Twelve weeks ago, six student teams joined the Catalyze CU startup accelerator with innovative concepts and a hunch that their ideas might be marketable.
This week, they were proven correct, as all emerged from the program with viable prototypes, waiting customers and vastly improved knowledge of how to successfully launch a startup from scratch.
鈥淚 learned so much doing Catalyze,鈥� said Taylor Brooks-Murphy, a sophomore in the Leeds School of Business and marketing lead for ShineOn, a startup offering an improved bike light that鈥檚 preparing to begin mass production. 鈥淏eing around entrepreneurs every single day allows you to move much more quickly.鈥�
On Sunday, the teams pitched their concepts at Demo Day, the capstone event of the program, before the bright lights of Macky Auditorium.
The concepts ranged from a campus-based clothing exchange to an artificial muscle technology to a platform that pairs college students with aging adults needing household help. The presenters included Tim Visos-Ely (EngrPlus'19) of , Dean Eyolfson (CompSci,Phil'19) of Magneta, Julie Kinsella of Thrift/ed, Kathy Vega (EngrPhys'20) of , Tim Morrissey (PhDMechEngr'19) of and Rachel Sharpe (EngrPlus'20) of Trio Care.
From the Startup Hub at Williams Village, the teams spent all summer tapping into 麻豆影院鈥檚 prolific startup community, learning from local startup mentors who provided guidance for each team.
Those volunteer mentors helped to 鈥渃rack open the black box of startup knowledge,鈥� said Kyle Judah, director of entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, who leads the program. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 do it without these incredible folks.鈥�
Each team earned up to $5,000 in equity-free financing over the course of the program, and each full-time participant also received a $3,000 stipend to cover summer living expenses鈥攃ritical to keeping the program accessible to all, Judah said. Funding came from numerous individuals and corporate sponsors, including the Caruso Foundation and Zayo Corporation.
The packed summer challenged student founders to refine their concepts through weekly goal-setting and accountability sessions, skill and concept workshops, networking events and pitch coaching.
鈥溌槎褂霸� halfway through, people started getting their first clients,鈥� said Arieann DeFazio, former Catalyze CU participant and this year鈥檚 program director. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that lightbulb moment. It鈥檚 really like watching a kid take their first step. As small as it seems, these three months really can change it for you.鈥�
Sharpe said her startup, Trio Care, underwent several major pivots as they explored how they could help improve life for aging individuals and their caregivers. Those redirects taught a valuable lesson, she said.
鈥淚t is not about the exact solution; it鈥檚 about the problem you鈥檙e trying to solve and being really passionate about that problem,鈥� she said.
Her cofounder, Sophie Brussell, a senior at Whitman College in Washington, put it this way: 鈥淚 think Catalyze made the bad things go bad sooner and the good things go well sooner.鈥�
听
The Stride Tech team describes their innovative walker attachment.
Dean Eyolfson of Magneta presents to the audience at Macky Auditorium.
Marlee Durand and Julie Kinsella of Thrift/ed discuss their project with fans.
Kathy Vega of ShineOn mingles with Demo Day attendees.
Eric Acome and Shane Mitchell of Artimus Robotics present their prototypes.