The Garage’s Pre-Accelerator program, Jumpstart, aims to develop students as both leaders and founders by introducing new ways of thinking and problem solving.
The Jumpstart Pre-Accelerator program at The Garage seeks to accelerate early-stage student teams by giving them additional resources and coaching over a period of 10 weeks – June 17 through August 21, 2024. We aim to help them to reach problem solution fit, and prepare them for the next phase of their ventures whether it’s customer acquisition, growth, fundraising, or applying to accelerators. Jumpstart culminates with Demo Day, where students will present their proposal and gain feedback from established judges. This is a program designed to help early-stage ventures learn, grow, and overcome obstacles preventing the launch of their ventures.
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.
Jumpstart is comprised of three vital pillars: development of the entrepreneurial toolkit, learning to sell yourself and your idea via pitch practice, and gaining an entrepreneurial mindset. 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. Student teams are also offered a stipend to sustain their ventures through the summer.
After Jumpstart wraps, student teams pitch their ventures at Demo Day, where a prize pool of $10,000 is up for grabs.
Team led by program participants Richard Wu, Weinberg '25; Ron Vincent Macam, DePaul '26.
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Team led by program participants Valentin de la Pena, McCormick '25; Jiho Kwak, McCormick & TGS '24; Carl Wilson, McCormick & Weinberg '27; Aiden Lee, McCormick '27; Aryan Avadhanam, McCormick & Bienen '27; Claudia Chang, Weinberg '26; Zachary Troller, MIT '27.
Team led by program participants Neha Mehta, Kellogg '25; Catherine Malloy, Kellogg '25; Greta Cunningham, Medill & Weinberg '27; Meredith Bacine, McCormick '27.
Team led by program participants Victoria Israel, McCormick '26; Trevor Abbott, McCormick '26.
Team led by program participants Hao Dang, McCormick & TGS '25; lan Song, Weinberg '27; Zehao Peng, McCormick & TGS '24.
Team led by program participants Yutaro Nishiyama, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Evan Lai, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Yutaka Kawabata, Kellogg & McCormick '25, Hiko Hirano, UChicago '25; Henry Park, Weinberg '27.
Team led by program participants Abhijit Roy, SoC & TGS '25; Sebnem Dundar, SoC & TGS '25; Emre Ersahin, McCormick & Weinberg '27.
Team led by program participants Rachel Vadhan, Kellogg '25; Liam Powers, Weinberg & Bienen '26; Michelle Hwang, Weinberg '26.
Team led by program participants Dean Uata, Weinberg '26; Sam Biggs, Medill '25; Lula Blas Fox, Weinberg '26; Fauzan Aryaputra, Weinberg '26.
Team led by program participants Tyler Hummer, TGS '27; Darya Daneshmand, McCormick '25; Katelyn Suh, McCormick '27; Noah Klinkner, Central Westosha '28; Prasanna Bansode, TGS '24.
Team led by program participants
Ali Lee, Weinberg '25; Evan Ehlman, Loyola Academy '25; Gio Cacciato, Weinberg '27; Dalia Diab, McCormick '26; Jonathan Lee, Weinberg '27.
Team led by program participants Katia Shek, Weinberg '26; Adrian Ngan, University of Michigan '26.
"The Jumpstart program gave me the structure, resources, and nnancial support needed over the summer to really accelerate our progress on Beni, progress which in turn greatly helped us when raising our pre-seed this fall. Through Jumpstart we've met many of our biggest cheerleaders, advisors, and investors."
Sarah Pinner
Kellogg '22
"This was my most informative experience with leadership to date. I learned that a leader is someone who, first and foremost, serves their employees and customers. Our startup would not be where it is without Jumpstart. Everything from the team camaraderie to the actual product itself was built here at Jumpstart."
Aspen Buckingham
Weinberg & Bienen '23
"My experience in the Garage has truly changed my experience at Northwestern. The resources and support they provide through the Jumpstart program has taught me about startups, success and community Every time I am in The Garage I feel comfortable asking for advice and sharing updates in the supportive environment. People are always willing to help and I love learning new things from both peers and mentors."
Alexis Chan
McCormick '24
"In just 10 weeks, my team went from a proof of concept to a fully developed business model with a dozen interested beta customers and a clear vision for the next 12 months."
Kevin Kaspar
McCormick '24
"The resources and the community at The Garage have been absolute game-changers for me. Having gone through Jumpstart, I can confidently say that there is no better place than The Garage to develop as an entrepreneur at Northwestern."
Alex Bahram
Weinberg '21-'22
2311 Campus Drive Suite 2300
Evanston, IL 60208
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