For students interested in entrepreneurship, the Kessler Fellows program provides a unique, funded opportunity to complete a summer internship at a startup of their choice.
The startups battling for $3 million in prize money in the fifth annual Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Business Competition aren’t just bringing revolutionary innovations to market that could change the way we feed our planet – they are enriching the region’s robust agri-food system, too.
After its inaugural cycle in 2022-23, Cornell University’s Life Sciences Technology Innovation Fellowship, formerly known as the BioEntrepreneurship Initiative, enters its second year with a new cohort of 15 business students and 12 researchers who are eager to embark on their journeys to becoming C-suite startup leaders.
Empire State Development (ESD) and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) today announced the 20 finalists selected to take part in year five of Grow-NY, a food and agriculture business competition focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster in upstate New York.
While some may think of Silicon Valley as the hub of startup activity, there’s no shortage of innovation and entrepreneurship on the East Coast.
Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) and Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center (NDFRC) announced that lu.lu Ice Cream, Oakfield Corners Cheese LLC, and Terra Firma Farm have been named winners of the inaugural Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition.
Photonect Interconnect Solutions, an I-Corps alumni company, recently secured a $274,996 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its photonic technology.
By Ananya Gambhiraopet With the business development phase of the Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition underway, the Dairy Innovation Program is proud to spotlight the 10 finalists selected for the inaugural competition. The Northeast has a rich history of producing high quality dairy products with vast growth potential and appeal to both at-home and institutional customers. The Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition supports entrepreneurs in the development of new, value-added products that utilize dairy ingredients produced in the Northeast. The competition saw over 50 applicants from which 10 finalists were selected, each receiving $20K in participant support, as well as individualized mentorship and business development guidance. Meet the 10 competition finalists: Bell & Goose Cheese Co: Based in South Hampton, N.H. , founder Anna Cantelmo spent more than a decade studying artisan cheese making before she started Bell & Goose. Bell & Goose sources its milk from local New Hampshire dairies to make a variety of cheeses, including Mustard Seed Butter Cheese, Hot Pepper Havarti, and its Marinated Feta Cheese, which earned them a spot in the Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition. lu.lu ice cream: Based in Vermont, founder Laura Mack founded lu.lu ice cream in 2014 close to her family’s restaurant. lu.lu’s natural flavorings and locally sourced ingredients are inspired by the farm-to-table style food that Mack grew up with. lu.lu ice cream has intriguing ice cream flavors such as, “Garden Basil” and “Semi-Charmed Kinda Life,” a Lucky Charm cereal milk infused ice cream. lu.lu earned its spot as a competition finalist with a new product: Goat’s Milk Gelato. Maia Yogurt: First created in founder Hamilton Colwell’s Manhattan apartment in 2010, Maia yogurt can now be found in multiple locations in the Northeast. Colwell created Maia with the goal of working with local family-owned farms and improving consumers’ health. Maia is currently sourced, made, and cupped in Pennsylvania, and became a competition finalist with its grass-fed yogurt for kids. Maple Valley Farm: The Shurtleff family has been farming at Maple Valley Farm for five generations, since Levi Shurtleff moved to North Bridgewater, Vt.. Maple Valley Farm is now predominantly a dairy farm with two seasonal farm stands where the Shurtleff’s sell their farm grown maple, pet products, and specialty products like pumpkin and saffron. Maple Valley Farm became a finalist with its saffron maple yogurt. Naturally Golden Family Farms Co-op: Naturally Golden Family Farms Co-op has been run by the Trotter family for four generations. There are two farms under Naturally Golden Family Farms: Maple Bottom and Trotacre, both located in Pennsylvania. The farms use Guernsey milk cows to produce the high-quality milk used for the farms’ value-added products. Naturally Golden Family Farms earned their spot as a finalist with its all natural, dairy-based coffee creamer. North Country Creamery: Owned and operated by Ashlee Kleinhammer in Keeseville, N.Y., North Country Creamery produces and sells farmstead cheeses, cream-line yogurts, and raw milk which are made from their Milking Shorthorn and Jersey Cows. North Country Creamery earned its finalist selection after working with their cheesemaker, Nico Brossar, to craft its semi-hard, pasteurized cheese. Oakfield Corners Cheese LLC: Oakfield Corners Cheese LLC is a division of Lamb Farms, Inc., which was founded in 1966 by the Lamb family in Oakfield, N.Y. Currently, Lamb Farms is owned and operated by the Lamb and Veazey families and maintains over six farm locations. Oakfield Corners Dairy works with some of the best cow families in the Holstein breed and placed as a finalist with its Mexican style cheese. Spekld: Jonah Gershon ‘24, a hotel administration major in the Nolan School of Hotel Administration at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, is the founder of Spekld. Spekld allows consumers to use brown butter instantly, coming in the form of a stick just like conventional butter. Gershon aims to help consumers use brown butter as easily as they would regular butter. Spekld plans to sustainably source the butter and work with small-scale organic farmers. Terra Firma Farm: Brianne Casadei directs Terra Firma Farm, which is based in North Stonington, Conn. Terra Firma Farm is a nonprofit community farm where everyone is welcome to learn the importance of local agriculture and community. Terra Firma Farm became a competition finalist with its ready-to-use, premium ice cream base. Very Good Yogurt: Anu Rangarajan is the co-founder of Very Good Yogurt, serves as the director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, and is a senior extension associate at the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. As the director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, Rangarajan helps farmers get expert assistance to facilitate small farm development. Very Good Yogurt earned a place as a competition finalist with its savory yogurts. These 10 finalists receive mentorship, access to Cornell resources, and time at Cornell’s Food Processing and Development Lab (FPDL). On August 8, the finalists will pitch to a panel of judges who will select up to three winners who will receive an additional $55K in funding and be featured at a Dairy Innovation Showcase at the Grow-NY Summit in November 2023.
By Ananya Gambhiraopet From accessible urgent care services to skill-based training centers in Indonesia, the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management is excited to unveil the diverse group of 25 startups that make up the 2023 Johnson Summer Startup Accelerator (JSSA) cohort. JSSA is a 10-week summer intensive program that helps students pursue their entrepreneurship goals while continuing with their full-time jobs or internships. As most programming is conducted virtually, students are able to experience the benefits of the program from anywhere. While in JSSA, students develop their business plans, participate in weekly workshops, build connections through networking events and receive 1:1 mentorship and support from a dedicated Entrepreneur-in-Residence. The programming also includes a trek to New York City, where the cohort will have the opportunity to connect with founders, investors and the Cornell entrepreneurial community in the Big Apple. Two-year MBA participants who choose to work full time on their startup over the summer and are entering their second year were able to apply for a stipend from the Vrinda Kadiyali Student Entrepreneur Fund. Stephen Smith ‘91, MBA ‘95, established the fund in honor of Vrinda Kadiyali, the Nicholas H. Noyes Professor of Management. Professor Kadiyali inspired Smith to launch his own startup, which ultimately became Naviance, the American college and career readiness software. Smith believes that the summer between the first and second years is a key time for MBA students who plan to launch their own businesses, prompting him to establish the fund to alleviate the financial burden on students who wanted to focus on entrepreneurial ventures instead of paid internships. This year’s recipients of the Vrinda Kadiyali Student Entrepreneur Fund are Hailee Greene, MBA ‘24, Christiani Sagala, MBA ‘24, and Shao (Justin) Chen, MBA ‘24. Greene, co-founder of GreeneAcres Processing, is “looking forward to the mentorship opportunities that JSSA will provide us as we seek to sign letters of intent with growers and buyers.” Meet the cohort: The 25 startups participating in the 2023 Johnson Summer Startup Accelerator make up the largest cohort to date. Get to know the teams that compose this year’s accelerator: AMARI: Creates wellness products that fit the environment and genetic requirements of a melanin-skinned demographic, founded by Harveen Bawa, M.Eng. ‘23. Andrew Jacob Media: Creatively and effectively captures and promotes your brand's unique message through exceptional marketing, photography and video services, founded by Andrew Meade, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. ArteOpia: Provides virtual space in the art world, creating an ecosystem that celebrates inspiration and creativity, founded by Yihan Zhu, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. Buyer Force: Helps buyers save time and resources, ensuring they are buying the best product for their team while aiding business development teams with revenue creation and more accurate sales forecasting, founded by Ryan Collins, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. CampusGo: A socially responsible transportation and delivery platform designed specifically for college students, CampusGo offers rewards for completing deliveries, sharing rides and promoting community and sustainability, founded by Katherine (Xiaomin) Chen, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. Commons: Social networking and event management platform that helps event planners bring people together and engage them through interactive social activities, founded by Sidney Idemudia, Executive MBA Americas class of 2023. CryBaby: Equips new parents with knowledge, insights, comfort, and convenience during some of the most stressful moments of the most exciting phase of their lives, founded by Eric Engman, Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership class of 2023. Gig-Up!: Matches gig-workers to customers to-do-lists via AI, founded by Trishala (Trish) Dessai, One-Year MBA class of 2023. Glamesque: Reinvents beauty, makeup and glam, founded by Jacqueline Ochoa, Executive MBA Americas class of 2024. GreeneAcres Processing: The first Industrial Hemp processing company in the Northeast, fills the gap between growing hemp at mass scale to process and sell to companies wishing to produce every day goods based with hemp, co-founded by Kadiyali Fund recipient Hailee Greene and Danielle Falcon, both Two-Year MBAs class of 2024. Koffee Mission Possible (KMP): A unique and chic coffee truck that offers a wide range of coffee selections from around the world, catering to coffee lovers with refined taste, co-founded by May Yu and FeiFei Huang, both Executive MBA Metro NY class of 2022. Mom Majesty: A vector that connects pregnant women with doulas to provide emotional, physical, social and culturally appropriate support, founded by Dr. Nichele Nivens, Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership class of 2024. NaviGo: A travel booking platform that utilizes a proprietary algorithm to assign a deal score to every combination of flights and hotels, helping travelers quickly identify the best value for their trip, founded by Yuqi Bai, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. NextGen Gaming AI: Utilizes generative AI technology to assist game studios in creating scenes and assets, ultimately improving the efficiency and quality of game development, founded by Xufan Chen, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. Sperow: A space to grow, Sperow provides skill-based training centers for the good quality workforce of Indonesia, founded by Kadiyali Fund recipient Christiani Sagala, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. The Right to Warmth: Provides customers a means to accessible, premium fashion, founded by Kadiyali Fund recipient Shao (Justin) Chen, Two-Year MBA class of 2024. To Make More Money: Offers a multisided platform and consulting services to medium to large, diverse-owned businesses that desire to engage with one another to understand their business goals, identify gaps in the tactical execution towards these goals and find ways that each can help the other fulfill their respective strategic visions, founded by Tamika Money, Two-Year MBA class of 2023. Tomtech EV: Provides design engineering services for EV charging solutions for new or existing residential and commercial buildings, co-founded by Michelle Tomasian, Two-Year MBA class of 2024, with her sister, Marlow Tomasian. Tran-Franklin: Increases operational efficiencies at fertility clinics, co-founded by Gallop Franklin and Quynh Tran, both Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership class of 2024. Urgent Care Everywhere, LLC: Provides accessible urgent care services by leveraging tele-health while effectively reducing Emergency Room wait times and closing the communication loop with Primary Care Providers, founded by Ray Bey, Executive MBA Americas class of 2023. Varyance: Reinvents the way companies forecast and manage cash flows, founded by Adam Frenkel and Krishna Adusumilli, both Executive MBA Americas class of 2024. Waypoint: A patient navigation platform delivering greater control and community for chronic illness patients in their disease journeys, empowering them to better navigate the medical system, co-founded by James Wylie Deitch ‘23 and Julio Alex Albarracín, MPS-RE ‘23. We Buy Textile Waste!: Diverts textiles from municipal solid waste (MSW) by setting up collections in multi-story residential buildings, founded by Yusuf Kappaya, Executive MBA Americas class of 2023. Wholesome - Wellness Optimized: Provides a platform and a blueprint to demystify wellness across nutrition, fitness, sleep, stress management and life and relationship coaching, founded by Brandon Jernigan, Executive MBA Americas class of 2024. Zahk Properties: A registered Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, provides the US government with technology and equipment, founded by John Khazraee, Executive MBA Americas class of 2024. Chen, founder of The Right to Warmth and one of three Kadiyali Fund recipients, says, “I hope to solidify the foundation for this business through market research and risk analysis, as well as set up distribution channels before running production and warehousing inventory in late summer or fall of 2023.” Founder of Sperow and Kadiyali Fund recipient Christiani Sagala hopes to gain a community where she “can grow as an entrepreneur and be accountable for developing (her) start-up.” The teams are in the midst of the accelerator’s curriculum and meeting virtually for content sessions with industry experts and mentors. The program will conclude with a demo day event in Ithaca in September where teams will pitch their businesses and share their progress. Originally published in Around Cornell.
