CCEI SUMMER FELLOWSHIP
Open to: Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni
The top ten startups from across UConn are selected to participate in the Summer Fellowship experience. This program takes place three days a week over eight weeks, where participants develop the skills needed to bring new products, services, and technologies to market. Each team receives one-on-one coaching and mentorship from industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs. Teams are provided with pro bono legal and accounting services to help with initial business setup and support.
Summer Fellowship is UConn’s startup accelerator program and is an immersive entrepreneurial experience open to anyone affiliated with UConn. Summer Fellowship is CCEI’s flagship program and has prepared startups to launch their company, generate revenue, raise funding (grants, investments, etc.), and be accepted into next step opportunities such as incubators and accelerator programs.
Teams pursuing high-potential ventures who have formed through participation in other UConn entrepreneurship programs are encouraged to learn more below and meet the 2024 startup teams.
8 WEEK PROGRAM
An 8-week long, intensive program designed to support emerging entrepreneurs as they plan to launch their business.
SUPPORT SERVICES
Pro-bono legal, accounting, and marketing/branding services are provided to assist in the proper establishment of your business and deciding how you want to structure your venture.
MENTORING
One-on-one mentoring and guidance provided by seasoned industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs to foster venture growth.
FUNDING
$15,000 (non-equity, non-diluting) in funding for business development; up to $5,000 (per student) can be used to pay a member of the team (current UConn student or recent UConn graduate).
WORKSHOPS + MASTERCLASSES
Expert led sessions covering all scaling fundamentals – go to market strategy, pitch compilation, sales and fundraising, to name a few.
NEXT-STEP OPPORTUNITIES
At the conclusion of the program, a selection committee will choose 5 teams to advance to the Wolff New Venture Competition to compete for over $50,000, including a $25,000 grand prize.
PROGRAM TIMELINE
Info Sessions
- February 2025
Learn about the application process and the program from the instructors and past participants.
Application Deadline
- Last week of February 2025
Online application is due.
Pitch Selection Notification
- Last week of February 2025
Applications are assessed for suitable startups.
Summer Fellowship Pitch Days
- First week of March 2025
20 startups are chosen to pitch to our selection committee made up of instructors, mentors and industry experts.
Interview Selection Notification
- First week of March 2025
A selection of startups are chosen to interview with our selection committee.
Interviews
- Third week of March 2025
A selection of startups are chosen to interview with our selection committee.
Acceptance Notification
- Last week of March 2025
10 startups are selected into the program.
Program Orientation
- Third week of April 2025
The accepted startups meet with the Summer Fellowship instructional team and get started on their pre-program assignments.
Summer Fellowship
- June 2025 - August 2025
Startups participate in the 8-week long accelerator three days a week, with a mid-program break the week of the 4th of July.
Summer Fellowship Finale
- First week of August 2025
Startups present their final pitches to a crowd of mentors, investors and industry experts. 5 startups are chosen for the Wolff New Venture Competition.
PROGRAM DETAILS
APPLY
Applications are to be submitted during the initial months of the year.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to apply, your team must:
- have at least one team member affiliated with UConn (undergraduate or graduate student, faculty, staff or alumni).
- have at least one founding member available to participate in ALL scheduled program dates, including commuting to our Hartford center 1-2 days per week.
- be a legally registered business (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp etc.) by May of the current year.
TIMING + COMMITMENT
Participants spend three days per week over eight weeks in the summer developing skills needed to bring new products and technologies to market and receiving one-on-one coaching from industry experts. Sessions are held from 9am-3pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; and some early-evening networking events or other activities may be scheduled.
*The Summer 2024 cohort will be hybrid, with 1-2 of the three days per week located at our center in Hartford. Teams should expect to spend additional time outside of the program hours working on their business.
SUMMER 2024 SCHEDULE
Week 1: 6/3 - 6/7, 9am-3pm
Week 2: 6/10 - 6/14, 9am-3pm
Week 3: 6/17 - 6/21, 9am-3pm
Week 4: 6/24 - 6/28, 9am-3pm
4th of July Break
Week 5: 7/8 - 7/12, 9am-3pm
Week 6: 7/15 - 7/19, 9am-3pm
Week 7: 7/22 - 7/26, 9am-3pm
Week 8: 7/29 - 8/1, 9am-3pm
FUNDING
Each team is awarded $15,000 (non-equity, non-diluting) in funding to aid in business development. Of which, up to $5,000 (per student) can be used to pay a member of the team to participate in the program. This team member must be a current UConn student or recent UConn graduate (May 2024), and it will be paid as fellowship – half at start of program, half at completion.
2023
Andros - Laron Burrows, PhD Candidate, ENG; George Bollas, Faculty, ENG; Jacob Crow, Student, ENG
PUURE - Christina Phillips, Student, BUS; Krystal Phillips, Industry
Feel Your Best Self - Sandy Chafouleas, Faculty, NEAG; Emily Wicks, Staff, SFA
GREENBOX Tech - Xiusheng Yang, Faculty, CAHNR; Ankit Singh, Alumni, CAHNR; William H. Yang, Alumni, CLAS; Lan Yang, Alumni
Growler Power - Robert Zielonka, Alumni, BUS; Jacquelyn Higgins, Alumni, BUS; Louis Westfall, Industry; Geffrey Stopper, Industry
Milieu - Sabrina Uva, PhD Candidate, CLAS; Marilena Mademtzi, Student, BUS
Mud Rat - Amelia Martin, Student, CAHNR
Particle N - Al Kasani, PhD Candidate, ENG; Michael Dunn, Student, ENG; Reiner Reichenberger, Student, ENG
Swipestorm - Nathan Catapano, Student, CLAS
2021
Social Labs, LLC (DBA: Frontlines) - Sameer Laul, Graduate Student, CLAS; Sahil Laul, Staff/Alumni, CLAS
Reactomol - Eugene Pinkhassik, Faculty, CLAS; Sergey Dergunov, Faculty, CLAS; Kevin Rivera, PhD Student, CLAS
InPrint Bio - Jacob Quint, PhD Student, ENG; Mohamadmahdi (Mehdi) Samandari, Post-Doc, ENG; Ali Tamayol, Faculty, ENG
Curated CT, LLC - Donald Pendagast, Alumni, BUS; Paul Carbonell, Alumni, BUS; Rahul Sinha, Alumni, BUS
PatentPlus - Jake Winter, Student, ENG; Massyl Mallem, Student, ENG
Queen Bee LLC - Raina Jain, Student, ENG; Harsha Jain, Student, ENG
Engagement Solutions - Shaleighne Cantner, Alumni, NEAG; Raja Sivaramakrishnan; Jeff Kong, Industry Partner; Rashmi Patel, Graduate Student, BUS
AgroWell Biosciences - Robert Samples, Graduate Student, CLAS; Sara Puckett, Graduate Student, CLAS; Rishabh Kejriwal, Graduate Student, CLAS
ProVelocity Bat - Elijah Taitel, Student, ENG
Reach Bar - Eva Quigley, Student, CAHNR; Natalie Lacroix, Student, SFA; Sofia Saul, Student, CLAS
2019
Fusion Technologies - Ray Li, Student, BUS; Jianning Li, Student, CLAS
Geyser Remediation - Nikolas Franceschi-Hofmann, Alumni, BUS & ENG; Elizabeth Perry, Student, BUS; Brendan MacIntyre, Alumni, ENG
Green Agronomics - Jason Henderson, Faculty, CAHNR; Amanda Clark, Student, BUS
Land Maverick - Emily Yale, Graduate Student, ENG
Levo International - Christian Heiden, Student, CAHNR; William Heiden, Industry Partner
Phoenix Tailings - Mike Martin, Graduate Student, ENG; Nick Myers, Industry Partner
Nami Therapeutics - Dr. Xiuling Lu, Faculty, School of Pharmacy; Derek Hargrove, Graduate Student, School of Pharmacy; Sterling Glass, Graduate Student, School of Pharmacy
Optimize - Dr. Linda Pescatello, Faculty, CAHNR; Dr. Yin Wu, Post-Doc Fellow, CAHNR; Rachel Berkowsky, Graduate Student, CAHNR; Harry Korzenowski, Student, Springfield College; Margaux Guidry, Industry Partner
Therapeutic Bandage Products - Dr. Lawrence Silbart, Faculty, CAHNR; Malu Foley, Student, BUS; Colleen Ross, Student, ENG; Jenna Marteka, Student, CLAS
Transit2College - Ankit Saini, Student, ENG; Michael DaCosta, Student, BUS; Brendan Mabey, Student, Academic Center For Exploratory Students; Sandeep Saini, Industry Partner
2017
Swift Revu - Eli Gates, Student, ENG; Scott Drozd, Alumni, BUS
SquareOne - Alexander Ajayi, Student, BUS; Mahir Rana, Student, ENG; Melissa Berkey, Staff, Office of Undergraduate Research; Steven Williams, Faculty, Accounting
GRAW Sports - Jonathan Meier, Student, ENG; Colin Miller, Student, CLAS
Quantum Purification - Dong Yu, Graduate Student, BUS; Susan Jacob, Graduate Student, BUS; Michael Curtis, Industry Partner
Dermatat - Faizan Khan, Student, BUS; Natalie Miccile, Graduate Student, BUS; Ishita Banerjee, PharmD, BUS; Diane J. Burgess, Faculty, Pharmaceutics; Kate Fitzgerald, Faculty (UMass Medical)
Potentiometric Probes LLC - Corey Acker, Faculty, UConn Health; Rishi Sharma, Graduate Student, BUS; Leslie Loew, Faculty, UConn Health; Ping Yan, Faculty, UConn Health
Zapployment - Jaclyn Paride, Student, BUS & CLAS; Fernanda Ferrari, Industry Partner
Hans Health - David Han, Faculty, MED; Veneta Qendro, PhD Candidate, MED; Poornima Hegde, Faculty, UConn Health; Jim LaFrance, Faculty, MED
Eir Medical Devices - Kostyantyn Partola, Graduate Student, ENG; George Lykotrafitis, Faculty, ENG
NatalSure - Courtney Townsel, Fellow, UConn Health; Hoyu Tang, Graduate Student, BUS; Winston Campbell, Faculty, UConn Health
2022
ShadeSnap - Brian Peng, Student, CLAS; Shivam Patel, Student, ENG
Lactation Innovations - Jayme Coates, Alumni, ENG & BUS MBA; Brittany Molkenthin, Alumni, NUR
RiboDynamics - Daniele Fabris, Faculty, CLAS; Limin Deng, Post-Doc, CLAS
Luma Hydration - Jaden Brodeur, Alumni, BUS; Willy Hogan, Industry Partner
Tick Me Off - Lawrence Silbart, Faculty Emeritus, CAHNR; Cassandra Speight, Alumni, CAHNR; Alecia Aldrich, Student, CAHNR; Kevin Bouley, Alumni, BUS
Aerius Water - Richard Fu, Alumni, ENG; Samuel Curameng, Student, BUS; Devin Cook, Alumni, ENG; Lara Beckius
365 Bloom - Harsha Jain, Alumni, ENG; Lindsey Huang, Student, CAHNR
Appoint - Hunter Bowden, Alumni, BUS; Michael Greco, Alumni, BUS; Hailey Altobelli, Alumni, BUS; Jonathan Moore, Faculty, BUS; Michelle Saglimbene
SmartCards AR - Sudiksha Mallick, Student, CLAS; Justin Nappi, Student, ENG
Genesist - Ashkan Novin, PhD Student, ENG; Kshitiz Kz, Faculty, ENG
2020
WrapUp - Kishan Patel, Alumni, CLAS; Harsh Patel, Industry Partner; Luis Blancofe, Industry Partner
Junity - Janoye Williams, Graduate Student, BUS; Chiziterem Uwaga, Alumni, ENG; Astou Diallo, Student, BUS; Alula Shiferaw, Industry Partner
Pisces Atlantic LLC - Peter Goggins, Student, CAHNR
Kona Brand - Zachary Will, Student, BUS
VeraDermics Inc. - Dr. Reid Waldman, Dermatology Resident, UConn Health; Dr. Tim Durso, Industry Partner; Ming Lee, PhD Student, Academic Center For Exploratory Students; Kyle Ryder; Audrey Worth, Student, CLAS
SedMed - Timothy Krupski, Graduate Student, ENG & BUS; Jeremy Bronen, Student, ENG
Hintersight Studios LLC - Stefan Lopuszanski, Graduate Student, SFA
onewith - Hayley Segar, Alumni, CLAS
Unlimino - Harrison Burr, Student, SFA; Andrew Martino, Industry Partner; Pranav Thaker, Industry Partner; Brandon Lebiszczak, Industry Partner; Christian Galain, Industry Partner
Sourcery - Dr. Tom Scheinfeldt, Faculty, SFA; Dr. Wes Hamrick, Post-Doc, SFA; Brooke Gemmell, Staff, SFA; Sara Sikes, Staff, SFA; Greg Colati, Staff, UConn Library; Brian Daley, Staff, SFA; Garrett McComas, Staff, SFA; Allison Marsh, Student, SFA; Samson Weiner, Alumni, ENG
2018
YouCOMM - Daniel Yasoshima, Graduate Student, ENG; Thomas Cotton, Graduate Student, ENG
Encapsulate - Armin Tahmasbi Rad, PhD Candidate, ENG; Leila Daneshmandi, PhD Candidate, MED
The Grewery - Cameron Collins, Student, CAHNR; James Polo-Lossius, Alumni, CLAS
QRfertile - Reza Amin, PhD Candidate, ENG; Savas Tasoglu, Assistant Professor, ENG; Stephanie Knowlton, PhD Student, ENG
Snipit - Alexander Ciccio, Student, BUS; Andrew Burns, Student, ENG; Vincent Turnier, Student, ENG
WickAway - Trevor Svec, Student, ENG; Philip Gitman, Student, ENG
Dyadic Innovations - Ruth Lucas, Faculty, NUR; Jimi Francis, Faculty (UT Tyler), College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Patrick Hocking, Student, ENG
MycoZap - Xiuchun (Cindy) Tian, Faculty, CAHNR; Elizabeth Johnson, Student, CAHNR
WellTech - Madeleine Aseltine, Student, CLAS; Riddhi Doshi, Post-Doc Fellow, MED; Chongliang Luo, Post-Doc Fellow, MED; Wenjie Wang, Graduate Student, CLAS; Cal Colins, Industry Partner; Robert Aseltine, Faculty, MED
SAVKAR.AI - Amit Savkar, Faculty, CLAS; William Moschella, Industry Partner; David Nichols, Graduate Student, CLAS
2016
3D Array Technologies - Yanbing Guo, Faculty, ENG; Pu-Xian Gao, Faculty, ENG
Eleframes - Rosse Gates, Student, ENG; Gazment Sosoli, Student, ENG
EVA Systems - Joseph Warren, Graduate Student, CLAS; Penny Vlahos, Faculty, CLAS
LambdaVision - Nicole Wagner, Faculty, CLAS; Jordan Greco, Post-Doc, CLAS; Molly Zgoda, Student, CLAS; Robert Birge, Faculty, CLAS
Maliaka - Ofonime Udo-Okon, Student, CLAS; Cherina Zerbo, Alumni, BUS; Kwasi Gyambibi, Staff, Center for Academic Programs
Oral Fluid Dynamics - Rajadinakaran Gopinath, Graduate Student, BUS; Robert Kelly, Faculty, UConn Health; Martin Freilich, Faculty, UConn Health; Doug Adams, Faculty, UConn Health
Protecticscope - Elizabeth Pouya, Student, CLAS; Ryan Cordier, Student, ENG; Amisha Dave, Student, ENG
RA-RxD - Caroline Dealy, Faculty, UConn Health; Ryan Beach, Graduate Student, CLAS; James Heym, Faculty, Office of the VP for Research; Micha Abeles, Faculty, UConn Health; Dennis Wright, Faculty, Pharmacy
Reinesse - Ying Liu, Student, ENG; Jie Shen, Faculty, Pharmacy; Yue Zhang, Graduate Student, BUS; Diane Burgess, Faculty, Pharmacy; Hadi Bozogmenash, Faculty, ENG; Mary Caravella, Faculty, BUS; Montgomery Shaw, Faculty, ENG; Jim LaFrance, Industry Partner
ShrimpBright - Anthony Patelunas, Graduate Student, CLAS; Nipam Patel, Faculty (UC Berkeley); Matt Dunn, Graduate Student, BUS
PROGRAM PARTNERS
PROGRAM CONTACTS
Jennifer Mathieu
Executive Director
Rory McGloin Ph.D.
Associate Director of Entrepreneurial Communication & Research
Alycia Chrosniak
Assistant Director of Brand and Venture Development
alycia.chrosniak@uconn.edu
Rachel Borden
Business Operations Manager
Michelle Cote
Lead Instructor & Director of Launc[H]