by Tori Gilbert | Mar 21, 2019 | Announcements, News from Nelson
We are excited to announce the 2019 Brown Venture Founders, an award that motivates recent Brown graduates and young alumni entrepreneurs to launch and grow their startups in Rhode Island. A partnership between the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and the Slater Technology Fund, this initiative offers Brown startup founders grants of up to $50,000, dedicated mentorship, co-working space for their ventures, and other resources for growing their companies in Rhode Island. We are proud to announce that Kevin Eve ‘18, co-founder of Uproot, and Rishabh Singh ‘17, the founder of Gradly, have been named the 2019 Brown Venture Founders.
This award is part of Brown University’s strategic action plan: Brown and the Innovation Economy, spearheaded by Provost Richard M. Locke. In collaboration with community leaders and experts, the University is maximizing its impact on innovation, entrepreneurship, and job growth. The Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, along with the Slater Technology Fund, are strategic partners in this effort.
Rishabh Singh ‘17, the founder of Gradly (left) and Kevin Eve ‘18, co-founder of Uproot (right).
Meet Rishabh Singh ‘17, the founder of Gradly
Gradly, a software concierge service that assists international students moving to the US, was founded to solve the complications that Singh and millions of other international students experience when studying abroad. In effect, Gradly is digitizing the immigration and relocation process by working with banks, insurance companies, real estate firms & others so that their users don’t have to.
“The significance of Brown & the Nelson Center in my journey cannot be overstated: first, through a university scholarship that made it possible for me to attend Brown, to B-Lab where I worked on the first iteration of Gradly, and now, with Brown Venture Founders. Throughout, Brown and the Nelson Center’s support has been indispensable. As I work to expand Gradly, I am excited to continue to be a part of the Rhode Island tech ecosystem which, in my experience, has time and again proven to be uniquely positioned to support early-stage companies and emerging founders like me.”
Meet Kevin Eve ‘18, co-founder of Uproot
Uproot was founded to make healthy, sustainable plant-based milks accessible to everyone. Its first products allow cafeterias to efficiently serve a variety of plant-based milks from a single unit for the first time. The Brown Venture Founders resource will be instrumental in allowing Uproot to transition from a student venture idea into a sustainable startup.
“The Brown Venture Founder Prize has given me the support and confidence to launch Uproot in Rhode Island. The backing has been crucial as we scale production, build a team and seek investment. Launching an early stage venture has been an incredibly challenging and exciting experience. I am grateful to have the support of Brown University and the Slater Technology Fund.” Kevin and his co-founder Philip Mathieu ‘17 were participants in the 2018 Breakthrough Lab. They have now successfully launched in dining halls at Johnson & Wales University and Brown University, with more to come.
“Students in our universities will solve the great problems of our time – environmental, medical, societal,” said Thorne Sparkman (pictured to the left), managing director of the Slater Fund. “Through the Nelson Center, Brown University is at the forefront of preparing its students for these challenges with entrepreneurship courses, programs, and venture support resources. We are proud to work alongside the university to support its efforts. Through the Brown Venture Founders program and beyond, Slater is excited to invest in the next generation of Rhode Island’s entrepreneurial leaders emerging from Brown.”
Celebrating Entrepreneurship in Rhode Island – Sushi Networking Event
April 25 / 6:00 – 9:00 PM / REGISTER HERE
There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur in Rhode Island! Innovation, inspiration, interconnectivity, investment—all are accelerating here, driven by a growing community committed to supporting the development of promising new ventures.
Join the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Slater Technology Fund, and Venture Café Providence for a special sushi networking event to celebrate entrepreneurship in our state.
by Tori Gilbert | Mar 8, 2019 | Announcements, News from Nelson
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2nd annual Brown Venture Prize pitch night! It was completely sold out with 250+ in attendance, and many alumni and friends of the center watched remotely from around the world. Congratulations to the 8 finalists who pitched their ideas to 7 alumni judges. The ventures ranged from a mobile technology to fight addiction, to an app that provides on-demand in-home care for the elderly and disabled. If you missed the event, we will soon share a link to the recording on our YouTube channel.
Formally, 1st Prize: $25,000 winner
Left to right: Benjamin Murphy ‘19, Diane Mutako ‘20, Amelie Vavrovsky ’18, and Noah Picard ‘18, Sc.M ‘19.
Formally empowers applicants and attorneys by making immigration and legal forms easy.
goTeff, 2nd Prize: $15,000 winner
From left to right: Abenezer Simon Mechale ‘21 (UPenn) and Saron Simon Mechale ‘19.
goTeff is a mission-driven nutrition brand using teff grain
—a superfood from Ethiopia, with a vision to provide superior nutrition to
US consumers while empowering Ethiopian small-holder farmer
EmboNet, 3rd Prize: $10,000 winner
From left to right: Berke Buyukkucak Sc.B. ’18, M.Sc., ’19, Emily Holtzman ‘18 (RISD), Gian Christian Ignacio ’18, M.D. ‘22, and Celina Hsieh ‘18, M.D. ‘22.
EmboNet is developing a double-layered, pocketed mesh designed to securely capture and remove embolic debris from blood, reducing stroke risk and cerebral injury associated with cardiac bypass surgeries.
Thank you to our alumni judges!
The Brown Venture Prize is possible thanks to the co-founders of Casper, Neil Parikh ’11 and Luke Sherwin ’12. Because of their generous gift, we can continue supporting and empowering students to create solutions with impact and make their ventures a reality.
Our alumni judges had the difficult task of first selecting the top 8 ventures to pitch on March 6, and then selecting the top 3 ventures to win $50k in prize money. Judges present last night included:
Rufus Griscom ’91, CEO and co-founder, The Next Big Idea Club
Liz Hamburg ’86, founder, Upstart Ventures
Rajiv Kumar ’05 MD ’09, President and Chief Medical Officer, Virgin Pulse
Luke Sherwin ’12, co-founder of Casper
Laura Thompson ’09, Advisor, Project Wayfinder
Adam Vitarello ’05, President and co-founder of Optoro
Jayna Zweiman ’01, Activist, Artist, and co-founder, Pussy Hat Project
Ben Chesler ’15, Chief Innovation Officer of Imperfect Produce and Heidi Messer ’92, co-founder of Collective[i] were unable to attend the night of, but were instrumental in the selection of the top 8 and mentoring these students.
by Tori Gilbert | Oct 1, 2018 | Announcements, News from Nelson
The Brown Biotech Investment Group (BBIG) is a group of students interested in the intersection between healthcare and entrepreneurship. Through Nelson Center’s advisory support, the group will educate and engage its members on biotechnology and investments while also providing a tangible benefit to the University. BBIG members come from diverse academic backgrounds and focus on interdisciplinary collaboration to help members advance their learning and career goals. Check them out on Facebook.
by Tori Gilbert | Sep 17, 2018 | Announcements, News from Nelson
Meet the newest cohort of Peer Entrepreneurs in Residence (PEIR)! The PEIR program is a critical part of the Nelson Center’s activities. In it, students serve as mentors and additional resources for their fellow students. Whether it is exploring an unmet need, designing a value proposition, or developing a sustainability model, PEIRs work with founders to clarify and sharpen their ideas. Many PEIRs, through their own ventures or through internships and other experiences, have knowledge of particular sectors and can help refer students to additional resources. Learn more about this year’s cohort here.
If you’d like to chat with them about your venture, kick around a nascent idea, or talk startup life in general—drop them a line. You can email them or sign up for their office hours here.
by Sheila Haggerty | Sep 11, 2018 | Announcements, News from Nelson
The Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship is excited to launch the Venture Capital Inclusion Lab, led by Dr. Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, a visiting associate professor in Sociology. Dr. Ozkazanc-Pan and a team of graduate and undergraduate students will conduct a research study on the venture capital (VC) industry, funded by the Kauffman Foundation. This study aims to understand how bias and decision-making affect VC-backed investments. Students with an interest in understanding equality and inclusion as it relates to the VC industry are encouraged to apply. You will work directly with Dr. Banu Ozkazanc-Pan and graduate students who will help direct the VC Inclusion Lab.
Apply ASAP or by Sunday, September 16, 2018. Click on the links below to learn more and apply.
Undergraduate Research Assistant (10 openings)
Graduate Student Research Lead (2 openings)
by Sheila Haggerty | Sep 6, 2018 | Announcements, News from Nelson
We are pleased to announce Jennifer Nazareno, Ph.D. is now an assistant professor with a dual appointment with the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Public Health. She was previously an AHRQ/NRSA and Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University. Professor Nazareno’s specialty areas include the structural and social determinants of health as well as the political economy and the organization of care that shape the public-private framework of U.S. health and long-term care systems. Her work specifically examines the role of women’s migration, labor and entrepreneurship in this space.
While at the Center, Jennifer recently published a review article, Global Dynamics of Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research (IJEBR) where she and her colleagues examined the remarkable shifts in immigrant entrepreneurship, from local, labor-intensive, service-oriented enterprises to global, knowledge-intensive, and professional services. For example, some of the largest U.S. venture capital-backed public high technology companies were started by immigrants, such as Intel, Solectron, Sanmina-SCI, Sun Microsystems, eBay, Yahoo! and Google. Jennifer and her colleagues also observed the emergence of new immigrant entrepreneurs among national origin groups that historically had low rates of self-employment, such as Mexicans and Filipinos, and among the newest of the more recent immigrant groups, such as Vietnamese, Cambodians, Bolivians, Ethiopians and Eritreans. This coming spring, Dr. Nazareno will be teaching a new course that traces the U.S. history of Italian, Jewish and German immigrant entrepreneurs starting from the 18th century to today’s emerging immigrant entrepreneurial groups in various industries.
Learn more about Dr. Nazareno here.
