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Leah Lizarondo Joins the CMU Swartz Center as an
Entrepreneur In Residence
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| Leah Lizarondo, the founder of Food Rescue Hero, a food recovery technology platform used in over 25 cities, has joined the CMU Swartz Center as an Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR).
Food Rescue Hero's platform has redirected over 100M pounds of perfectly good food from going to waste toward feeding people experiencing food insecurity. Prior to founding Food Rescue Hero, Leah has worked in technology, focused on investment, market and brand strategy for early stage companies and in brand management for global FMCG. Leah has won numerous awards for her work including Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award in 2020 and the Vital Voices' Global Leadership Award. Most recently, she was recognized in the Grist 50, a list of emerging leaders creating impactful solutions to climate change.
Leah is a Rockefeller Foundation/Acumen Fellow and received her graduate degree in Public Policy & Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. She was born and raised in the Philippines and currently
lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
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| Aug X Labs Integrates Voice Cloning
by ElevenLabs
Founded by Carnegie Mellon Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences alumnus Jeremy Toeman, 2023 VentureBridge startup Aug X Labs has announced it has integrated Voice Cloning by ElevenLabs. The amazing feature allows users to quickly create professional, quality videos in the sound of their own voice. It is the first AI Video editor with
AI Voice Cloning.
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| Two CMU Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering Alumni Double Team Innovation in Sport
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One of the most common complaints among consumers who purchase and use inflatable balls is that they inevitably go flat. An airless solution to remedy this issue in basketballs is in progress with two Carnegie Mellon University materials science and biomedical engineering alumni, Nadine Lippa and Dave Krzeminski, at the forefront of its development.
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Shelfmark Sees Its Tech Deployed at Select 7-Eleven Locations in Pittsburgh
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Shelfmark Inc., founded by Tepper School of Business alumnus and CEO Pat O’Donnell, now has its Scout system of inventory-scanning cameras hanging from the ceilings of select 7-Eleven convenience store locations throughout Pittsburgh. A spinout of Glen Lake Pioneering—a tech venture studio that took over a portion of space previously used by the Avenue coworking facility this past March—Shelfmark makes tech that can detect and monitor various types of inventory on store shelves in real-time.
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The Swartz Center's CONNECTS Seminars Return for
the Fall Semester!
The Swartz Center is excited to announce its Fall CONNECTS Seminar Series! These seminars aim to enhance the experiential education of anyone interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. Tailored mainly for students to help take their ideas from conception to commercialization, the seminars run throughout the academic year, beginning in September. Teams looking for talent and talent looking for teams are encouraged to CONNECT at these events.
All CONNECTS events will be hosted in-person at the Swartz Center, Tepper Quad, 3rd Level. A virtual option will also be available. See the Fall schedule here.
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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.
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)
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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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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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VentureBridge Demo Day 2023
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| Since 2018, the VentureBridge (VB) program, part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, has supported Carnegie Mellon alumni founders in building on their bold ideas by providing pre-seed funding, office space and introducing them to potential customers, investors and mentors as part of its summer accelerator. The VB startups are a growing portfolio that includes a mix of consumer and enterprise, software and hardware, that has raised over $120M from top tier institutional investors in follow-on funding.
Join us in Pittsburgh on September 20, New York on September 27 and Silicon Valley on October 3 to watch VB '23 startups and select VB-alumni present their innovations and successes to date.
These in-person events will be followed by a reception. Registration is required for each event. Visit the
VB Demo Day page for the schedule of events.
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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 two-year program 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 in September, 2023. Find out more and see the full schedule.
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|  9/13
REGISTER
Designing a Product Culture
(Brad Eiben, CMU)
| |  9/14
REGISTER
Business Model Canvas: A Practical Guide
(Craig Markovitz, CMU Swartz Center)
| |  9/19
REGISTER
Valuation and Capitalization
(Matt Kirmayer, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP)
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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
TD Cowen
TD Securities offers a wide range of capital markets products and services to corporate, government and institutional clients who choose us for our innovation, execution and experience. With over 6,500 professionals operating out of 40 cities across the globe, we help clients meet their needs today and prepare for tomorrow. Our services include underwriting and distributing new issues, providing trusted advice and industry-leading insight, extending access to global markets and delivering integrated transaction banking solutions.
In 2023, TD Securities acquired Cowen Inc., offering its clients access to a premier U.S. equities business and highly-diverse equity research franchise, while growing its strong, diversified investment bank. We are growth-oriented, people-focused and community-minded. As a team, we work to deliver value for our clients every day.
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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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