Startup Shell’s Fall 2023 Highlights
Fall semester has finally come to a close! We get it, you’re itching to dive into the new year and get your grind on. But hold up, let’s hit pause and take a minute to reflect upon all that the amazing ideators, builders, and entrepreneurs of Startup Shell have accomplished this semester.
Applications
Startup Shell received a whopping 239 applications, a testament to UMD’s strong culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. In fact, UMD has climbed into the nation’s top five colleges for cultivating student entrepreneurialism according to rankings released by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
Interested in learning more about the new cohort? Check them out here!
Fundraising
In the spirit of the holidays, we launched a Friends and Family fundraising campaign, and the response has blown us away. To date, our community has rallied together, raising nearly $5,000 to support the growth and innovation within Startup Shell!
To further empower our students in building the next billion-dollar startup, we invite you to donate here or explore our shell wishlist! Your contribution will help us host speaker events with successful entrepreneurs, cover students' incorporation and marketing costs for their ventures, and even finance their prototyping and manufacturing expenses.
Your support makes a difference, and as we continue this fundraising journey, we're grateful for every partner, friend, and family member who joins us in shaping the next chapter of Startup Shell.
Events
The Fall semester at Startup Shell was marked by a vibrant array of events, bringing together our community in celebration of entrepreneurship, creativity, and collaboration.
Speaker Events
Michael Antonov, co-founder and former Chief Software Architect at Oculus, hosted a live Q&A session that illuminated the challenges and triumphs of building Oculus.
Juliana Neelbauer, a partner in the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP led an interactive ShellTalk alongside attorney Meeren Amin, where she took in the audience’s thoughts on the industry’s current events and discussed the IP, patent, and data-related laws surrounding them.
Steve Shaw, a network engineer at Jump Trading, provided valuable insights as he peeled back the layers of his previous startup's downfall. Steve dove into the challenges of a tech-centric venture, shedding light on his biggest pitfalls including engineering bottlenecks and the struggle to find product-market fit.
Sheller Camryn Streib took the stage with her shell talk centered on photography and design principles, film development processes, and the intersection of analog film and technology. Attendees gained insights into Startup Shell's new film development and photography equipment that we recently purchased with the Launch UMD fund!
Small Artists, Big Talent
A highlight of Startup Shell, SABT held a night of festivities celebrating local small businesses and showcasing live performances by spoken word artists, comedians, dancers, and musicians. These events, run by Sheller Takiyah and Dare to Dream, have become synonymous with artistic expression and community connection.
Retreat
Breaking free from the usual startup grind, Startup Shell kicked back with a retreat in Dover, Delaware. Surrounded by scenic trails, we enjoyed a few epic nights of having ridiculous three am conversations, fighting over the limited supply of blankets, and eating way too many pop tarts. It was a much-needed break from our screens, as we hiked through crisp fall weather, wrapping up our days with horror movies and marshmallow roast sessions underneath the stars.
Sheller Highlights
Now, let us look back on the several outstanding ventures that have flourished within our community this semester, as well as celebrate the significant milestones achieved by some of our alumni’s companies.
Student Ventures
Korion Health
Korion Health, co-founded by Akshaya Anand (Spring 2023) and Anna Li, revolutionizes healthcare by empowering patients to conduct heart and lung screenings from the comfort of their homes using a USB-electronic stethoscope paired with a user-friendly web application. The company participated in the American Heart Association’s 2023 EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator, securing a $50,000 grant out of 12 other participants. Additionally, Korion Health received the Racial Equity Award worth $75,000 in the 2023 BNY Mellon UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge. On the sales front, Korion Health is making substantial strides, having received a second letter of intent. We can’t wait to see more of the positive impact they will undoubtedly make in the healthcare industry.
Redhelm Labs
Redhelm Labs, co-founded by Neil Sorkin (Fall 2022) and Jake Muller, aims to transform the drone industry with exciting new technologies that empower businesses and individuals with efficient, safe, and sustainable aerial solutions. This semester, Redhelm Labs secured a substantial $275,000 non-dilutive Phase 1 SBIR contract from DARPA. This funding will be instrumental in the development of their prototype and we can’t wait to see it!
Ticker
Ticker, co-founded by Max Harris (Fall 2022), is an investment platform and marketplace for venture capital LP secondaries. This unique platform facilitates seamless transactions by connecting limited partners with secondary purchasers, enabling them to sell portions of their fund equity. This not only provides limited partners with valuable opportunities for early liquidity but also opens up avenues for strategic exits.
Having forged partnerships with brokers, Ticker has a live platform that actively facilitates the smooth execution of LP secondary transactions. Currently, the platform is in the process of onboarding its first set of funds and investors, starting its journey in the investment landscape.
Vyne
Vyne, co-founded by Vaughn Hatfield (Fall 2023) and Shaurya Saran (Fall 2023), is a digital marketplace thrifting app tailored to university students with an intuitive swiping feature that allows for simple, easy browsing and a straightforward two-step process so anyone can upload and share items. With over 500 users currently engaged and approximately 12 student-run businesses on its platform, Vyne is gaining traction! Vaughn and Shaurya envision expanding Vyne beyond its current scope, aiming to reach campuses nationwide!
Alumni Ventures
Mano AI
Mano AI, co-founded by Omar Mihilmy (Fall 2016) and Nicolas Raga, lets you run LLMs on your own data without leaving your cloud. It provides the data pipelines and enterprise controls you need to move fast and stay safe. Mano AI was accepted into the YCombinator Summer 2023 batch and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Upright Labs
Upright Labs, co-founded by David Engle (Spring 2015) and Jackson Geller (Fall 2013), was a leading force in powering e-commerce for over 3,000 second-hand retail stores, including major entities like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity. The platform facilitated the sale of $100M+ in goods while diverting over 100 million pounds of products from landfills. They bootstrapped the company to over $5M in annual recurring revenue and secured seven figures in yearly profits. In 2022, the company successfully exited to private equity.
Fun fact: David Engle also founded Startup Village (now torn down 😔), which offered affordable housing to companies affiliated with UMD. With rent under $450 a month, it played a crucial role in alleviating financial pressures for many founders.
This was an awesome newsletter! I look forward to attending more speaker events