Katherine Olives
Only a few more days until Demo Day! Were excited for you to see how far our startups have come in only a few months, but we have to acknowledge some of the people who helped get them to where they are. Each year we invite expert mentors in to support our startups. Some lead workshops on the topics in our Lean Startup Bootcamp, some take one on one office hours each week, and others join us for pitch practice, readying the startups for not only Demo Day & the Final Pitch, but for investors later on. Its a fun, rewarding process, and heres what some of our mentors had to say about it:
Mentoring young entrepreneurs through the Zahn Center is so rewarding. Its great to listen to their ideas, share with them my experience to help them grow, then watch as they take my suggestions and improve their business ideas. The students at the Zahn Center work so hard to ensure their business is the best possible that it can be.” – Liz Gallo, WhyMaker – Liz led several workshops on user identification, customer interviews, and how to analyze insights
I volunteer at the Zahn Center as I find the enthusiasm and ambition of the start-ups to be inspiring. By leveraging technology and a lot of ambition, they are looking to tackle some of our communities biggest challenges. To be a small part of the that journey is why I come back every year. – Brandon Shin, Standard Chartered – Brandon, a mentor from our Women in Tech network at Standard Chartered Bank, leads workshops, takes office hours, and somehow manages to make COGS fun!
It was a great service-learning opportunity to support the Zahn Innovation Center startups and share in the entrepreneurial journey of the teams. The one thing I know for sure is that the root of entrepreneurship and innovation is community, and it was great to be a part of this one. This community, a true demonstration of gender parity, equity, and diversity among founders, truly sparks joy and speaks to the future of venture creation. – Lona Vincent, Johnson & Johnson – Lona and her team led several workshops on customer discovery and customer mapping to help our startups understand their users.
Im proud to support the Zahn Centers student-entrepreneurs at City College. Ive found the program participants curious and unafraid, prepared and responsible, and looking for a way to change the way we think about any number of subjects. It might seem off to some, but after participating in a kick-off sessions or all-day bootcamp I leave feeling enthused and invigorated, and even feeling honored to have met and possibly even helped people who are striving to make a difference in the world. Brian Heiman, Standard Chartered – Brian helps us select startups by reviewing countless applications & joins us throughout the year to offer financial support as well as pitch feedback.
“I learn a lot mentoring the amazing students at the Zahn Center. It's definitely a two-way street. And it's great having a chance to meet the fresh new faces of tomorrow!” – Joe Spivack, Angel Investor – Joes guidance early on is crucial for our startups as they navigate the world of entrepreneurship & venture capital.
Its been a pleasure working with the creative young minds at Zahn, especially watching our CUNY I-Corps teams move their projects forward. – Jessica Fields, iCorps – Jessica worked with some of our startups in the CUNY iCorps program before they entered our Lean Startup Bootcamp, and then came back to help startups dissect their learnings and pivot if necessary.
“I am so inspired by the CCNY Zahn student entrepreneurs – their drive, passion and creativity – it is an honor to participate as a mentor in the program.” – Fran Engoron, Golden Seeds – Fran has invested in over 30 women-led startups and brings incredible perspective to our teams. The entire team at Golden Seeds has been tremendously helpful when it comes to coaching our startups and providing feedback.
Mentoring at the Zahn Center is inspirational. The students have such energy and drive–and do it while balancing a full course load. It is so rewarding when you can guide them to a better answer to compliment their idea. And their ideas are always so fantastic. I wish I had that level of creativity. – Jim Miller – Jim takes one-on-one meetings with mentors year after year, offering fantastic advice.
The experience of working with highly passionate minds collaboratively engaging with critical social issues was truly refreshing and inspirational. – Jonathan Melendez-Davidson, Johnson & Johnson – Jonathan taught a workshop on customer mapping & has used his design experience to help numerous startups.
The Zahn Innovation Center is an important place for students to learn about entrepreneurship through experience. I was impressed by the students, the robustness of the program, and the vision of the projects. – Wilma Lam, Johnson & Johnson – Wilma also led a workshop on customer insights, and helped startups map out their customer experience.
A huge thank you goes out to all of our mentors, listed below.
From Standard Chartered Bank
Martha Adeline
Malti Agnani
Natalie Bergeron
Giancarlo Braccia
Nick Caselli
Monica Costa
Amanda Cruz
Wojciech Deptuch
Jill Dyer
Patty Fuster
Sandra Harris
Brian Heiman
Donna Hill
Hilary Huber
Jeremy Mitchell
Ben Olson
Ayodeji Omoogun
Ting Ting Peng
Raja Rajeswari Bommu
Hilary Rosenberg
Madeline Schatzman
Ashley Shillingford
Brandon Shin
Nancy Shuangcen Yu
Rodrigo Vega
Lara Yacoub
From the Zahn Advisory Board
Art Brody
Dave Newman
From CCNY
Celia Lloyd
From Golden Seeds
Fran Engoron
Renee Lautmann
Cheryl Kallem
Eric Nadler
From Johnson & Johnson
Wilma Lam
Min Joo Lee
Jonathan Melendez-Davidson
Sarikka Raman
Lona Vincent
Our Entrepreneurs in Residence
Marc Escapa, Noken
Ellie Li, Projections.io
Itamar Yunger, SoundBetter
Lisa Guerra, SeeThru
Christina Torres, SeeThru
Khandker Ahamed, FloraMind
Mahmoud Khedr, FloraMind
Danny Tsoi, FloraMind
And more!
Shayak Banerjee, Meetup
Sean Dhadialla, essdee consulting
Bill Drewes, Attorney
Jessica Fields, CUNY NSF iCorps
Belle Frank, VMLY&R
Liz Gallo, Whymaker
Sahar Ghaheri, dh studio
Max Goodman, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher
Heinrich Gross, Arrow
Steven Haines, Sequent Learning Networks
Stephen McKenna, IBM
Jim Miller, Cloud9 Technologies
Oscar Romero, NYC Mayors Office of the CTO
Deepti Shrivastava, Investor
Joseph Spivack, Angel Investor
Some of these mentors will join us on Demo Day. Will you?