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Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality
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November 2025
Hello Incubator Family,
As we move into the winter, there’s a renewed energy in our incubator — and for good reason. We’re thrilled to welcome our Fall 2025 cohort of 7 companies, each bringing fresh ideas, bold ambition, and that unmistakable entrepreneurial spirit that defines the Innovation Hub Incubator and NYU SPS community. Over the coming months, they’ll engage with mentors, refine their business models, and scale their ventures. Keep reading this newsletter to find out more about these companies and their purpose in their respective industries.
Meanwhile, some major highlights from recent weeks: a collaboration between the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality and HBX has progressed to the white-paper stage — keep an eye out for more information soon on this strategic exploration of hyper-personalization in travel. And speaking of hospitality, mark your calendar for the upcoming collaborative event with Hilton, designed to introduce students and startup founders to the business models, innovation opportunities, and franchise structures within Hilton Hotels.
At its core, our incubator remains more than just a program — it’s a living ecosystem of founders, mentors, and industry partners pushing boundaries and creating the future of hospitality, travel, and technology. As we embrace the road ahead, I invite you to stay connected, stay curious, and keep building — one idea at a time.
— Dr. K
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| Introducing the Fall 2025 Cohort!
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Altura Lacrosse SeriesAltura, meaning “the vertical rise to the highest point.” Altura Lacrosse Series goes beyond the traditional tournament by blending elite lacrosse competition with empowerment, education, and leadership development to help athletes grow both on and off the field. This series not only offers high-level competition but also hands-on training workshops, product demos, and inspiring panel discussions with collegiate and professional athletes, creating an engaging curriculum designed to strengthen the athletes skills and confidence. With this holistic solution for coaches and players, we stand by our mission to provide more meaningful experiences that are accessible to players from all backgrounds. Altura Lacrosse Series ensures that every athlete leaves with more than just a score. This is an experience built to elevate their game and their future; ultimately, redefining the youth sports experience.
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BreadcrumbBreadcrumb is an agentic business-to-business reporting platform. We empower hospitality and travel businesses to scale personalized reporting to every customer, partner, and stakeholder without needing a data team. In hospitality and travel, business reporting is often slow, manual, and bottlenecked by manual data work. Operators and vendors struggle to personalize insights for each property, partner, or market. As a result, opportunities are lost because decision-makers can’t access the right data when it matters. Breadcrumb solves this “last mile” of personalization by empowering non-technical users. Through an intuitive, conversational interface, business users can combine, explore, visualize, and share data - while AI agents handle the manual work.
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CareMetric HubThe story of Care Metric Hub begins with a simple but powerful observation: in a system as advanced as American healthcare, it's astounding that a primary care physician still cannot get a simple, consolidated view of how their patients are doing and how their practice is performing. This daily reality of administrative burden and data blindness is what fuels our mission. We saw that the move to value-based care, while well-intentioned, was adding another layer of complexity without providing the necessary tools for success.
This deep empathy is baked into our platform—a single, unified environment that feels less like a software product and more like a capable partner. It automatically highlights care gaps, forecasts a practice's standing in its shared savings programs, and facilitates meaningful patient follow-up. We are building Care Metric Hub not just as a company, but as a catalyst for a more humane and rational healthcare system, where technology serves people, not the other way around, and where every stakeholder is empowered to succeed.
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ClairdocClairdoc is building the future of medical billing with AI. Our platform acts as a denial-prevention copilot for outpatient clinics — automatically scanning claims to catch and correct issues before submission. By transforming complex billing data into clear, actionable insights, Clairdoc helps clinics reduce denials, recover revenue, and focus on what truly matters: delivering care.
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ReachhhThe Hyperlocal Ad Network REACHHH creates a new-age hyperlocal a network powered by these real, trusted people. For example, a protein bar manufacturing brand could use the REACHHH platform to activate 50 gym trainers in a specific set of zip codes instead of putting the fund into buying a billboard. The platform organizes these "invisible" local professionals and firms into a scalable, trackable, and verifiable network, turning them into "America's New Billboards,” a new advertising channel that is more authentic and targeted.
The "Swipe UiUX" Matchmaking that connects the two sides of the network. A brand can log in, browse creator profiles on the "Reachhh Map," and filter by ZIP code or venue. Creators have their own dashboard where they can see brands and campaign offers. They can "swipe right" on the brands or campaigns they are interested in.
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We.TourWe.Tour LLC is a New York-based tour company that employs local college students as licensed tour guides. The company's goal is to offer more affordable tours compared to standard market prices by utilizing students as guides. The company operates on the idea that local students who have lived or studied in the area for a long time can provide tours of local places. Tours can be offered as private or as part of a tour plan listed on the platform.
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Yasha's Breakfast SandwichesYasha’s Breakfast Sandwiches is an elevated breakfast restaurant concept that blends creativity and innovation with genuine and personalized hospitality. The aim at Yasha's is to combine the familiarity and comfort of a classic breakfast sandwich with bold flavors, elevated culinary techniques, and thoughtful presentation—all served quickly for those on the go. Each sandwich is built with intention, from house-made toppings to carefully sourced breads and proteins, creating a memorable morning experience that feels both indulgent and accessible.
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Open Doors: The Hilton Entrepreneurship Experience
NYU I Hub Incubator Presents: "Open Doors: The Hilton Entrepreneurship Experience." Learn more from Hilton executives about business models, innovation opportunities, and franchise structures within Hilton Hotels. Attendees have a chance to win a Hampton Be My Guest Certificate!
SAVE THE DATE:
📅 Date & Time: Monday, December 1, 2025 at 2 PM- 4 PM EST
📍 Location: NYU SPS HI Hub - 7th Floor
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Why the looming AI-induced channel explosion could be a win for independents
Agentic AI — autonomous systems that act across the web — is reshaping how travelers book stays. Instead of relying on traditional platforms, guests will soon turn to AI assistants that understand their preferences and book directly. For big brands, this shift means complexity. But for independent operators, it’s a breakthrough — opening new gateways to guests and leveling the playing field.
Read more below to see how AI is turning distribution from chaos to opportunity.
Read the full article by PhocusWire.
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How I’m Using AI to Grow My Business and Empower (Not Replace) My Team
AI shouldn’t make people obsolete — it should make them unstoppable. From simplifying workflows and analyzing data faster to improving communication and training, AI is becoming a tool for empowerment, not replacement. The key is using it to remove roadblocks and amplify what humans do best: creativity, problem-solving, and connection.
Read more below to explore how leaders are using AI to elevate their teams, not erase them. Read the full article by Entrepreneur.
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This Founder Solved His ‘Biggest Mistake’ to Go From 0 to 500,000 Customers
This story reveals a founder’s wake-up call: they launched with the wrong pricing structure, heard the market’s true voice, pivoted fast—and landed their first customer. Then they scaled to half a million.
Read more below to find out how unbundling value and listening closely unlocked growth.
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| Get to Know Your Mentors and Investors!
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Why did you decide to become a mentor/investor for the Hospitality Innovation Hub Incubator?
"I became a mentor and investor for the Hospitality Innovation Hub Incubator because I believe in supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. Mentorship played a huge role in my own journey, and I want to give back by helping startups navigate the hospitality industry. The incubator is a great space to innovate, share my experience, and help new businesses grow."
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Quote of the Month
"Don’t worry about being successful, but work toward being significant and the success will naturally follow.”
- Oprah Winfrey
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