What's Happening At Derby Entrepreneurship Center - December 2024
JUMBO THANKS!
With help from our amazing Tufts community, Derby Entrepreneurship Center broke TWO #TuftsGivingTuesday records! We achieved 111 gifts, raising a record breaking $52,738. A big thank you to our challenge donors, Marilyn Salzman, E89 & John Salzman, A89; George Hawthorne, E69; Ola Holmstrom, E95, EG97; and Josh Kapelman, A12 and Emily Kapelman, and 107 additional supporters! If you missed #TuftsGivingTuesday, you can still donate. We appreciate your support!
The Paul and Elizabeth Montle Prize for Entrepreneurial Achievementcommends outstanding undergraduate Tufts students who demonstrate entrepreneurial achievement. Warm congratulations to this year's winners, Duncan Johnson (E26), Sarah Jun (A25), and Neelofar Tamboli (E25)!
Launched in 2014, the Ideas Competition is a pitch contest for entrepreneurial Tufts students to choose a problem worth solving, come up with a great solution, and pitch for a chance to win a cash prize. Congratulations to the 2024 winning teams - CeliAxe, Know.Period, WAPOL, and Sync!
Bill Cummings returns to Tufts for a fireside chat and book signing event
The Derby Entrepreneurship Center hosted successful real estate entrepreneur and renowned philanthropist, Bill Cummings, A58, H06, J97P, M97P to a large and engaged audience for a fireside chat with Professor Usha Pasi, a seasoned nonprofit leader. Bill chatted with the audience during the book signing event for his memoir, "Starting Small And Making It Big". Bill and Joyce Cummings established the Cummings Foundation in 1986. It has since grown to become one of the three largest private foundations in New England.
Students make connections at Cross University Mixer (CUSI) hosted by Boston University
Boston University's Innovate@BU hosted the last Cross University Student Innovators (CUSI) mixer of the year with a Pitch-to-Match segment to help student innovators connect and form cross university teams. The next two events will be hosted by Harvard and MIT.
Entrepreneurship classes wrap up with final presentations
Last week, teams delivered their final presentations for the first of our four Entrepreneurship And Business Planning course sections, demonstrating proficiency in the process for new venture creation. Our entrepreneurial product development classes also featured final presentations, including live demonstrations of working prototypes for Software Prototyping Without Code and Introduction to Making. These courses give students the skills and confidence to make working hardware and software prototypes
We are excited to announce a big #JumboWin - Epic Cleantec has closed a $12M Series B! Epic Cleantec, started by Tufts alum Aaron Tartakovsky, is rethinking water to keep up with growing cities and a changing planet. Epic Cleantec won the Tufts New Venture Competition in 2017. Congrats Epic Cleantec!
National Science Foundation (NSF) awards LURA Health $475k SBIR Phase IIB grant!
LURA Health, a medtech startup cofounded by Tufts alumni Daniel Weinstein and Noah Hill as Tufts undergraduates, provides a platform for Continuous Salivary Monitoring for non-invasive health management, has received a $475k Grant. This brings their total NSF funding to over $1.8M. Congrats LURA Health!
ColdSnap, founded by Tufts alumni Matt Fonte, is transforming the way frozen treats are produced & enjoyed. The system is commercially available and deployed in numerous office spaces. Alumni Molly Ryan, A22 and Jack Schwartz, A23, brought the system to Tufts for a taste test. We plan to bring them back for a hardware talk in the spring - for educational purposes, of course.
Tufts Entrepreneurial Network December Holiday Party
The Boston Chapter of the Tufts Entrepreneurial Network met for our annual Holiday Party, led by Boston Chapter Chair, Luke Fraser, who also teaches in our undergraduate Entrepreneurship program. Thanks to our Silver Sponsor, Main Street Bank, for supporting our event. The next TEN event is the annual San Francisco Tech+Innovation mingle, followed by evening with Dean Kyongbum Lee on January 16.
The faculty and staff at the Derby Entrepreneurship Center wish you a wonderful holiday. We hope you enjoy this time with your family and friends. Your continued support for entrepreneurship at Tufts is truly appreciated!
Upcoming Events and opportunities at a Glance
Passport to Black-Owned Business Holiday Pop-Up - Dec 13, 14 15
Explore unique, hand-crafted gifts, soaps, sauces, bags, jewelry, and more from than 16 amazing vendors in Harvard Square! Don’t miss this opportunity to find one-of-a-kind holiday treasures while supporting Black-owned businesses.
Apply to Compete in Rice Business Plan - deadline Jan 10
This competition showcases the best university startups from across the U.S. and around the world, where student entrepreneurs pitch their startups to investors and learn what it takes to build and launch a successful business.
Dialogue Project at Duke Fuqua School of Business - deadline Jan 21
This initiative is aimed at reducing polarization through business. Undergraduates present entrepreneurial ideas with mission of using business as a force for good.
Procter and Gamble Business Challenge: Gen AI and the Future of Commerce- Applications open Dec 24 - Jan 15
Procter and Gamble is seeking innovative startups, companies, and partners with GenAI-driven solutions to pilot and scale groundbreaking applications in commerce. Download and read the full business challenge to see if you are eligible.
