When you first meet Rob Goldblatt, you can’t help but notice his sense of style. His dedication to clothing is visible through his personal sense of fashion, and also through his passion for sustainable streetwear. Goldblatt is a senior from San Francisco studying Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) at the Whitman School of Business who wants to take his education and apply it to his own business.

He has always had a unique and thoughtful view of the world, the way he sees people, culture, clothes, fashion, and most importantly, the representation of everyone. In high school, he spent a lot of his time skateboarding and through this experience, he was able to meet and befriend people from all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

In addition to skateboarding, Goldblatt found a passion for hip-hop. He performed in the Bay Area, in high school, and along his journey made new friendships leading him to collaborate with other artists. He realized very early that his relationships with people were key to succeeding, and through these relationships enabled him bootstrap producing his own videos and implementing various guerilla marketing strategies.

As his interest in music grew, it slowly expanded into a different passion. After interning with music publishing and production companies, Goldblatt realized streetwear and hip-hop were ideas he could creatively bring together. Ultimately this led him to pursue his Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises major to redefine fashion.

Goldblatt isn’t creating just a streetwear brand, he’s adding meaning behind it. With the countless experiences he’s had, and his time abroad in Barcelona, Spain, he was able to see how big the world really is. “I want to make sure I’m keeping my brand authentic and my customers are well represented in the clothes I produce, and content I create.”

He says he cares about an individual’s personalities, not money or looks. He wants people to be able to wear his clothes and feel good about supporting a fashion brand that is in line with their value system, supporting ethical supply chain networks.

He wants to make a sustainable product and upcycle clothes, as well as be affordable for a wide range of customers. “I like street fashion, and growing up I was buying Supreme, but it wasn’t sustainable.” His goal is to use materials that are ethically and environmentally sustainable while making a “cool brand.” To exemplify the uniqueness of his company, he plans to develop a website of his own for his buyers, promoted through digital marketing efforts.

Rob’s business is still under development as he believes it’s important to have an understanding and respect for what you’re investing in because it’s important to the success of yourself as well as the customers. He has spent countless hours conducting research on his topic as well as taking entrepreneur classes to ensure the success of his clothing line. Rob also made sure to communicate that he knows he is only scratching the surface of learning what he needs to succeed in the highly competitive and complex fashion industry. After graduation, he is dedicated to learning through hard work and knows that getting his hands dirty in the daily grind of the business will be invaluable.

Goldblatt understands how important it is to maintain a solid brand identity for the clothing business. He feels, “If people don’t believe in you as an individual, your brand probably won’t make it in this industry. You have to be in tune with who you are and what you bring to the table.”

After college, he plans to work for a fashion brand that upholds the values he believes in and where he can learn about the inner workings of a clothing business. He wants to work for a company in LA or NYC that embraces diversity so one day he can start one for himself.

He says, “We overlook the resources we have the privilege of having” but hopes to make a positive change in the right direction with clothes, culture, fashion, streetwear, and style.

Story by Sydney Grosso, Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow; photo supplied  

Kai Patricio is an extraordinary thinker who has taken a small idea and turned it into an idea that may be untouchable. Working towards his dream and ambitions, Kai is currently a graduate student in his second year in the Masters of Fine Arts program (MFA) at Syracuse University. He has pursued his passion for design with a background in product design but considers himself a multidisciplinary designer who works in a variety of mediums.

Last year, Kai made an app in one of his classes but soon realized this idea was brighter than any app. With an ambition to expand, Kai met with designers over the summer and began building off his design training. He then utilized the design research he had throughout his graduate program. After countless hours of dedication, thought, and hard work, Kai began Design Led No Code. He believes Design Led No Code is a great way to approach UX research and is the benchmark for an even more powerful idea he’s developing.

Design Led No Code is an intersection of UX research/design and no-code tools to create human-centered user experiences that drive innovation. It’s a multistage process that takes an idea and creates it into a prototype for design research or market. This year’s, Design Led No Code Hackathon event took place on September 23rd- 25th, 2022, and allowed students and individuals around the Syracuse community to apply their knowledge and skills to innovate and compete with peers. Competitors use the tools they have and combined them with no-code tools to create a product; they can then use it in the future for themselves and others who can benefit from the product. As a result of students and individuals building these prototypes, it’s progressively improving the potential user’s experiences.

At Hackathon, LaunchPad had a small group of motivated and dedicated students who had a wonderful panel of judges from the Intelligence ++ Program, Newhouse, Whitman, and LaunchPad. These participants were evaluated on their work and the efforts to create their prototype which challenged their presenting skills, and commitment to their idea.

Kai stated, “The competition went well, and the participants enjoyed the opportunity to build connections, use new tools and code, and the interview process.” Moreover, Kai was very pleased with the group’s great work as well as the support and collaboration with one another. Furthermore, the only limitation that the competition may have had was only having a few days to complete such an amazing experience and environment for competitors. Kai is taking into account all the feedback he’s received, along with his personal experience with the competition, to improve and make for the best experience at the next Design Led No Code event.

The countless hours Kai had spent building and executing the program, have brought him great success. He is thrilled with a new ambition to expand Design Led No Code into the spring and hopes to provide another opportunity for students to build off their ideas and for Kai to incorporate more fantastic features to enhance digital interface development.

Kai is one of the most driven and aspiring creators with an ambition to take his ideas further. With this, he is developing a website for the Design Led No Code approach, and he wants to be the author of this methodology, and implement more design into the no-code space. He believes that no code and design together can create a brighter future for students, users, and workers. The next steps include continuing innovation, applying the process to real-world applications, and reaching higher goals to use in the world.

Moving forward with his methodology, he’s hoping to take this idea further than just software development and make it a new approach for designers. In the coming years, Kai is planning on patenting his idea and is hopeful that Design Led No Code can enhance the role of other designers everywhere.

Story by Sydney Gross ’23, Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow

In a world that’s ever-changing with new obstacles arising, Julia Haber has become a powerful and successful female founder. Julia graduated in 2018 with a major in advertising and media in Newhouse an minor in psychology, but she started her journey and ambition at a young age. Her eagerness to solve problems started her hometown in Westchester, NY and flourished when she joined the LaunchPad at Syracuse University.

Throughout her time in college, she used her opportunity to explore and try new activities that provided her with great resources and support. One of those organizations was LaunchPad. A unique fact about Julia was she was one of the first founding members of LaunchPad at Syracuse because of her passion for entrepreneurship. She described her relationship and connection with LaunchPad to be a match made in heaven. She started her first company during her time in LaunchPad in her junior year of college with her dream to continue building it after college. Little did she know, that was just the beginning to a great success story.

Her first business, WAYV, was designed to allow pop-up experiences on college campuses for students to engage with companies. Julia, with her business, visited eight different campuses on a tour for Shopify. WAYV was created in 2017 and by 2018 it had taken off and won a grand prize from a LaunchPad competition. This milestone led her to pursue her business straight out of college.

After graduating, Julia continued to work countless hours on building WAYV, but little did she know the pandemic was about to change her progress for the better. All the puzzle pieces fell straight into her lap. Seeing how impactful COVID-19 had on college students finding internships or jobs after college, allowed her to envision a new idea for WAYV. Julia saw Gen-Z struggling with these issues and made it a goal to ameliorate the issue the best she could. Thus, she created Home From College.  Home From College is a platform that allows students to start their career and take control of their opportunities. Similar to LinkedIn, they can connect with companies in unique ways in which students reach out to businesses.

This idea didn’t just originate from other students’ struggles, but from Julia’s own experience.   She discovered that the lack of internships in college did not produce a sufficient connections or portfolio work for students. Julia realized that internships meant more than what is recognized in a student’s experience on campus. With the couple internships she did pursue, Spotify and Snapchat for marketing, opened her eyes to what others were not fortunate enough to experience. So she built Home From College to connect, build, and maintain relationships. It was built as a space and place for those seeking internships to make connections out of college.

Home From College is wonderful because it is operated by a group of ten individuals dedicated to the success of your future. Furthermore, it is completely separated from colleges that allows for a more personal experience for all ages and no background needed. Users can explore others with the same interests and a space that could truly make a difference.

Julia and her co-founder have both had impactful experiences that led to their dedication to helping others achieve success. Her creative, ambitious, and ideal of not taking no for an answer has led her to wonderful success.

Julia says, “You have to keep on going, it’s the only way to success. There has to be a solution.” Her mentality to push through any hardship and continue working hard has made her into the amazing woman she is today. Just like she always has, her future entails helping as many students as possible and that’s exactly what she’ll do.

Story by Sydney Grosso ’23; photo supplied

Olivia Aguilar, ‘22, an Economics major and minor in Information Technology, Design and Startups, has taken her passion of working out to a new level. Growing up in Westchester, NY, Olivia spent most of her time engaged in physical activity and sports. While being a team player and fitness enthusiast, she wanted to carry that to her college career. ‘

After her first few months of her college experience, Olivia realized how hard it can be to exercise. She said, “I had no idea how hard it would be to balance classes and keep a consecutive workout routine.” She explained it was easier in high school because she played sports like basketball and volleyball, which permitted her to have designated times during the day.

Olivia was active on campus but discovered an even greater obstacle when the pandemic hit. While at home, and thinking about fitness, she decided to conduct research and the metrics associated with her Apple Watch. Throughout her findings, she was surprised to find her Apple Watch wasn’t as accurate as she had previously known. Now Olivia had the chance to combine her love for fitness and passion for helping women to create both an astonishing network and product to assist the younger generation. Olivia created LivFit.

While combining the knowledge she found on the internet and her personal experiences, she was inspired to create a clothing line that “makes women feel good.” An idea of stylish, comfortable, and feel-good clothing inspired her idea of a sensor for her new product.

The sensor would connect to the inside of an individual’s tank top, via Bluetooth, that would allow for a more accurate reading on vitals. Furthermore, the tops would be machine washable and allow the individuals to remove the sensor for charging convenience. This sensor would replace the need to wear an Apple Watch and produce more accurate results for tracking exercise routines. The sensor would connect to an app on an individual’s phone recording heart rates, blood pressure, activity, minutes, and a summary of the overall workout.

Just when you thought that idea was brilliant enough, there’s more. This app is designed to inspire women to work out, create a positive and friendly environment to motivate women. Uniquely, this app would have features like Facebook in which women can friend each other, send messages, create groups, and meet to exercise. Moreover, members could use the app to find a gym buddy and build relationships in their community. Lastly, the app would create a space for women to positively challenge each other through fitness, exercise and goals. Her idea was to create an environment that motivates women to bolster each other throughout their fitness journey. Olivia said, “working out with someone makes me want to go to the gym” so creating a platform that can permit those opportunities is where her passion lies.

Additionally, a member could sign up for a premium plan that would include weekly workouts and even healthy recipes to support their fitness journey. Olivia believes, “Going to the gym without knowing exactly what workouts to do can be hard. I want women to be confident and provide them with workouts that suit their body.”

Originally Olivia had started her fitness idea with another partner while working on an IDS class project in the fall of 2020. Eventually she decided to continue her brand while creating the sensor simultaneously.

Her target audience includes women between the ages of 25 and 35 and eventually allows for women of younger ages to be included. Her clothing would consist of high-quality material and retail prices like Nike or Lululemon.

With graduation right around the corner, Olivia is excited to start a new chapter of her life. She will be working in Manhattan and continuing the development of LivFit. In the future she hopes to recruit college ambassadors for pop-ups on campuses to promote her product and mission. Additionally, she is seeking for a team to bolster other sectors such as legal and financial responsibilities to expand her network.

Olivia’s positive attitude and outlook for herself and her community will lead her entrepreneurial success. Her mission is to support the women of our generation and create a healthier environment which will make our world a better place.

From Chicago to Syracuse University, Elizabeth Goldblatt ’22 has taken her many passions and is working toward building a fashion empire for the underrepresented. Elizabeth is currently a senior in Newhouse studying fashion and beauty while creating a clothing line named “Drake Riley.” Additionally, she is an active member on campus as the head fashion editor Jerk Magazine and working with Zamboni Revolution.

In high school Elizabeth was a devoted advocate for the disabled community co-founding the organization, “Acting for Change.” She showed her support by working with differently abled students as well as raising money for them. Additionally, Elizabeth worked countless hours to raise funds for the disabled community, and after she graduated wanted to continue that dedication through her business. Since this community is often overlooked in the fashion industry, she was determined to change this pattern.

Back home in Chicago, her grandma suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. She has witnessed her grandma struggle to find comfortable clothing while also being stylish. Elizabeth stated, “I was looking through my grandma’s closet and realized she didn’t have any comfortable clothing. Nothing fit her. After talking to her caregiver, I wanted clothes she could wear that would be both comfortable and fashionable.” Asking her grandma’s opinion and gathering all her measurements, she immediately jumped into creating a brand for not only those with disabilities but her grandma as well.

One trait to admire about Elizabeth is her drive and passion for what she cares about most. To get a hands-on experience, she worked at New York City Fashion Week for Bronx and Banco, Duncan, Moschino, Peter Dundas, Prabal Gurung, and Michael Kors. She built a relationship with a woman named Jacqui Bennett. As a result of Elizabeth’s great networking abilities, she was able to get advice from Jacqui who guided her to “look at her vision on a larger scale” and ultimately saw how much clothing doesn’t work for some groups.

This past year, Elizabeth saw an advertisement for the Impact Prize at LaunchPad. With only two weeks to prepare, she used her commitment and drive to create a business plan and develop several prototypes. She met with numerous mentors in LaunchPad as well as sending out surveys with a 200-person interest response. Just when you think she would be busy enough with all those tasks, Elizabeth goes above and beyond and checked out four books about entrepreneurship to learn as much as she could before the competition. Simultaneously she had an individual create a new logo for her business.

Although Elizabeth did not win the competition, she won more than what she could have imagined. She learned more about the business industry and how she can combine that knowledge with film and fashion. Looking forward, she wants to continue her passion for film and continue her passion for clothing. Nonetheless, Elizabeth created her brand name with meaning and depth, that not only represents her but her mission. Her name was derived by thinking of “The Life of Riley,” meaning “‘to live carefree and comfortably”’ and combining that with the name of the Chicago building her grandparents lived in, The Drake. She said it “was fun and creative.”

As a result of learning from her experiences and other people, Elizabeth has learned to “stop finding inspiration in other things and to look for what is not out there.”

Elizabeth Goldblatt is unstoppable and will make an unbelievable difference in this world. Not only has she shown this with all her hard work and talent thus far, but 15% of her profits will be donated to the National Organization of Disability. With a heart and passion as big as hers, there is no other route for her other than success.

Christopher Thomas has always had a passion for nature and solving environmental problems through science, going back to his hometown in Bridgeport, NY. During his undergraduate program at SUNY ESF, he studied bioprocess engineering then went to China to conduct research in Beijing where he explored and studied the fundamental science of wood and plants for biofuel.

In discussing his passion bioplastics with his roommate, Dr. Ryan Scheel, they were inspired to combine their knowledge and skill sets in a new method to create advanced biodegradable plastics from waste materials. Building on his studies overseas as well as his diverse experience and interests, Christopher decided to pursue a new profound idea through PhD research. He worked countless hours with his PhD advisors Dr. ‘s Bandaru Ramarao and Deepak Kumar to secure and patent a novel approach to biodegradable plastic technology.

His company, Envision Biopolymers LLC, combines the advantage of advanced physical properties with upcycling of abundant agro-waste material, which makes a more compelling business case based on bioplastic technologies.

With such great success, he reached out to the CSMM, Center for Sustainable Materials Management, funded by the NYS DEC. He was offered a position to work with the CSMM Executive Director Kathryn Walker to further develop and commercialize this technology through a two-year project.

Christopher’s invention is of great interest to industries that manufacture packaging. In recent studies, PFAS, Per-polyfluoroalkyl Substances, found in many packaging and consumer goods products, were deemed toxic and harmful. Thus, many states have begun banning the use of PFAS. Consequently, businesses in the food-packaging sector need a new plastic to replace PFAS and Christopher has the ideal product for them.

He notes that “People haven’t cared as much about the environment up until recently. Gen Z and Millennials want companies that are eco-friendly and are pressuring the government to enforce safe material. Sustainability is imperative for business.”

The bioplastic generated by Christopher and his team make it a great candidate to meet these new market demands for sustainable and safe products. His product is derived from natural waste and formulates it into a marine biodegradable, home-compostable, and highly functional product.

Christopher has developed a wonderful support system and team that have made these developments possible. In particular, the diligent and enthusiastic research of ESF alum Michael Glinski and ESF PhD student Daniel Fougnier have been critical to many of the recent technology milestones.

Traction for his product has flourished through his team’s acceptance into the NSF I-Corps Teams program, and relationship with the Center for Sustainable Materials Management. Most recently, Christopher has been corresponding with their first potential beachhead customer who has expressed a great interest and need for their product.

Next steps include scaling the process from the laboratory to industry in collaboration with corporate partners. Additionally, seeking for a venture capitalist to fund scale-up developments has been an ambition that would hopefully permit him to share the success of this business with the ESF and Syracuse Community.

Christopher has a year and a half to continue working for the CSMM and if successful, he plans to continue working toward his dream, saving the environment, and collaborating to form a network of like-minded folks to make it a reality. He states, “This is my passion, and I am so fortunate to be where I am.”

Story by Sydney Grosso for the LaunchPad; photo by the LaunchPad

Julianna Mercado, class of ‘23, a biochemistry and forensic science major, is working hard to make a long-lasting impact on her college and community. Born and raised on Long Island, she wasn’t exposed often to inequities in the U.S. because she grew up in a predominantly white, middle class family. After coming to Syracuse, she had an eye-opening experience of the inequities the surrounding community faced. Throughout her time working as an EMT, she was exposed to children living in poor conditions and realized she wanted to use her knowledge and privilege to become a support system for those in need. She created a tutoring and mentoring program, UpSkill. UpSkill as a 501(c) nonprofit and registered student organization designed to support educational equity through accessible academic resources.

Julianna understood the difficulties communities struggled to obtain the same educational and financial means to learn. Driven by her empathy, her goal was to provide a resource that offered academic assistance, financial capability, and guidance. Julianna states. “I want to change this. In whatever capacity I can, I want to ensure that socioeconomic barriers do not prevent students from reaching their educational goals.” UpSkill is an academic resource at no cost for students, and they receive tutoring and mentoring assistance through the guidance of Syracuse students. Her idea began while the rest of the world was battling the difficulties of academic life through the pandemic. Julianna was aware of the difficulties previously faced before Covid-19 and knew the pandemic put a major burden on the educational system. UpSkill is fairly new, but she aspires to offer support so students through their educational journeys and goals.

An admirable trait about Julianna is her ability to create and excel in all her activities from school, to work, to clubs. In her determination to make UpSkill a success, she became president and established committees that uniquely support educational equity.

Her first committee is Fundraising/ Philanthropy which designs events centered on engaging SU and ESF students with the surrounding community to improve educational equity. Julianna says, “The money raised from these events is used to offer academic resources through UpSkill, support other educational organizations, and offer scholarships to students with financial needs.”

The tutoring and mentoring committee provides tutoring to students in the Syracuse district and designated to helping improve students academic and leadership skills. Moreover, they work specifically with the North Side Learning Center which assists refugee students become acclimated with education in the U.S.

Additionally, the Raising Awareness/ Community Education committee is designed to educate members and students about educational equity.

Their role would be to propose ideas for guest speakers and workshops related to social and education issues in the local and larger communities. As a result, this would allow for educators to be updated with the up most recent educational disadvantages and utilize their knowledge to reduce inequities. Furthermore, they would also be responsible for creating fun graphics for social media. Lastly, the College Preparation Program for First-Generation Students committee was designed to support and assist first-generation students in applying for colleges; activities include working on the common application as well as FASFA.

To ensure the success of their new program, Julianna plans to serve as president through spring 2023. Her successes include being approved as a 501c non-profit, securing a collaboration with North Side Learning Center, creating a new website, doubling membership size, and creating strong committees.

Her goals are to increase involvement with NSLC, become engaged with other organizations like the Catholic Charities as well as the Boys and Girls Club. She will continue making a more accessible and interactive media platform while maintaining her excellence in all other departments.

Julianna exceeds the definition of success, between managing school, applying for medical school, volunteering at the hospital, and more; she manages to create an amazing resource for others. A dedication like hers is hard to find, and with her focus, UpSkill will always be on its way up.

Story by LaunchPad Zaccai Foundation Fellow Sydney Grosso ’23; photo supplied

A junior at Syracuse University with a major in biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Jared Anderson ‘23 is contributing not only to his local community but those across the country. As he’s working toward his ambitions to pursue medical school, he is also building a platform to save lives. Jared is working hard to succeed in school and make a difference in educating people with knowledge they can use in emergency situations.

Jared is a dedicated student who is passionate about making a difference in the world. He has always been a leader in his community, and one of those leadership roles is being a resident advisor in Shaw Hall for the past two years. One of Jared’s traits is his keen interested in being engage. Immersed in Syracuse campus activities, he is also a member of Engineering World Health Club and Christian Outreach. Jared has also served as an EMT and is an active firefighter/ EMT at DeWitt Fire Department.

Jared comes from a family of ten and knows the importance of taking care of others, especially his family. With his own mission to keep his family safe, he has the same passion to keep others as well. Through his time as a firefighter and taking care of his siblings, he has understood the importance of safety when dangerous situations arise. Jared is the type of person to put others before himself, and it is no surprise he would create a platform to ensure others safety.

Through his many experiences on the job, he has seen community members who are unsure about how to handle emergency situations.  Jared was determined to fix that. Civilian Medical Response (CMR) is a non-profit organization that will teach the basics of first response skills and emergency preparedness. The goal is to teach and inform others to ensure their safety at and away from home. Jared states, “Through my experience as a firefighter and EMT, I have seen people struggle in emergency situations from a lack of information and training.”

You might be thinking that some people already go through training for these types of situations, but not enough.  Jared is determined to tackle training differently. He has discovered that many people undergo these trainings for work and are less likely to pay attention.  Jared has observed that  modules aren’t as impactful because individuals rush through it to complete them and don’t retain the information.

The mission of CMR is “to empower individuals to recognize and react to medical emergencies through training and education.”  CMR will offer hands-on workshops to churches, schools, work, all free of cost to ensure quality information and training for individuals.  Jared wants to build convenience into the program, reaching more community groups and people to accommodate training within their schedule.

With the concept for CMR, Jared joined the LaunchPad to find greater community support to help grow his venture.  He said, “Once I had the idea, I knew it would be the best place to pursue my aspirations.”

He competed recently at ‘Cuse Tank and said that pitching his idea was a great experience.  He received valuable feedback on how to improve and build his non-profit.  After the competition, in recognition of his hard work and good idea, he received a $2,500 LaunchPad Innovation Grant to help incorporate, and to develop his product and curriculum.  He is eagerly awaiting his next competition, the Impact Prize, to compete for additional funds and to develop even more personal and professional skills.

His goal is to offer his very first training in the community that supported him – the LaunchPad.

Story by Blackstone Global Fellow Sydney Grosso ‘23