Scholl Awards Help Launch Student Innovations

Since 2017, Launchpad@Stevens has been providing a platform for students to bring their ideas from rough prototype to professional grade products and services. The program’s portfolio has amassed more than 20 active, incorporated initiatives, creating value in excess of $100 million. Launchpad participants are testing, refining and developing marketable ideas in 3D printing, fashion, healthcare management, AI and more.

The Thomas H. Scholl Launchpad Awards entered the scene in 2020, stoking students’ creativity. Awards are granted to teams that demonstrate a high commitment to their projects, and that are prepared for continued progress. How recipients use the funds varies based on the needs of each project.

“The Scholl Launchpad Awards are such a valuable asset for encouraging students to pursue bold projects,” says Dr. Mukund Iyengar, director of the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship Education. “It is exciting to see students’ pride – and sense of adventure – grow when they feel that their ideas are taken seriously. It means a great deal to them.”

Zita Doktor, the center’s assistant director, agrees, noting that the funds are important too. “Scholl Awards help teams cover expenses including software, website hosting, marketing materials and supplies,” she says.

This year’s Scholl Launchpad Awards helped launch six new corporations: 

Aventix 

Third-year students Jack Patterson, Aidan Ruck and Aidan Nestor developed an intuitive ticket sales platform that uses NFT tickets for transparency and security.

CarbonDex

CarbonDex, developed by Joseph Welsco, a third-year student, provides data security and intelligence to secure critical infrastructure systems. 

E-Stop

Sebastian Dytrych, senior, is revolutionizing public transit with digital bus stop signs that provide real-time updates, energy-efficient technology and seamless communication for smarter cities.

Flipside

Ritesh Persaud, a third-year student, is helping to make home ownership more affordable through fractionalized, peer-to-peer lending using blockchain technology.

Pipelines 

Senior Aidan Ouckama is streamlining company insights with this new web app.

Vertex  

Third-year student Ivan Farfan is helping game developers maximize revenue with his AI-powered 3D modeling tool.

“Funding allowed us to upkeep our servers and opened a bunch of doors in terms of APIs and scaling,” Ouckama tells us. “Pipelines was able to upgrade our server hosting plans without taking too big of a hit to our own employees. We are currently migrating our codebase to the T3-Turbo stack.”

In addition to receiving funding to start their new ventures, Scholl Awardees learn crucial business skills, including how to navigate the legal mechanics required for successful start-ups and how to raise capital – benefits that will enhance their careers moving forward.

“The Scholl Award enabled me to access the tools and legal expertise I needed to pursue my project,” Persaud says.

And because of the community nature of the Scholl Award selection process, students build relationships that will last well beyond their college years. Past Launchpad@Stevens participants who have incorporated companies are consulted, as are successful entrepreneurs who serve as judges at student pitch competitions.

The Thomas A. Scholl Launchpad Awards are fueling a growing entrepreneurship ecosystem at Stevens, and the enterprises it produces are getting attention from some of the world’s most renowned investors. Perl Street, a special purpose vehicle for financing hardware-driven company expansion and Blitz, a no-code app building platform, are backed by Y-Combinator. Sequoia Capital, the #1 venture capital firm in the world, is supporting Sutro, a platform for building and sharing mobile apps. A former Stevens student bootstrapped Fulament, a high-performance 3D printing accessory provider, from $10,000 to $1.6 million in annual recurring revenue in just three years.

“As we scale the program, with plans to double the cohort from 30 students per year to 60, we are seeing broader interest in the program across majors,” Doktor says. “We are reaching out through pre-college programs, first year courses and seminars in every school.”

“Some of Stevens’ most successful alumni are taking notice, as are other entrepreneurs in the community,” Iyengar adds. “Manny Medina ’97, CEO of Outreach, Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB-Insights, Bill Barhydt ’90, CEO of Abra, Raj Sharma ’84 M.S. ’84, CEO of Health Wizz, and Frank Corvino M.S. ’07 Ph.D. ’10, managing partner of Rallyday Partners, are among the industry leaders who are as excited as we are about Launchpad. We are building an enduring and sustainable pipeline of entrepreneurial talent.”