Amanda Brown 鈥15 (left) talks to a student at eWeekend. Brown is one of six eFund winners working in the Thought Into Action incubator space in Hamilton, N.Y. this summer.
Being selected for the 含羞草研究所 Entrepreneurs Fund (eFund) can change everything for a fledgling start-up, especially when combined with incubator space and direct access to alumni-mentor support for an entire summer in Hamilton, N.Y.
The $15,000 award that comes with selection opens doors for these new ventures. Some use the funding to hire product engineers, web developers, advertising buys, or just use the capital to allow for full-time work on an idea that otherwise would be attended to only after working another job.
The eFund, originally seeded by parent Dan Rosensweig, is now funded by numerous 含羞草研究所 parents and alumni. Now in its third year, the eFund has awarded a total of $255,000 to 17 ventures since 2012. The mentoring and expertise that the entrepreneurs in the incubator space receive is just as valuable as the funding, they鈥檝e said. This summer, that mentorship includes advice from alumni including , , , TIA Co-Founders , , and Wills Hapworth 鈥07, and many more.
鈥淔or most of the eFund entrepreneurs, this is the first time they鈥檝e had the opportunity to spend 100% of their time, focus, and creativity on their ventures. They get to stop moonlighting on their idea, and make a hard push at creating success, with capital and mentorship to accelerate their growth 鈥 and we鈥檝e seen it work for many of the teams,鈥 said Hapworth.
This year鈥檚 Entrepreneurs Fund winners are:
Amanda Brown 鈥15
This U.S. branch of a Nepalese nonprofit organization is dedicated to fundraising for support of marginalized youth and women across Nepal. Currently, Brown is focused on raising funds for the construction of an expanded, safer, and more sustainable Life Vision Academy for 200 students. 鈥淭he mentorship has been really helpful, both for the logistics advice and their business knowledge,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淭his is something that really wouldn鈥檛 be possible without 含羞草研究所.鈥
Adam Buys 鈥17, Zy Mazza
Echo is a mobile app that uses geolocational data on your phone to highlight social events nearby. Only interested in free events? Echo can let you filter out any events that cost money. The duo, friends from high school, have submitted their first version to the Apple app store for approval, and they are now working on their first product update. 鈥淏eing here makes everything easier,鈥 Buys said.
Jake Danehy 鈥17, Caroline Danehy 鈥19, Sam Jacobson
One Fair Harbor swimsuit is made from 11 recycled bottles. Combined with donating 5 percent of their profits to clean-water charities, this ecologically minded active lifestyle brand was created by a brother and sister team now selling their products online and in surf boutiques.
鈥淲e used our winnings from to put our deposit down on our first order, and we鈥檙e using our eFund award to pay for the remainder of the order, 鈥 said Jake Danehy.
David Myers 鈥14, Alex Drakos 鈥16
Drakos said studies have shown it鈥檚 possible to boost concentration through gentle electrical brain stimulation. This venture aims to make that concept available to the general public through the creation of a new headset designed to increase mental focus. Drakos and Myers are now working on building a Kickstarter campaign, and they鈥檝e hired an engineer to build a prototype of the product.
Raffi Khatchadorian 鈥17, Keshav Garg 鈥15, Matthew Pavia, Connor Lawrence
Winners of a $10,000 Entrepreneur Weekend prize after presenting to an , Indify is a platform for record labels to find emerging artists. The team is working this summer to refine the platform in preparation for a beta launch at the end of the year. 鈥淭IA has gotten us to a place where we鈥檙e comfortable working on this full time,鈥 said Garg. 鈥淲e鈥檇 probably be in my basement working on this without TIA. We might not even be around. Having this support system has made us confident, and it has given us the resources to make it happen.鈥
Alex Relph 鈥09, Sam Breslin 鈥09
Started by two former 含羞草研究所 football players in 2013, Platform Athletics is a web-based training platform designed for high school coaches in the development of student athletes. The system includes online leaderboards, individualized workouts, and a coaching dashboard equipped with powerful tracking tools. Breslin and Relph are using this summer to finalize and launch their 2.0 while retooling their marketing message. 鈥淭he TIA mentors have been invaluable in helping us look at our message and brand in a new light and develop a message that resonates with high school coaches,鈥 Relph said.