The Garage’s Pre-Accelerator program, Jumpstart, aims to develop students as both leaders and founders by introducing new ways of thinking and problem solving.
The Jumpstart Pre-Accelerator program at The Garage seeks to accelerate early-stage student teams by giving them additional resources and coaching over a period of 10 weeks each summer. We aim to help them to reach problem solution fit, and prepare them for the next phase of their ventures whether it’s customer acquisition, growth, fundraising, or applying to accelerators. Jumpstart culminates with Demo Day, where students will present their proposal and gain feedback from established judges. This is a program designed to help early-stage ventures learn, grow, and overcome obstacles preventing the launch of their ventures.
Like all programs at The Garage, Jumpstart welcomes all ideas: for-profit, nonprofit, arts-based, technology, or anything that students wish to see come to life through innovation and hard work.
Jumpstart is comprised of three vital pillars: development of the entrepreneurial toolkit, learning to sell yourself and your idea via pitch practice, and gaining an entrepreneurial mindset. Through thoughtful content workshops, team building activities, and one-on-one guidance, students learn the ABC’s of entrepreneurship, master the art of storytelling, and develop important soft skills like resiliency and the ability to have difficult conversations. Student teams are also offered a stipend to sustain their ventures through the summer.
After Jumpstart wraps, student teams pitch their ventures at Demo Day, where a prize pool of $10,000 is up for grabs.
Team led by program participants Julia McCurry, Kellogg '27; Khushi Surana, Kellogg' 27.
Team led by program participants Jeb Scipio del Campo, Weinberg '28; Matthew Smith, SoC '28; Obinnaya Okezie, Weinberg '28; Hans Byenkya, Weinberg '29.
Team led by program participants Delia Zuzarte, McCormick '29; Sonoma Geil, San Jose State University '29.
Team led by program participants Dimitri Gunawan, McCormick '29; Nathan Wu, McCormick '29.
Team led by program participants Angel Mendoza, McCormick '26; Matt Martinez, McCormick '26.
Team led by program participants Daniel Medina, Kellogg '27; Jack Easterby, Weinberg '28; Stan Reyzin, Kellogg '27.
Team led by program participants Daniel Killioglu, McCormick '26; Rani Joudeh, McCormick '26.
Team led by program participants Rayden Yap, McCormick '29; Haipeng Shen, McCormick '26.
Team led by program participants Josephine White, Medill '26; Autymn Williams, Bienen '26.
Team led by program participants Karthik Chandra Velamati, Kellogg '27; Jatin Hooda, McCormick '26.
"The Jumpstart program gave me the structure, resources, and financial support needed over the summer to really accelerate our progress on Beni, progress which in turn greatly helped us when raising our pre-seed this fall. Through Jumpstart we've met many of our biggest cheerleaders, advisors, and investors."
Sarah Pinner
Kellogg '22
"This was my most informative experience with leadership to date. I learned that a leader is someone who, first and foremost, serves their employees and customers. Our startup would not be where it is without Jumpstart. Everything from the team camaraderie to the actual product itself was built here at Jumpstart."
Aspen Buckingham
Weinberg & Bienen '23
"My experience in the Garage has truly changed my experience at Northwestern. The resources and support they provide through the Jumpstart program has taught me about startups, success and community Every time I am in The Garage I feel comfortable asking for advice and sharing updates in the supportive environment. People are always willing to help and I love learning new things from both peers and mentors."
Alexis Chan
McCormick '24
"In just 10 weeks, my team went from a proof of concept to a fully developed business model with a dozen interested beta customers and a clear vision for the next 12 months."
Kevin Kaspar
McCormick '24
"The resources and the community at The Garage have been absolute game-changers for me. Having gone through Jumpstart, I can confidently say that there is no better place than The Garage to develop as an entrepreneur at Northwestern."
Alex Bahram
Weinberg '21-'22
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