Rob Zetter ’15 pitches Gateswap during 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s
This past summer that had been awarded incubator funding through the university’s (ENY) were hard at work, taking advantage of shared office space at a downtown incubator and receiving invaluable mentorship from 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s .
Here is an update on what the companies, launched by 51³Ô¹ÏÍø students and alumni, are now up to.
Gabriel Zetter ’15 and Rob Carroll ’15 expanded Gateswap to include Connecticut College – and they have plans to include more schools. Still full-time 51³Ô¹ÏÍø students, Zetter and Carroll attend the TIA program where alumni mentors are helping to shape Gateswap’s future.
Carrie Blackmore ’08 and husband Matt Whalen opened a new storefront in the village of Hamilton. Good Nature Brewing is featured in the (along with mentor and founder of Maia Yogurt, Hamilton Colwell ’01.)
James Placa ’07 and his brother Jonathan think 3-D printing has arrived. Since leaving the ENY Fund incubator space, Proto Exchange continues to grow and was recently featured in a . Proto Exchange aims to connect 3-D modelers and owners of 3-D printers to people who need finished 3-D products.
Harry Raymond ’11 reports that ShinDig has 2,200 downloads, with 45 percent of users active each month. In October, ShinDig competed in a start-up competition sponsored by Google and Microsoft. At the end of the daylong event, : $10,000 cash, $35,000 in services, and some great publicity and exposure.
Yuni Sameshima ’13 and Joey Petracca ’13 stayed in Hamilton after graduation to launch Recipe Into Reality. They are working with Peapod and Fresh Direct to offer their product, now named Chicory, to users via a mobile app. Now graduates of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø and the TIA program, they have returned as program .
Jack Henley ’12, a graduate of the TIA program and winner of ENY funding, has solidified his business plan. During Entrepreneur Weekend Henley was to go to an incubator in Boston to work on Real Abroad. The project continues to be a labor of love, but part time. Henley says he will focus on building content this fall and winter and will see where it goes from there.
Alumni and students will be in the village of Hamilton on Saturday for the monthly TIA program.