SIL Social Innovation Lab launches May 20
May 7, 2013 in Updates
The Social Innovation Lab [SIL] allows students to apply their product and technology innovations to problems that need to be solved, in areas that are relevant, and to impact communities and individual’s lives.
SIL is launching May 20 and is a pilot Co-op program, where five students from five different disciplines tackle five challenges. The programming, such as workshops and events, however, is open to the public and everybody is invited to get inspired, collaborate, engage, and ideate on how to change the world by addressing small and large problems with systemic reach. Learn more about it
Five Emerging Startups Funded for $23,500
Eleven interdisciplinary teams [lineup] pitched their emerging startup ideas to a panel of judges at the Pitchfest on April 9, 2013.
The following five teams generated innovative ideas, delivered solid business models, and were awarded funding from the judges:
UrbanFlex [$6,000] Zachary Jackson (Industrial Design) and Alex Schwarzkopf (Electromechanical Engineering)
CareEz [$6,000] Ciro Podany (Architecture), Walmen Dumaliang (Industrial Design), Tory Lam (Architecture), Nick Strout (Architecture), and Derek Bisson (Architecture)
.DAT [$5,000] JT White (Master of Architecture), Lucy Brown (Master of Architecture), Joseph Meucci (Master of Architecture), Samuel Walusimbi (Master of Architecture), and Grant Wilkes (Computer Science)
Trafficflux [$3,500] Matthew Michaud (Computer Science), Ben Greenier (Computer Science), and Abraham Oosten (Graphic Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design)
FindMe [$3,000] Ben Sewards (Computer Science), Ralph Giangregorio (Computer Science), Chou Yang (Computer Science), and Chris Streeks (Computer Networking)
Judges for “Pitchfest” included Bobbie Carlton, founder of Mass Innovation Nights; Armand Milazzo, President and founder of Milazzo Enterprise, LLC; Stefania Nappi Mallett, founder of EzCatering; and Fady Saad, co-founder of e-Powerhouse.
Since May 2012 more than 200 students have been involved in Accelerate, forming more than 80 interdisciplinary teams to pitch ideas, and over 70 mentors have supported these teams. To date, 15 teams were funded, totaling $77,000.
Hot Seat \\ Mentor Networking \\ Mar 7, 2013
Emerging startups are in the hot seat to demo their idea to Alumni, mentors, Boston professionals and fellow entrepreneurs. It is their first time presenting their ideas to the public, so ask many challenging questions for them to better prepare for the Pitchfest, April 9, and to give them some laser mentoring.
Please register at http://acceleratehotseatnetworking.eventbrite.com
Accelerate Spring 2013 Edition – 33 ideas entered!
Here is why they participate - Pitching Accelerate
We are very excited to have such a diverse range of ideas. From wind turbines to collegiate jewelry, from green homes to lacrosse helmets. Stay tuned for our pitching events this Spring.
See some teams getting ready for the Pitchfest
15 New Interdisciplinary Startup Ideas pitched – $25,500 invested!
On Friday, November 16, 4-8pm (EST) 15 teams pitched to receive funding to move their startups to the next stage. Check out the Lineup. There were so many great pitches that the judges deliberated for a very, very long time. Five teams were funded for a total of $25,500. Congratulations and we are looking forward to working with all teams to continue their entrepreneurial journey!
Accelerate on BostInno
Wentworth embraces it’s entrepreneurial mindset and turns students’ ideas into reality!
Fall Submission at Record High
Accelerate is an innovation + entrepreneurship challenge for Wentworth students catalyzing ideas to impact the world.
We tripled ideas/teams to 45 and doubled the students engaged in this second iteration of Accelerate. Great ideas were submitted and we are very excited to be helping the students to push themselves, connect with mentors and the Boston ecosystem, attend workshops (every Wed, 6pm in Beatty 426), and prepare for the pitchfest in November. And this is why you should care - Check us out Pitching Accelerate
AccelerateTALK
Boston.com 09/25 - Old school meet new school: How universities are adapting to build entrepreneurs and a day earlier on Boston.com | The Hive | 09/24 – Accelerate on the panel + Pelkey Design in good company with other college startups #AIM4E – Congrats to Taxi Right Now.
Awesome Products meet with Daymond John in NYC
On Sept 6, Awesome Products headed to NYC to meet with Daymond John, Founder of FUBU and Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank to get some business advice and guidance. The team learned so much and is ready to go to the next level.
Pedicab Team, Pelkey Design | On Boston.com and TWICE in the Boston Globe
Check out the Pedicab Team, John Pelkey + Eric Crouch, the top funded team of Accelerate Summer 2012 being mentioned in the Innovation Economy on 9/9 Boston.com
In the Boston Globe on 9/10 and in the Boston Globe Editorial on 9/14 Reinventing the wheels of the pedicab
On Boston.com on 9/27 as nominees for “Best Startup Award Boston” among other college startups.
[Eric Crouch, BMET & John Pelkey, BIND]
Congratulations to 5 funded Teams!
15 teams and 50+ students have participated in the first iteration of Accelerate this summer. 10 Teams pitched in front of judges in our very first Pitchfest, June 28, 2012 and five teams were funded for a total of 29K to build their prototypes and test the market. The other very promising teams will continue to work on their ideas, refine them, solicit more input from potential customers, continue to attend the Accelerate workshops, and hopefully be back in September for our second round of Accelerate.
Start getting ready for the next round kickstarting September 17!
Participating in this challenge will give you the opportunity to:
- Immerse yourself in learning about business planning and launching a venture
- Pitch your idea in front of judges
- Receive funding and build a prototype/proof of concept for your service or product
- Enjoy one-on-one mentoring from alumni and fellow entrepreneurs
- Receive expert guidance from alumni, faculty, and the external Boston community
- Attend events and workshops
- Build valuable connections to industry
- Build your own team with people from different disciplines
Stay tuned for more information on this website. Also follow us on twitter @WITXLR8 or facebook.com/innovateatwit.
Questions? - Join us in the first week of the summer semester for info sessions or send an email to accelerate@wit.edu.
