Winter 2022 Startup Matchmaking Recap

One of the most common barriers student founders face while incubating their venture at The Garage is finding teammates to join them to help them execute their vision! Whether they’re looking for technical help, a co-founder, or marketing support - we’re excited to help with our popular quarterly event, Startup Matchmaking. Now held in a virtual format, Startup Matchmaking offers students at Northwestern interested in joining the startup community the opportunity to meet 1-1 with student founders in Zoom rooms. We encourage students from across Northwestern to participate - regardless of school or level of study.  

On January 13, 2022, 25 student-founded startups took 60 seconds each to share more about their company, their goals, and the kind of help they are looking for. These rapid fire pitches are also live streamed via YouTube, which means even prospective students can get a glimpse into what students are building at Northwestern! You can watch this quarter’s live stream below. 

Startups that pitched included: 

Beni: A browser extension that makes secondhand shopping simple. Founded by Kellogg student Sarah Pinner, beni recently raised $1M! 

Venture Health Studio LLC, led by first year medical student, Chirag Goel, is a health-tech holding company striving to improve the health and lifestyle quality for people through the development of innovative technological solutions.

Authentic Media Ascension (AMA): AMA is a growth studio helping creators grow their audiences and revenue with data. AMA has worked with content creators with upwards of 3M subscribers. 

Xenah Developers: A coding consultancy that helps students gain real world experience and helps build clients' ideas. Founded by two computer science majors, this startup gives students real world experience in development and is aiming to reach $100,000 in revenue this year. 

Check out the full list of everyone who pitched, here.

We’re excited to find out how many connections were made, but with over 60 Northwestern students attending the event, we imagine we’ll be welcoming lots of new students to our community soon. 

Sarah Pinner, Kellogg ’22, was looking for help with content marketing and SEO. She shared that "Startup matchmaking was an awesome experience to tap into the broader Garage community. I was excited to hear more about all the other NU startups and have the opportunity to share about Beni. We had wonderful conversations with interested NU students and we hope to have the opportunity to bring more people into the Beni team."

Kevin Kaspar, McCormick ’24 and co-founder of wildfire detection and prevention startup, told us that “As a founder, Startup Matchmaking has continually provided me with the opportunity to interact with eager entrepreneurs who bring together a variety of skills interested in joining my startup InfernoGuard.”

Students who join a startup incubating at The Garage receive some of our best perks including access to our resources and mentorship. They’re also getting hands-on experience in building a startup, which has inspired many to go on and start their own ventures. 

Startup Matchmaking is a quarterly event. Students who pitch must be part of The Garage’s Residency or Tinker program, but all Northwestern students are encouraged to attend. If you missed this quarter’s event, our next Startup Matchmaking, held during the spring quarter, is scheduled for April 7, 2022 at 6 PM CT. You can RSVP here! 

If you have an idea you’d like to work on, our Tinker program is open for sign ups during the entire academic year. Learn more about the Tinker program here.