responsible for strategic partnerships for Greater China and Southeast Asia and also led brand marketing and experience strategy for the firm’s multinational client partners entering emerging markets.
Chris now facilitates a full stack creative network of collaborators called Rarebits. Comprised of experienced researchers, strategists, technologists, designers, marketers and prototypers, Rarebits primarily focuses on the front end of innovation and back end productization, two areas that are notoriously difficult for organizations to outsource. Rarebits leverages its cross-border, curated hardware, software and manufacturing partners in Silicon Valley and the Shenzhen ecosystem.
He was named one of the Top 50 Innovators by China Business News Weekly and was a regular guest columnist for Forbes China in The Business of Innovation section. He’s been featured in Fast Company, South China Morning Post, Global Times and Business Review. Chris has received numerous international design awards including Fast Company, SXSW, IF, Reddot, Good Design, Core77 and IDEA and has served on multiple design juries including Singapore Good Design Award, Red Star Design Awards, China Good Design Awards and CBN Innovation and Design Awards. He speaks regularly about emerging market innovation, technology trends and designing humane consumer experiences.
He currently advises consumer startups in Silicon Valley and China on product-brand experience strategy as well as serves as Innovator-In-Residence at Shenzhen Valley Ventures, a software-driven hardware-based Venture Capital firm with offices in Shenzhen and Palo Alto.
Kelsey Davis ’19 (Newhouse) and ‘G 20 (Whitman) and Brendan O’Keefe ’20, co-founders of CLLCTVE, graduated from Syracuse and headed to the prestigious and highly competitive Techstars Los Angeles Accelerator program this summer. The student startup earned distinction as part of the Syracuse University Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars program, and is now scaling its digital platform connecting college creatives with brands targeting Gen-Z. The team moved to LA this summer, while still maintaining a strong relationship with the Syracuse community.
Ten ventures were selected for the Techstars LA 2020 program which kicked off in mid-July. “While we received hundreds of applications from across the world and chose these companies while socially distanced, we have stuck with our commitment to invest in and support the best companies in the greater LA region,” said Anna Barber, managing director ofTechstars Los Angeles Accelerator. Nine of the 10 companies in this year’s program are headquartered in Los Angeles, with the final company joining us from New York.”
This makes it even more notable for CLLCTVE to be selected for the Techstars LA program.
“For this year’s class we selected 10 resilient companies that can grow in an economic downturn and thrive in a world where social distancing remains the reality,” added Barber. “We chose teams that have grit, curiosity, a learning mindset and a deep commitment to positive impact by way of a bold vision. The enduring motif of Techstars LA is that personal growth drives company growth — and all of this year’s founders have shown the willingness to rise to the occasion that 2020 has presented by embracing growth and change.”
“The Techstars LA 2020 selected class also represents our ongoing commitment to investing in diverse teams, with nine of the companies including women, Black or Latinx founders, six in the CEO seat,” noted Barber. “This year, we have seven mixed gender founding teams, which is pretty unusual, and we are looking forward to seeing how this affects the class dynamic. Research shows that mixed gender teams perform better overall when compared to all-male teams specifically.”
The Techstars LA Class of 2020 includes:
Ayana Therapy, which provides online therapy for minorities with an emphasis on intersectionality;
CLLCTVE, a platform connecting college creatives with brands targeting Gen-Z consumers;
JoyHub, an enterprise software platform that integrates multifamily operator systems into a single, centralized data platform;
Lactation Lab, which provides breast milk analysis and personalized recommendations for mothers to optimize their child’s health and nutrition;
Pod People, a full-service podcast production and staffing agency with a network of over 700 audio professionals across the globe;
Preveta, which is transforming cancer care by arming clinicians with data and insights to improve outcomes, and blazing a trail for providers to deliver value-based care;
Shop Latinx, the leading fashion and beauty lifestyle brand with products designed by and for the Latinx community;
Sike Insights, which powers remote teams to work better together, with its first product, Kona, an AI-powered Slackbot that helps communicate;
StatsHelix, a B2B gametech company focused on esports and streaming;
Thrive Education, which provides remote tele-assessments for learning differences (LDs) such as dyslexia, ADHD, and autism.
Acceptance into a Techstars accelerator means:
Access to Techstars resources for life;
Acceleration in a 90-day Techstars mentorship-driven accelerator program with personal mentorship and office space;
Lifetime access to the Techstars worldwide network of entrepreneurs, including more than 10,000 mentors, 10,000 investors, 1,600 alumni companies, and over 200 staff members;
Access to over $400k of cash equivalent hosting, accounting, and legal support—plus other credits and perks worth more than $1M;
Demo Day exposure and other investor connections.
Upon acceptance to a Techstars Accelerator, Techstars contributes $20,000, which is commonly used as a stipend to support living expenses during the 90-day acclerator program, and in return receives a small equity of the company. In addition, all accepted companies are offered a $100,000 convertible note. Historically, on average, Techstars companies go on to raise more than $2M of outside capital after the program.
This fall, buildings around the country are facing the challenge of re-opening in a pandemic. Density, the standard platform for counting people, has successfully closed $51 million in Series C funding to help safely manage that process. The new funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins and includes 01 Advisors, Upfront Ventures, Founders Fund, Ludlow Ventures, Launch, LPC Ventures, DTA in participation with Alex Rodriguez, Julia and Kevin Hartz, Cyan and Scott Banister, and others. Density launched in 2014 in the Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse, and now has offices in San Francisco, New York City, and a new manufacturing center in Syracuse. Five of the co-founders are Syracuse University alumni, including Andrew Farah ’09 (Writing) and G’11 (iSchool), Steve VonDeak G’08 (College of Law) who is a Syracuse University LaunchPad Alumni Entrepreneur in Residence, Ben Redfield ’12 (iSchool), Brian Weinreich, ’10 (Psychology and Biology) and Robert Grazioli ’11 (iSchool). Jordan Messina, also a co-founder, grew up in Syracuse and attended Binghamton University.
Prior to this round, Density had raised $23 million bringing total funding to date to $74 million.
Read more about Density and the deal here in at Venture Beat. Read the full news story in BUSINESS WIRE here.
“Thirty-two million Americans are unemployed and nearly half of the workforce can’t work from home. The world is trying to reopen. In many places essential businesses are required to remain open. Companies are just trying to do this safely,” said Farah. “Our team is working around the clock to handle unprecedented demand from offices, manufacturers, grocery stores, industrial plants, governments. They’re relying on Density to rationalize real estate and keep people safe.” Density counts people in any space anonymously, accurately, and in real-time to help businesses safely reopen their offices and measure ROI of real-estate portfolios. Clients include Pinterest, Booz Allen Hamilton, Hello Fresh, and Resorts World Casino, many of which are using Safe by Density to managing reopening.
With this round of funding, Density will accelerate investment in software and product, expand its sales team, and scale their platform, adding positions around customer success, sales, infrastructure, ops, manufacturing, engineering, and core product. Density is hiring.
How it started: A blog post by Andrew Farah for Kleiner Perkins
Density planted seeds at the Tech Garden in Downtown Syracuse, where many of its founders had previously worked at various student startups and had been involved in the Syracuse University Student Sandbox program. “When we first conceived of Density six years ago, we just wanted to know if there was a line at our favorite coffee shop, Café Kubal in Syracuse” said co-founder Andrew Farah in a blog post for Kleiner Perkins “We thought it was odd there was an API for inclement weather but there wasn’t an API for how many people were in a space. We reasoned, if a solution didn’t already exist — which surely it must — it shouldn’t be more than a weekend project. How hard could it be to count people?”
Farah goes on to note, “We were optimistic and wrong by about three years. As we tried to solve our own problem, we learned two important lessons. First, people are weird. They do things you wouldn’t expect — they bump into each other, take phone calls, and they bring a lot of stuff with them: bags and boxes, bicycles and baskets, tv’s and trash cans, chairs, carts, iPads, lunch, even other people sometimes. This makes counting them unfathomably complex. You can’t fault commodity products for being bad at the analysis. People are just really weird.”
Second, he says, “We learned we weren’t alone. We met hundreds and now thousands of others trying to answer the same question — how many people used my office, bank, lounge, desk, space,floor, building, campus… city. If only we knew, we could reduce waste and energy use, improve access and productivity, clean the spaces that need it and skip the ones that don’t. If only we knew, we could A/B test physical space or even use less concrete! If only we knew how the world was used, we could measure how it works, identify its inefficiencies, and remake it.”
Farah explains, “Until recently, we had been helping hundreds of companies do just this — quantify how buildings were used so they could design them more effectively. Today, things have changed. We’ve been asked to help those same companies and hundreds more reopen their buildings and businesses safely. We’re helping them avoid leases they don’t need in order to prioritize payroll. We’re working to keep meat processing plants, distribution centers, manufacturers, offices, universities, even an entire village in Ohio open and safe.”
He notes that “The built world was modernizing before the pandemic. It will continue to modernize well after it’s over. In the meantime, we’re proud to say we’re not going anywhere and we’re eager to help.”
About Density:
Density measures how people use space in real-time without invading privacy. Using proprietary depth sensors and deep learning algorithms, the platform accurately and anonymously counts people in real time. Organizations use Density to improve efficiency and enhance occupant experience in buildings, workplaces, and real estate. Unlike a camera, Density’s platform doesn’t capture personally identifiable information and is purpose-built for accurately measuring how people use physical space. Together, Density’s customers manage over 1 billion square feet of real estate.
Nine Techstars accelerators have opened applications for programs that will take place during the first four months of 2021. Applications close on October 11, 2020. The list includes:
If you have an idea with traction and are Interested in joining a Techstars accelerator to gain funding, mentorship and access to the Techstars worldwide network, please connect with the Syracuse LaunchPad to learn more and see if you are ready before applying to Techstars on line. It is also highly recommended to attend a Techstars Meet and Greet event to learn about each program or request private one-on-one office hours to discuss your startup.
Three Syracuse University LaunchPad ventures have graduated into Techstars accelerators:
Josh Aviv, SparkCharge, was part of the Techstars Boston Accelerator
AJ Damiano and Michael Paris, PowerSpike, were part of the Techstars Atlanta Accelerator
Kelsey Davis and Brendan O’Keeffe, CLLCTVE, are currently part of the Techstars LA Accelerator
