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Calling ALL Current CMU Student Entrepreneurs!
Register your team by December 3 to receive a coach
Registration opens today for the 2025 McGinnis Venture Competition, a platform exclusively for Carnegie Mellon University's community of student entrepreneurs. This competition brings together Carnegie Mellon's best and brightest student entrepreneurs to compete for $60K in investments. All participants receive crucial interaction with alumni entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, an opportunity to raise capital and valuable feedback about ventures.
New this year: Social Enterprise Prize Track!
Ready to create a company that makes an impact on the world's biggest challenges? The Swartz Center Social Enterprise Prize is a new competition at Carnegie Mellon University designed to empower students to develop entrepreneurial solutions for social and environmental challenges.
Learn more about the competition and hear from previous participants at an info session:
Info Session - January 8
Register
Register your team by Tuesday, December 3, 2024 to receive a coach!
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|  | Hack-A-Startup organizers: Daniela Decoud, Amanda Manget and Nisarg Doshi
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Congratulations to the Hack-a-Startup Winners!
The Spark Igniting Pittsburgh’s Startup Scene
The Hack-a-Startup competition wrapped up on Saturday, November 16, with three teams earning top honors and nearly $10K in cash prizes. Organized by the Graduate Entrepreneurship Club’s directors Amanda Manget, James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow, Daniela Decoud, and Nisarg Doshi, the event, held at the Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center, brought together CMU undergraduates, graduates, and PhDs from diverse backgrounds to pitch ideas, refine prototypes and tackle real-world challenges.
Supported by sponsors Accel, Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative and InnovatePGH, the competition provided the participants with the tools and guidance needed to refine their ideas. Over two weeks, the top fifteen finalist teams attended workshops led by industry experts, worked closely with mentors and conducted over fifty customer discovery interviews to transform their concepts into MVPs. The event culminated in final pitches to a panel of judges representing startup founders, academia, venture capital and the tech industry.
The Winners:
1. PlanWise ($4,000): Using AI to improve dental treatment plans by reducing malpractice and enhancing transparency.
Team: Max, Hsiao, Tepper, MBA; Aimee Langevin, James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow, SCS, MSAII; Amine Bouayad, MCS, MS-DAS; Anshika Agarwal, iii (COE), MIIPS; Jacinto Suner, SCS, AI; Ethan Hilton, B.S. AI & Business.
2. Relayd ($2,500 + $1,000 Patient Safety Technology Prize): An AI tool helping nurses focus more on patient care by reducing administrative burdens (also winners of the Patient Safety
Technology Challenge).
Team: Abiraami Muthukumar, MIIPS; Shubhaa Chawla, James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow, MIIPS; Austin Lignell, Tepper, MBA; Saicharan Emmadi; Neharika Srivastav, MISM
3. Solstis ($1,500): A no-code AI platform automating workflows for project management tools.
Team: Pratik Satija, CIT, AIE; Vignesh, Menon, CIT, AIE; Samika Sanghvi, SCI, CS.
By the Numbers:
• 60+ Ideas pitched
• 30 Teams formed
• 30 Mentor-startup matches
• 15 MVPs developed
• 300+ Customer discovery interviews conducted
Thank you to the Judges and Sponsors!
The final event featured a distinguished panel of judges, including Ari Lightman (CMU), Phillip Robertson (Google), Liam Krut (Reinforced Ventures), Cigdem Benam (Innovation Works), and Lindsay Fairman (Blue Tree VC). Volunteers such as Anika Halappanavar, Nidhisha Voonna and Jahnavi Patel played a key role in ensuring the event’s success.
Hack-a-Startup continues to highlight Carnegie Mellon’s established reputation as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. For these entrepreneurs, it’s just the beginning.
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| Sabana Headed to Techstars Chicago Demo Day!
Ruben Quesada, James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow, and Saket Kulkarni, co-founders of Sabana, are returning to Chicago for Techstars AI Demo Day on December 5, 2024 at Google's Fulton Market office. The company allows its users to accelerate product research and construction specifications,
“At Sabana (Techstars ‘24), we’ve been hard at work and excited to share what we’ve been working on over the past few months,” says Ruben. Sabana, which allows its users to accelerate product research and construction specifications, will be unveiling their new beta version at Demo Day. If you are in the area and interested in attending, register or check the website.
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|  | Meredith Grelli with Leif Johnson Jr., CEO of Open Arms Health Care, LLC
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Exciting Things Happening at Carnegie Mellon
University’s Family Business Initiative
Led by Meredith Grelli, the Family Business Peer Advisory Groups, part of the CMU Swartz Center's Family Business Initiative, are now in their second year, and already making waves.
"Twenty four family business leaders attend for six peer advising sessions throughout the year. Each session dives deep into real challenges faced by one of our members, with the group working together to brainstorm ideas, offer fresh perspectives and map out actionable steps forward. The results? Game-changing insights and stronger businesses", says Meredith in her recent LinkedIn post.
Leif Johnson Jr., CEO of Open Arms Health Care, LLC, is the co-facilitator for this year’s program.
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| Tepper MBA Ashwini Karanth Highlighted in CMU's Scott Institute for Energy Innovation's November Newsletter
First-year MBA candidate and 2024-26 James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Ashwini Karanth, is spotlighted in the CMU Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation's November newsletter, highlighting her focus on Electronic Vehicle research.
Ashwini holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from MSR Institute of Technology in Bangalore, India and a Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, New York. With a deep passion for enhancing public infrastructure in underserved communities, Ashwini’s career spans across private, non-profit and public sectors. At Gannett Fleming, she specialized in transportation technologies like Electric Vehicles, Autonomous Vehicles and Roadway Automation, advising various government agencies on their strategic transportation planning needs.
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CMU Student Led, Early-stage Startup Seeks Input
to Improve Road Safety
A group of CMU students are conducting a short survey to better understand drivers’ experiences with wildlife on the road. Your insights are invaluable and will help the them explore new ways to improve road safety for everyone. The survey takes just five minutes to complete, and responses will
remain anonymous.
As a thank-you, three participants will be randomly select to receive a $15 Apple Gift Card. If you’re one of the lucky winners, you will be contacted directly after the survey closes. Thank you for helping us make the roads safer for both drivers and wildlife. We truly appreciate your time and input.
Click here to share your thoughts!
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CMU Students! Apply By November 22, 2024
The Hult Prize On Campus program serves as the first phase of the annual US $1,000,000 Hult Prize competition. Student volunteers, known as Campus Directors, organize training programs and community events at their universities focused on the Hult Prize challenge of the Year.
Email Leah Lizarondo if interested and for more information.
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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The CONNECTS Seminars have ended for the Fall semester and will resume in January, 2025.
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| Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
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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| Click the images to see upcoming Club events!
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The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group aims to build a bridge between CMU students and alumni across the startup and tech continuum. With main chapters in NYC, Pittsburgh, and SF, we offer a range of in-person and online events and programming in the form of panels, workshops, founder/investor engagements, startup support, and socials to foster collaboration, innovation, and networking opportunities.
Join 7,000+ Tartans on our Slack workspace and mailing list for resources and updates on how you can engage in the community and CMU entrepreneurial ecosystem. Find out more and
get involved!
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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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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 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. Complete the Signup Form for a 30 minute session by the Thursday prior to your
desired appointment.
Contact Daria Stokes for office hours outside of these regular hours.
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| PATRON SPOTLIGHT
Goodwin
Goodwin is a full service law firm with practice areas and expertise specifically tailored to represent startup companies in all of their legal needs including IP, corporate, employment, contracts, transactions, litigation, and much more. The Firm has put in place special startup-friendly pricing packages uniquely designed for Carnegie Mellon University companies.
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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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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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