Startups & Founders

Meet the startups and founders incubating their ideas in
The Garage's programs.

Resident Startups

Fall 2024 Cohort

Alpime Health

Alpime Health offers reliable, secure, and efficient state-of-the-art digital health solutions with hospital-centered analysis.
Co-founded by Tahira Grewal, McCormick '26; Isaac Meite, McCormick '26; and Sophia Pi, McCormick '26.

ApplyRight

ApplyRight uses AI to make high-quality essay feedback affordable for college applicants.
Founded by Valentin de la Pena, McCormick '25.

Bay Foods Co

Bay Foods Co is a farmers market delivery service.
Founded by Ryan Kang, Weinberg '27.

Circa Sleep

Circa Sleep is fixing sleep habits for college students.
Founded by Andrew Hou, Weinberg '26.

Cogno

Cogno helps agencies and brands gain actionable insights from billions of TikTok videos.
Founded by Terry Chen, Weinberg '26.

Consigliere

Consigliere shows video creators how to get the best chance at channel growth before they post their videos.
Founded by Richard Wu, Weinberg '25.

Convident

Convident is an app designed to help Chinese language learners improve their conversational fluency by mastering tonal accuracy.
Co-founded by Vincent Yang, Weinberg '26; Jessica Sun, SESP '26; Hailee Kim, Weinberg '26.

Course Planner

Course Planner is the premier, one-stop shop for all things course planning, degree progress tracking, and career dreaming for Northwestern students!
Founded by Jonathan Bell, McCormick '26.

Embrace

Embrace offers an immersive multi-sensory Anchor-and Calm experience in moments of stress, through a personalized meditative device that combines soothing tactile sensations with AI-tailored coping audio.
Founded by Zheng Wu, TGS/Weinberg '25.

Fable Mason Studios

Fable Mason Studios is a production group that optimizes and streamlines our various departments, talent, and resources to develop multimedia creative projects and ads for student organizations and local businesses.
Founded by Zach Braffman, SoC/McCormick '26.

Glucolyzer

Glucolyzer is a biotech start-up reimagining health by creating noninvasive-glucose monitoring systems.
Founded by Edward Seo, Weinberg '25.

HaptE

HaptE is building low-cost sensing gloves for data collection.
Co-founded by Victoria Israel, McCormick '26 & Trevor Abbott, McCormick '26.

hostU

hostU matches students who are looking to sublet their place or find a place to stay, verifying university-affiliation and sending users direct matches.
Founded by Bella Le Sage, Weinberg '25.

InstaEnglish

InstaEnglish is a personal English-speaking coach in your pocket, which offers a clear, quantified path to conversational fluency with a tailored proprietary curriculum.
Founded by Yutaro Nishiyama, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Evan Lai, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Yutaka Kawabata, Kellogg & McCormick '25.

JusticeArch

JusticeArch simplies the attorney search, generating revenue for partner firms.
Founded by Nima Ostowari, Pritzker '25.

KiT

KiT is the app for keeping in touch with long-distance friend groups through nudges to share updates.
Founded by Karen Kodera, TGS/McCormick '25.

Litterbox LLC

Litterbox LLC: WHERE WILDCATS STORE THEIR SH*T, Summer storage made for Northwestern students — by Northwestern students.
Led by Matthew Lee, McCormick '25; Irene Cheon, SoC '25; Kelvin Wong, Medill '26; Joseph Shim, McCormick '26.

Locago

Locago is a marketplace for shopping local, independently owned stores and boutiques.
Founded by Rachel Vadhan, Kellogg/McCormick '25.

Local

Local is a centralized platform created by students, for students, to discover and connect with unique local experiences and businesses in their community.
Co-founded by Dev Ambani, McCormick '25 & Saloni Patel, TGS '24.

NewVox

NewVox is a startup that aims to use an artificial intelligence model (specifically through NLP) to convert the broken speech of those with Broca's Aphasia to proper speech to enhance their day-to-day communications.
Co-founded by Adithya Sathyamurthy, Weinberg '27 & Nicholas Bruha, Weinberg '27.

POMwear

POMwear is a wearable device that provides pain relief for debilitating menstrual cramps, PCOS, and Endometriosis through heat and TENS therapy, while also tracking health metrics like heart rate variability and body temperature, and syncing with an app for personalized health insights and data sharing with healthcare providers.
Founded by Brittany Ransom, TGS/McCormick '25.

Project MED

Project MED promotes health equity by focusing on educating and preparing high school students for careers in healthcare, particularly in underserved communities.
Led by Lily Walters, Weinberg/Bienen '26.

Promptem

Promptem is a prompt library employing employing leading prompt engineering techniques to maximize AIs capabilities.
Founded by James Carlin, Weinberg '25.

ReCat

ReCat is an app (and game!) that helps couples build stronger relationships by encouraging expressions of gratitude and healthy communication.
Founded by Ashley Guo, SESP '26.

Roombee

Roombee is a mobile app with tools to help first-time dorm roommates adjust to cohabitation.
Founded by Alison Bai, Weinberg '26.

Rora

Rora is a mist for external vaginal dryness due to menopause.
Co-founded by Neha Mehta, Kellogg '25 & Catherine Malloy, Kellogg '25.

Safe Security's Cyber Clinic

Safe Security's Cyber Clinic is training the next generation of digital security leaders through certification, implementation, and application–for students, and by students.
Co-founder by Kris Yun, SESP/Weinberg '27 & Theo Maurino, Weinberg '26.

Sanooke

Sanooke builds toys that you won't be embarrassed to play with at work.
Founded by Tyler Hummer, TGS '27.

ScaleUp

ScaleUp is a digital platform and matchmaking service that increases the utilization of fish byproducts in global commercial and Tribal fishing sectors from 40% to 100% by connecting commercial processors with suitable byproduct users.
Founded by Sam Rappin, Weinberg '25.

Sensify Inc

Sensify helps businesses to achieve their recycling and sustainability goals.
Founded by Shane Deng, McCormick '27.

Simpli-Sci

Simpli-Sci is a research publication that works to break down barriers that prevent some from understanding scientific discovery and ongoing studies in STEM fields, by using a non-traditional approach to present research.
Co-founded by Zoey Hall, Weinberg '25 & Shreya Ruia, Weinberg '27.

SPLIT Rideshare

SPLIT Rideshare matches students traveling to the airport and call rides.
Co-founded by Grayson Donnelly, McCormick '25 & John Hileman, McCormick/Weinberg '26.

Square One

Square One is a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to promote children’s health and wellness through an equitable and accessible health curriculum based on principles of problem-based learning.
Led by Shae Murphy, Weinberg '25.

Stella's Imagination

Stella's Imagination: Producer of handmade stuffed plushie business that ships worldwide since 2015 on Etsy.
Founded by Anastasia Jimenez, Weinberg '26.

Tego

Tego is revolutionizing safety and accessibility with its game-changing magnetic wall outlet technology.
Led by Natalie Gurganus, McCormick '25.

WeAreNesian

WeAreNesian is a digital marketing agency for Nesian (Pacific Islander) businesses.
Founded by Dean Uata, Weinberg '26.

WristBuddy

WristBuddy is a fun, reliable band that alerts both parents and children when they get too far apart, in order to give parents peace of mind while exploring public spaces with their kids.
Founded by Sindhu Sreedhar, Kellogg '25.

Youcademy

Youcademy provides a personalized learning platform for students, complete with detailed insights for teachers on key student metrics.
Founded by Pedro Nieto Rocha, Weinberg '27.

Propel Participants

Fall 2024 Cohort

Azka Rehan, Kellogg '25

Diana Kattan, Kellogg '25

Lydia Tallarini, Weinberg '25

Maanvi Sarwadi, McCormick '27

Medini Chopra, McCormick/TGS '25

Nina Kronengold, Weinberg '25

Mikayla Goldsmith, Weinberg '25

Wei Sun, McCormick '25


Jumpstart Startups

Summer 2024 Cohort

Consigliere: The first platform where video content creators can receive real data-driven, content-aware feedback on how to write, edit, and prepare their videos for Youtube and Tiktok to maximize viewer retention.

Team led by program participants Richard Wu, Weinberg '25; Ron Vincent Macam, DePaul '26.

ApplyRight: A first of its kind virtual writing advisor helping people craft their best original work.

Team led by program participants Valentin de la Pena, McCormick '25; Jiho Kwak, McCormick & TGS '24; Carl Wilson, McCormick & Weinberg '27; Aiden Lee, McCormick '27; Aryan Avadhanam, McCormick & Bienen '27; Claudia Chang, Weinberg '26; Zachary Troller, MIT '27.

rora: A consumer products company that makes a moisturizing mist for menopausal vaginal dryness that provides quick and on-the-go relief in a mess-free and user-friendly form factor.

Team led by program participants Neha Mehta, Kellogg '25; Catherine Malloy, Kellogg '25; Greta Cunningham, Medill & Weinberg '27; Meredith Bacine, McCormick '27.

HaptE: Building low cost sensing gloves for data collection.

Team led by program participants Victoria Israel, McCormick '26; Trevor Abbott, McCormick '26.

Inner Work: An interactive journaling app that allows students to check up on their mental wellbeing and connect to the right campus resources.

Team led by program participants Hao Dang, McCormick & TGS '25; lan Song, Weinberg '27; Zehao Peng, McCormick & TGS '24.

InstaEnglish: Bringing voice to non-native English speakers and helping them regain confidence to explore the world.

Team led by program participants Yutaro Nishiyama, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Evan Lai, Kellogg & McCormick '25; Yutaka Kawabata, Kellogg & McCormick '25, Hiko Hirano, UChicago '25; Henry Park, Weinberg '27.

KosiSonic: Hearing made easier.

Team led by program participants Abhijit Roy, SoC & TGS '25; Sebnem Dundar, SoC & TGS '25; Emre Ersahin, McCormick & Weinberg '27.

Locago [Low-CAH-go]: A marketplace for shopping local, independently owned stores and boutiques. After a single integration with a retail Point-of-Sale, we hope to showcase to consumers inventory from local stores near them, solving the digital discovery gap with shopping small.

Team led by program participants Rachel Vadhan, Kellogg '25; Liam Powers, Weinberg & Bienen '26; Michelle Hwang, Weinberg '26.

WeAreNesian: A marketing agency for Pacific Islander small businesses.

Team led by program participants Dean Uata, Weinberg '26; Sam Biggs, Medill '25; Lula Blas Fox, Weinberg '26; Fauzan Aryaputra, Weinberg '26.

Sanooke: Toys you won't be embarrassed to play with at work.

Team led by program participants Tyler Hummer, TGS '27; Darya Daneshmand, McCormick '25; Katelyn Suh, McCormick '27; Noah Klinkner, Central Westosha '28; Prasanna Bansode, TGS '24.

Swarm: Innovative solutions to insect repellent.

Team led by program participants
Ali Lee, Weinberg '25; Evan Ehlman, Loyola Academy '25; Gio Cacciato, Weinberg '27; Dalia Diab, McCormick '26; Jonathan Lee, Weinberg '27.

WizLab: An interactive lecture platform that empowers educators with live feedback and students with real-time engagement for better learning outcomes.

Team led by program participants Katia Shek, Weinberg '26; Adrian Ngan, University of Michigan '26.