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The CMU Swartz Center Celebrates Black Entrepreneurs During Black History Month
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The CMU Swartz Center joins Carnegie Mellon University in celebrating Black History Month by acknowledging Black student and alumni entrepreneurs who are blazing the trail. These entrepreneurs will be featured during the remainder of February.
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Courtney Williamson, Ph.D is the founder and CEO of AbiliLife, Inc., a bioengineering company developing products to improve the quality of life for Parkinson's disease patients. Courtney invented the Calibrace+ back brace, which is a brace specifically designed for Parkinson's patients to improve posture and balance while maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. Find out more about Courtney and see more great entrepreneurs below.
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|  |  Tania Taloute (Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow), Project Manager, Lumis Corp
| |  Jonathan Dyer (Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow, Innovation Scholar), Northrop Grumman
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DeltaTrainer Partners With World's Largest Gym Chain
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Pittsburgh startup DeltaTrainer announced this week that it has partnered with the largest gym chain in the world, Anytime Fitness of SE Brands. Co-founded by CMU Engineering graduate and CEO Matt Spettel, along with Gabe Madonna, DeltaTrainer's partnership with Anytime Fitness will help millions of individuals to stay healthy. Read more. Related: Pittsburgh Business Times
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| Forest Devices Announces Positive Study Results for Their Stroke Detection Technology
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| Forest Devices, Inc., founded by CMU Heinz College alumnus Matt Kesinger, has announced the publication of positive results from the EDGAR study of its AlphaStroke™ technology in identifying patients with large vessel occlusive (LVO) strokes in emergency departments in the American Heart Association Journal, STROKE.
Forest Devices, Inc. is a medical device company based in Pittsburgh, PA and Calgary, Alberta that has developed AlphaStroke™, the first pre-hospital stroke detection technology. The company strives to reduce functional disability from stroke by eliminating delays in stroke treatment. Read more.
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Shield AI Raises $90M in Series C Funding
Shield AI, a defense-technology company using self-driving software to enable unmanned systems to operate without GPS and communications, announced that it has raised $90M in a Series C round through equity and debt financing. The lead investor was Point72 Ventures.
Shield AI was founded by Brandon Tseng, a former Navy SEAL, Ryan Tseng, a successful tech entrepreneur, and autonomy expert Andrew Reiter. Led by CTO Nathan Michael of Carnegie Mellon University, the team of 150+ engineers is focused on developing AI systems that operate on the edge. Read more.
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| CMU Startups Selected as Finalists in SXSW Pitch 2021
CMU's Sarika Bajaj (VentureBridge and MSTV), founder of Refiberd, JJ Xu, founder of TalkMeUp and Tim Mueller-Sim, co-founder of Bloomfield Robotics, are among the finalists selected to pitch in the SXSW Pitch 2021. The categories the startups will represent are: Refiberd (Social and Culture); TalkMeUp (Future of Work); Bloomfield Robotics (AI, Robotics/Voice). Find out more about the teams.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS/SPECIAL EVENTS
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Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh
Virtual Startup Job Fair
March 11, 2021 | 12:00-3:00 PM; EST
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In partnership with Handshake, CMU and Pitt are hosting a virtual 2021 Startup Job Fair on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Past years have proven the Startup Job Fair to be a success, and this new format will provide even more reach for startups to attract top talent. Startups will have the opportunity to build their team and university students will have a chance to work in an exciting startup environment. If you have not participated in a virtual job fair, you will be given instructions and personal assistance if needed.
Eligibility
This NO-FEE Job Fair is for startup companies up to five years old that are looking for paid positions: interns, part-time, or full-time employees.
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CONNECTS/START SMART LAW Seminars
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| See the full Spring 2021 schedule here.
Can't make a CONNECTS seminar? Watch on our YouTube channel.
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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. Please visit and find out more.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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| CMU TECH & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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The focus of the CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship is to connect the CMU community, alumni and students, building an entrepreneurial culture and providing resources for the community to succeed. There are multiple region-based chapters within the group. Find out more.
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Upcoming Events for YCombinator Aspirants!
CMU Virtual Shark Tank
March 15, 2021|5-7PM, PST
Join the CMU T&E for a virtual Shark Tank is a platform where budding CMU entrepreneurs will get an opportunity to pitch their startup in a live, virtual event to experienced investor and CMU graduate,
Ivan Kirigin. Participants will receive real-time feedback and advice from Ivan, who has a long career that spans several industries. Apply to attend the event.
Apply to pitch by March 8, 2021
Y-Combinator 1:1 Mentorship
This initiative is aimed at helping current YC applicants to connect with former YC alumni who will provide feedback and advice on their application. Applicants will be paired with a YC mentor who will provide personalized insight on their application. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Sign up here.
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CMU Startup EKTO VR Seeks Beta Testers for EKTO ONE
EKTO ONE, the world's first robotic VR movement solution, needs your help to improve its functionality. A product of CMU startup EKTO VR, a participant in the Swartz Center's VentureBridge and NSF I-Corps programs, the company is looking for beta testers to try out EKTO ONE in both an industrial training VR experience and as a gaming VR experience. All levels of prior VR experience are welcome and as a thank you, EKTO VR will be raffling off two Amazon gift cards worth $25!
Beta testers should meet the following requirements:
• Age: 18 - 55
• Shoe size: US Men's 7 - 14 / US Women's 8.5 - 15.5
• Weight: 120 - 250 pounds
• Height: 5' 4" - 6' 4"
• Able and willing to walk for at least 30 minutes
Testing will take place during a 2-hour slot on one of six days from February 24 through March 6 at Nova Tower One, One, Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. COVID precautions will be strictly observed. EKTO VR team members will be masked and gloved and beta testers must be masked as well. The VR system will be sanitized between each beta tester. Each 2-hour slot will be dedicated to a single beta tester and overlap with the preceding and subsequent beta testers will be minimized.
Email questions to Brad Factor at brad@ektovr.com. Still interested? Complete the quick 4-part questionnaire.
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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
The Swartz Center's Project Olympus incubator program welcomes all students, faculty, staff and alumni from all schools at any stage, including social enterprise and life-style business ideas. Find out more. Sign up for Expert Office Hours.
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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
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The VentureBridge Program
VentureBridge is an initiative of the Swartz Center to help early stage Carnegie Mellon alumni founders develop their startups into fundable seed stage ventures. This effort is outside of the traditional education model and serves as a bridge between the many different ecosystems that Carnegie Mellon University alumni live and work. Find out more.
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FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
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