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Jim Jen Takes Over as Director of Carnegie Mellon University's Corporate Startup Lab
A former executive at startup investment firm Innovation Works Inc., Jim Jen is getting back into the local startup ecosystem by taking over the Corporate Startup Lab (CSL) housed within the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University.
Jim succeeded CSL Director and co-founder Sean Ammirati on August 7, 2023 and now runs the
day-to-day operations of an initiative that performs research, develops tools and promotes ways for large companies to best integrate entrepreneurial practices into their own innovation processes. Jen, who simultaneously joins CMU's Tepper School of Business as a distinguished service professor of entrepreneurship, stepped down from his post as the chief operating officer at IW last February.
Read Jim's full bio.
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| 5 Founders Under 25: Isaiah Rodgers, Clutch
Tepper School of Business student and 2022-24 Innovation Scholar Isaiah Rodgers has been named to the 5 Founders Under 25 list. Fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit since childhood, Isaiah co-founded Clutch alongside his brother, Zamir Rodgers to create a roadside assistance platform powered by gig drivers who use apps like Uber and DoorDash to offer rapid aid.
Isaiah and Zamir also took first place in undergraduate category of the Swartz Center's
2023 McGinnis Venture Competition.
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VentureBridge Startup Fluid Reality Wins
"Best Demo" Award at IEEE World Haptics Conference
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Fluid Reality, a 2023 VentureBridge startup co-founded by Joe Mullenback and Craig Shultz, recently won
"Best Demo" award at the IEEE World Haptics Conference in Delft, Netherlands.
The two have been recognized by the experts in the field on the largest stage for haptics.
Fluid Reality was developed at Carnegie Mellon University with Chris Harrison.
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CMU Startup Sweep Launches Open-Source AI-Powered Junior Developer
William Zeng (Carnegie Mellon) and Kevin Lu, are the co-founders of Sweep, an open-sourced, AI-powered junior developer that has just recently launched. Sweep takes your description of a feature or bugfix in a GitHub issue and writes a pull request with code.
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| Jisell Founder and CEO Alex Cusell-Marino Wins
$5K at The Inicio Awards
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In a recent post on her LinkedIn page, CMU MSTV alumnus and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Alex Cusell-Marino, founder of Jisell, placed 3rd at The Inicio Ventures Awards sponsored by Google and Mastercard in New York. Jisell is like Apple Pay for your gift cards. Consumers upload their gift cards and retailers pay a monthly subscription to get more of their gift cards redeemed.
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Welcome to Pittsburgh: CMU T&E Networking Event
Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 PM ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Tepper Quad Bldg.,
4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Floor
The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group and the Swartz Center would like to welcome the incoming and returning graduate students across the Tartan community interested in entrepreneurship to join us for an evening of networking and engagement at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. Come meet your fellow students who are hackers, designers, and hustlers as well as alumni across the CMU T&E Pittsburgh network. This is the first of a series of monthly networking events throughout the academic year geared towards facilitating more opportunities to connect our regional CMU entrepreneurship community.
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Special talk: Ramzi Ramsey, Blackstone Growth
Date: Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Time: 6-7 PM | ET
Location: CMU Swartz Center, Tepper Quad, 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Floor (In person only)
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| Join the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship for a special, in-person conversation with Tepper School of Business alumnus (2007) Ramzi Ramsey, Managing Director at Blackstone Growth in
California's Bay Area.
Topics include a career in finance, technology investing and Carnegie Mellons' impact on his career.
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Save The Date!
Swartz Center Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
Time: 1-5 PM | ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Tepper Quad, 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Floor
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Join us for our annual, one-day glimpse into entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University and Pittsburgh! This event, which is open to all incoming CMU students, is sponsored by the CMU Swartz Center and the Graduate Entrepreneurship Club (GEC).
All registered attendees will receive a 'May the Swartz Be With You' t-shirt!
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Apply for the CSL Fellowship by August 25!
The Corporate Startup Lab Fellowship is a unique opportunity for Carnegie Mellon graduate students to challenge themselves personally and professionally by working closely with a corporate client as part of an interdisciplinary graduate team. This competitive program works with major companies that have included global finance, automotive, industrial and healthcare leaders. Graduate students across CMU schools are encouraged to apply. Each student will be given a $4K stipend for their work.
The deadline to apply is August 25, 2023.
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| Applications Open!
James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows Program
Are you a CMU graduate student interested in being a part of a network of entrepreneurially-minded students and furthering your startup dreams? Then the James R. Swartz Fellows program may be for you. Applications are open for the 2023-25 James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows cohort.
This initiative fast-tracks the careers of CMU's first year graduate students who are passionate about entrepreneurship. The highly selective program develops each Fellow's entrepreneurial potential and leadership skills through hands-on experiences, networking, mentoring and courses in entrepreneurship. Each Fellow is encouraged to seek a mentored, summer internship with a top-tier, VC-backed startup within the high-tech, high-growth environment of California's Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
The deadline to apply is Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.
Early applications are encouraged. Due to the competitive nature of this program and the limitation of 12-14 slots available, interviews will be based on the strength of the candidate's application and CMU program diversity. Info sessions will be scheduled in mid September.
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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| See the Fall 2023 schedule here.
Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
The CONNECTS seminars will resume at the start of the Fall semester in September, 2023. Find out more and see the full schedule.
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The mission of 99 Tartans is to partner with the highest potential, early-stage CMU alumni companies and accelerate their success through access to capital and networks. Find out more.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group connects the CMU community, alumni and students, to build an entrepreneurial culture and provide resources to help the community succeed. There are multiple region-based chapters within the group. Find out more and join the CMU T&E blog,
the CMU Tech Entrepreneur!
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The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
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| Pillsbury and Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC are holding office hours for the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The office hours are for any interested CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni interested in entrepreneurship or connecting with members of the Swartz Center network.
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Swartz Center Patron Office Hours
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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Legal Services Weekly Virtual Office Hours with Matt Kirmayer
Mondays 1:00-3:00 PM ET (10-12 PT)
Matt Kirmayer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, is currently offering office hours for newly established startup and emerging companies. Matt specializes in representing technology startups and emerging growth companies, assisting with entity formation, fundraising and overall growth needs. Startup companies with a founder who is a CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni is eligible to register for
an appointment.
To sign up for a 30 minute session with Matt, complete the Signup Form by the Thursday prior to your desired appointment. If you need to schedule an office hour outside of these regular hours,
contact Daria Stokes.
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Legal Services Weekly Office Hours
Sign up for weekly office hours.
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| PATRON SPOTLIGHT
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a multi-jurisdictional, full-service law firm that takes a progressive approach to providing counsel at each stage of a client’s life cycle. Their dedicated team works closely with its clients to form entities, advise on the most advantageous entity type and design and negotiate joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. If a client has a dispute, Steptoe & Johnson has a team of business and product liability litigators and labor and employment lawyers to guide clients through these often stressful and disruptive situations. Steptoe & Johnson brings a strong skillset for data privacy, cyber security and intellectual property matters which are frequent concerns for startups and technology companies. It offers competitive and flexible rates and aims to provide value to its clients.
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HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
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Swartz Center Education and Resources
No matter what phase of the entrepreneurship cycle you're in, there are programs and resources at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship that will take your idea to the next level. Find out more.
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Project Olympus Incubator Program
Want more help with finding product/market fit, developing your business model, making connections and attracting funding? Project Olympus will team you up with a business coach to develop a personalized ‘roadmap. Find out more.
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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
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The James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows program fast-tracks the careers of Carnegie Mellon University's first year graduate students who are passionate about entrepreneurship. Applications for the 2023-25 cohort will open soon. The deadline will be in October, 2023. Find out more.
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FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
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Have startup news or opportunities to share? Have questions about the Swartz Center Weekly Bulletin? Send news, opportunities or questions to Sonya Ford, Program Manager.
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
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