Katherine Olives
Everyday, I leave work incredibly inspired by the students in our programs. Although they might not realize it, they're really the ones doing the teaching. The truth is, we don't use the term “zahntrepreneurs” to be cute. Our students are truly a special breed (I don't know of other college students who would rather be making cold calls to future business partners than enjoying a sunny day). To give you a sense of what makes a Zahntrepreneur, we're introducing a series of startup spotlights. In this blog, you'll meet Zahn Technology Prize finalists Hybridia and Komb.
Hybridia is creating a tool to reinvent the way laparoscopic surgery is performed. Have you heard of the da Vinci machine? It's a large, two million dollar machine that performs minimally invasive robotic surgery. It's an incredible device, but it's not affordable, and as a result, only a few hospitals in the country have one. The Hybridia team has created a smaller, cost-efficient tool doctors can use to perform minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Their tool will bring this life-changing technology to many more hospitals, and it will save many more lives.
The Hybridia team has been working on this idea for four years as a part of their Biomedical Engineering classes. Mohamed Aboseria, Pryanka Bawa, and Zeyad Saleh are all seniors Biomedical Engineering, and plan to pursue fellowships and grad school while working on Hybridia. They're proof that you don't have to abandon your dreams of becoming a doctor to pursue your startup (you just have to work very hard). As the Grand Prize winner of the Zahn Technology Prize, the Zahn Technology Audience Choice Award winner, and a winner of the CUNY Institute for Virtual Enterprise, they'll use a whopping $31,000 to miniaturize their prototype and start testing it in hospitals in New York City. They'll also participate in our Summer Accelerator Program.
Outside of school, the Hybridia team stays active. They're a friendly team who's known for making the phrase “suh, dude?” a widely understood greeting at the Zahn Center. (Don't worry, I didn't know what it meant at first, either.) Fun fact: Zeyad's family owns Moe's Doughs, a popular donut shop in Brooklyn famous for its rainbow donuts. (They're also responsible for my pre-Demo Day weight gain.)
While Komb hasn't been developing its prototype for four years, the team has been developing their impeccable style for much longer. The need to keep up with evolving trends is what inspired Kingsley Obi to create Komb, an app and web platform connecting clients with hairstylists on-demand. If you're someone who changes their hairstyles often, and also hates waiting, this platform is crucial for you. To the Komb team, it just makes sense to apply the philosophy of the sharing economy to the hairstyling world. Not only does it allow customers to quickly schedule and keep track of appointments, but it allows hairstylists to become entrepreneurs, using the platform to create lasting relationships with clients.
Komb's team boasts of technical and business experience. Co-Founders Kingsley Obi and Mohamed Gueye are both Computer Science majors, while Director of Marketing, Senami Atinkpahoun, studies both Advertising/Public Relations and Business Management. Together, they make up a dynamic team ready to use the $5,000 they won as runner up in the Zahn Technology Prize to develop their web platform and app. This summer, they'll participate in our Accelerator Program.
Kingsley and Senami are known in the Zahn Center for their unique personal styles. Kingsley keeps it colorful with African-inspired prints, while Senami has an edgy, modern look inspired by her style icon, Sia. Fun fact: Kingsley is no stranger to the sharing economy. He's an avid AirBnb-er and also a Lyft driver.