Announcing the 2023 Jumpstart Cohort

The Jumpstart Pre-Accelerator program at The Garage seeks to accelerate early-stage student teams by giving them resources and coaching over a period of 10 weeks. This summer, the program officially kicks off on June 20th and will culminate with a Demo Day on August 23rd, where students will present their proposal and gain feedback from established judges for a chance to win from a prize pool of $10,000. Read last year’s Demo Day recap here!

Through thoughtful content workshops, team building activities, and one-on-one guidance, students learn the ABC’s of entrepreneurship, master the art of storytelling, and develop important soft skills like resiliency and the ability to have difficult conversations. In fact, each of the student teams that placed first, second, and third in last year's Jumpstart Demo Day went on to become Semifinalists in VentureCat: Northwestern's Annual Student Startup Competition.

Like all programs at The Garage, Jumpstart welcomes all ideas: for-profit, nonprofit, arts-based, technology, or anything that students wish to see come to life through innovation and hard work.

The Garage is pleased to present the following students and startups chosen to participate this year!

Borrough is a marketplace that enables building residents to rent household items in a simple, convenient, and secure way.

Envo is a sustainability company that offers innovative alternatives for single-use plastic products.

hostU is a medium term shared economy rental platform curated for university undergraduates, graduates, and faculty.

iCanC is developing a conversational AI-based object recognition software for visually-impaired people.

Kitchen Kapital is an AI/Data-driven lending platform that provides accessible capital to food service owners who are often overlooked by current lenders.

OLYMPUS is a social fitness platform that enables weightlifters to analyze key metrics, share their progress, and engage with a global community of athletes.

RelationTip is an AI-powered relationship advice software that helps people build stronger, more fulfilling relationships by providing personalized recommendations and resources.

Roete is a one-stop mobile app to incentivize donations through community-backed algorithms and security.

Spherical is an engaging mobile app that helps users make meaningful connections and continue the momentum to build stronger networks.

SPLIT matches students traveling to or from the same airport at the same time to split an uber or lyft.

Vaulterra is a carbon offset project developer dedicated to the removal of atmospheric CO2 through Enhanced Rock Weathering techniques in agriculture.

Each of these exceptional student teams received a $10,000 award upon acceptance into the program. "I'm very excited for the opportunity to work on Olympus full-time as part of the Jumpstart program. With the time, resources, and support of the Garage ecosystem, I have no doubt that we will reach our development and growth goals far faster than we could have otherwise,” shared Scott Tsangeos, founder & CEO of Olympus. 

Zahra Hussain, founder & CEO of Envo, shared that “it is the ideal way I want to spend my sophomore summer – working on a project I love in an extremely innovative and motivating environment. I am really looking forward to meeting other founders, learning more about running a startup, and having a productive and entrepreneurial summer!”

Jumpstart applications open in the winter and spring quarters every year. Learn more about the program here.