Teams of student innovators worked together over the course of a weekend to develop and pitch social startup enterprise ideas as part of the 9th annual Heller Startup Challenge earlier this month.
This intensive, three-day social entrepreneurship initiative, open to Heller students as well as undergraduates and alumni, gives students who aren’t in the Heller MBA program or the International Business School an opportunity to put their ideas to the test. Participants form or join teams around an idea to solve a pressing social issue, develop a business plan with the help of a mentor, learn from peers with different skill sets and pitch their plan at the end of the weekend.
Teams were awarded prizes for first, second and third place, as well as people’s choice.
1st place and people’s choice winner – Tenant2Tenant
- Shiko Rugene, MBA'23
- Alton McCall, MBA'23
- Sam Aronson, MBA'23
- Andy Mendez, MA SID/MBA'23
“Tenant2Tenant: Rebalancing power in favor of tenants is a nonprofit organization seeking to challenge the existing power dynamic between landlords and off-campus student tenants. Tenant2Tenant provides a platform to evaluate landlords, offers a consolidated place for resources, and connects students with their peers. Relationships with local universities enable us to reach vulnerable students in need of support, while creating a safe ecosystem to exchange information.”
2nd place – VertiAlgas
- Beck Hayes, MA SID/MBA'22
- Ariel Wexler, MA SID/MBA'22
VertiAlgas: “We are connectors with a mission to improve coastal community livelihoods in Latin America through vertical regenerative ocean seaweed farming. We provide training, resources, and new channels within the global seaweed market. By partnering with women led cooperatives we can offer alternative income streams for vulnerable families with a new and innovative farming practice.”
3rd place – Mission Driven NFT
- Douglass Guernsey, MBA’23
- Varun Edupuganti, MBA'22