Today, the Harvard Innovation Labs is announcing that more than 1,100 students have signed up for the university innovation center’s new membership model, which aims to better serve students from 13 Harvard schools at every stage of their innovation and entrepreneurship journeys.
“Over the last decade, the Harvard Innovation Labs has steadily grown its offerings to support students with ideas at their earliest stages as well as those actively building their ventures,” said Matt Segneri, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Executive Director of the Harvard Innovation Labs. “As the Harvard Innovation Labs entered our second decade last fall, our team asked the question, ‘How can we deliver our resources in a way that will best serve all of our students — from those just beginning to explore entrepreneurship to those raising capital and scaling their teams?’ In answering this question, we decided to evolve to a more flexible, inclusive membership model in order to better serve students from any Harvard school at any stage of development.”
Added Becca Xiong, Managing Director of Programs and Engagement, “Over the last 10 years, the Harvard Innovation Labs has grown from supporting dozens to hundreds of student innovators every semester. As interest in innovation and entrepreneurship continues to grow, our membership model will provide more flexibility as founders take their unique innovation journeys.”
The Harvard Innovation Labs launched its membership application over the summer. Based on their answers to questions in the intake form, the Harvard Innovation Labs suggests resources that may benefit the venture at their specific stage. Founders then have the freedom to choose when and how to engage with the resources most relevant to them and their progress — not just those the Harvard Innovation Labs recommends based on the application.
Harvard Innovation Labs members have access to a range of supports— including expert advisors, workshops, social events that encourage connection and community building, and resources for ideating and building products and services — across three stages:
- Explore for individuals who are at an early stage of ideation or venture formation, as well as individuals interested in joining a new venture.
- Test for founders who are at the stage of customer discovery, working on MVPs, and validating their product or service.
- Propel for ventures that are focused on their business model, customer creation, growing their teams, and fundraising.
More than 1,100 Harvard students (including 500+ ventures) have signed up to be Harvard Innovation Labs members. Here’s a sample of their ideas and ventures:
- Acurasset: Developing a single-treatment cure for Hepatitis B.
- Adaptive Art Technologies: Building interactive tools and technologies that enable people with disabilities to express themselves creatively.
- AgeAI: Creating a machine learning-based framework that evaluates anti-aging treatments and interventions using whole-genome data.
- Earthacre, Inc.: Using remote sensing and proven regeneration techniques to restore indigenous-owned lands and create differentiated carbon credits.
- AugMend: A digital therapy platform using VR to enhance and create therapeutic effects in mental health patients.
- dGo-on: Providing trustworthy, transparent, and affordable digital voting, built into a SaaS platform grounded on patented technology.
- Dorivac: Developing breakthrough immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease using a novel nanocarrier.
- Dui Hua: Destigmatizing and democratizing access to therapy and other mental health services for young Chinese through an online platform.
- Embyr: Making the world's first pair of sustainable, stylish, and functional heated gloves.
- eqtble: An HR analytics platform that provides actionable insights to organizations to understand their DEI practices, engagement, attrition, and hiring.
- Flare Education: Tackling generational poverty through high school workforce development.
- Flutter: A dating app consisting of an intentional matching system, and a gamified rewards track that allows couples to date.
- Growbie: A personal development platform that democratizes power skills for immigrants in America.
- Hectare (Formerly Gold Coast Homes): Providing African diasporans with a transparent platform to build their home from start to finish.
- Jamii Life: Envisioning a future in which affordable home-care and health monitoring is available to everyone in South Africa and across Africa.
- Micro Venture Funding Inc.: Helping entrepreneurs and startups get access to business credit to grow and expand.
- MUSE Biomedical: Developing medical devices and data-driven diagnostic tools to prevent opioid addiction.
- Northwood Space: Creating services with antennas that significantly expand the orbits and frequency ranges available simultaneously from the ground for satellite communications.
- Privy: A blockchain enabled platform to protect photos from leaks and abuse.
- Recyco: Recycling analytics and logistics SaaS software for consumer product companies.
- Tartle: Helping college students form meaningful connections through an algorithm that utilizes group dynamics and prioritizes repeated exposure.
- Taste of Kenya: Offering direct trade between Kenyan coffee farmers and coffee buyers in Europe supporting sustainable sourcing and farming.
- Waiv Cash: Helping users collect, store, and monetize their personal data by creating a comprehensive profile that advertisers pay to use.