Over the course of eight weeks, 50 student startups (selected from 300+ applications) are receiving virtual guidance and coaching from Techstars mentors, Blackstone executives, and their school Campus Directors, peer networking opportunities, and $5,000 in non-dilutive grant funding to support continued work on their startups from Future Founders.

They also have the opportunity to speak with and learn directly from seasoned entrepreneurs like Allbirds Co-Founder Tim Brown, CareMessage Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Cecilia Corral, Techstars Co-Founder David Brown, and SparkCharge founder (and LaunchPad Alum) Josh Aviv during the biweekly LaunchPad ‘Lessons Learned’ speaker series.

“At a time of unprecedented challenge for college students and recent graduates, entrepreneurship will be a key component of the solution for young entrepreneurs and their local communities,” said Amy Stursberg, Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. “By applying the resources and network of LaunchPad to the energy and ingenuity of these young people, the industry-transforming startups of tomorrow are being built today by LaunchPad Fellows.”

Applicants were judged based on the quality of their 30-second video pitch, articulation of realistic goals and milestones, quality and detail of the proposal narrative, description of next steps following the Fellowship, and need statement. Founders must be active participants in LaunchPad network signature or on-campus (virtual) programming. Special consideration was also be given to ensure selected companies represent the diversity of the LaunchPad Network.

“At Techstars, we’ve always focused on supporting entrepreneurs who have a deep passion for solving problems they've personally experienced,” said Amy Smith, Senior Vice President, Product for Techstars. “You won’t find more passionate innovators than the student founders in the LaunchPad Fellowship and we’re happy to be helping provide an experience this summer necessary for them to validate and continue pursuing their ideas.”

Of the 50 students startups, 6 came from two LaunchPad network schools in Ireland - Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork:

• Ethicart (Trinity) - A user-friendly app that gives quick, accessible and easy to understand information around food product’s sustainability and ethical standards. If you want to shop more sustainably but lack time to research and a place to get the information you need, EthiCart enables and empowers you to buy products that align with your values. (Co-Founders: Laura Brennan and Lara Pairceir).
• ProMotion (Trinity) - A platform that allows brands to advertise on private bicycles. Thich is a new way for companies to increase brand exposure while also incentivising people to cycle. (Co-Founders: Bidemi Afolabi and Lauren O'Reilly).
• ReactEmo (LinkedIn - website being updated during Fellowship) (Trinity) - A content quality analysis platform for video-media professionals. It helps content creators and content aggregators understand the emotional engagement and attention span of audiences watching their media content. (Co-Founders: Cillian Sugrue and Rohit Kumar).
• Cotter Agritech (Cork) - Develops and commercialises smart, innovative, and accessible solutions for the sheep farming sector. Our products represent the state-of-the-art in agritech engineering and sheep husbandry, including the multi-award-winning Cotter Crate & SmartWeight, our farmer-friendly software. (Co-Founders: Nick and Jack Cotter).
• Neurobell (Cork) - Developing a proprietary and ground-breaking solution that will dramatically transform the early diagnosis and monitoring of brain injury in newborns through a portable monitoring device with diagnostic decision support software. (Founder: Mark O'Sullivan).
• SMART Edu Club (Cork) - For parents who want to keep their kids entertained and educated at home, SMART Edu Club is a proprietary e-learning platform providing first-class education. We offer unique virtual learning experiences by presenting scientific knowledge in a stimulating format through videos, interactive apps, games and hands-on activities. (Founder: Marinara Marcato).