Karima Ladhani shares the Barakat Bundle journey.
How did you get started at the i-lab?
We started by taking a class called Social Entrepreneurship in Global and Domestic Health (officially offered through Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) at the i-lab. Our team met through this class, applied to the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition, and won two awards which accelerated our progress rapidly. This opportunity connected us with the i-lab’s VIP program, where we have continued to accelerate our growth.
What’s the #1 resource you use most at the Harvard Innovation Lab?
Other startups are the best resource! We connected with Agenda28 – a design for social impact team that is working on developing our product with us. These kinds of partnerships and shared learning experiences have been integral to us – there is a guarantee of shared culture, mutual trust, and supportive empowerment among the startups that cannot be matched in other environments.
Why is/was it so useful? What’s next for you and your venture?
We are continuing to work with Agenda28 to develop our prototype. We also plan to travel to India shortly to work with the Public Health Foundation of India and further develop our product.
If you had to give another student one piece of advice to get the most out of the i-lab, what would it be?
You get out of it what you put into it – the i-lab is a supportive environment with numerous resources (such as expert office hours, supportive staff, and constant programming) that can support a startup at any stage and in various fields.
Anything we missed?
As a social enterprise, our startup often falls through the cracks of many accelerator programming parameters and efforts. The i-lab offers significant and crucial support for social impact startups like us.