CNF jump-starts startups in New York state

Electroplating – the process of using electricity to deposit one metal onto another – originated in the 19th century and can be found in everything from pennies to gold-topped cathedrals. But electroplating is no easy task when you’re creating groundbreaking microscale technology, as Kwame Amponsah ’06, M.Eng ’08, M.S. ’12, Ph.D. ’14, discovered several years ago while trying to fabricate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices at the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF). 


Kashkari Says U.S. May Face 18 Months of Rolling Shutdowns

We’re tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. Sign up here for our daily newsletter on what you need to know. Without an effective therapy or a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the U.S. economy could face 18 months of rolling shutdowns as the outbreak recedes and flares up again, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said.


Pandemic leads to a surge in Americans creating wills

The pandemic is changing the way many people think about life and the future, asking themselves what will happen if they get sick and are their assets protected. “People are scared. People are anxious, and it’s our job, it’s our obligation as a team, to make sure that we can give people peace of mind,” said Cody Barbo, co-founder and CEO of Trust & Will.


Students face challenges as summer internships are canceled

As students embark on a historic, online-only spring quarter, some are being hit with even more unexpected news: the cancellation of summer internships. On-campus residential programs will not be offered at Stanford this summer and companies such as Glassdoor, Yelp and StubHub have cancelled their summer internships entirely. Other companies, such as Google, have moved their internships to a completely remote format.


Student founds credit startup

When Michael Broughton was struggling to get a loan approved for his tuition at USC with no credit score, he was inspired to create Hatch Credit, a startup company to help college students build their own credit. In partnership with the Career Center, Student Affairs, several universities — such as California Institute of the Arts and UCLA — and a few banks, including the USC Credit Union, Hatch was able to help students improve their credit score by reporting their regular payments, such as monthly gym memberships or entertainment subscriptions, to credit bureaus.


Pangea.app raises $400K pre-seed round to help connect student workers with businesses

Pangea.app, a Providence, Rhode Island-based startup has raised a $400,000 pre-seed round, it told TechCrunch this week. The company’s new capital, raised as a post-money SAFE, comes from PJC, a Boston-based venture capital firm and Underdog Labs. Previously, Pangea.app raised money from angel investors.


New UChicago Startup Subli Wants to Help Students Find Subletters

A new local startup that aims to simplify the apartment subletting process for students came in first place at one of the University of Chicago’s annual student pitch competitions. Subli, founded by Melody Li, a sophomore at the University of Chicago, and Luke Iida, a recent grad, won $25,000 at UChicago’s College New Venture Challenge in March. The startup has built an online platform designed to take care of the entire subletting experience for college students.


Seattle robotics company steps in to help after UW student’s startup dream is stalled by COVID-19

Rob Sinclair was excited to be taking time off from work and the corporate world to go back to school. With a desire to learn more about building a startup from scratch, he enrolled in the University of Washington’s year-long Master of Science in Entrepreneurship program.


Student- startup develops low-cost ventilator amid coronavirus crisis

A student startup has developed a prototype of a ventilator here which could be used in an emergency situation. The Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing Ventilator (IPPV) is developed by a start-up started by students of Rathinam Group of Institution at the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), which is funded by the union government.


Managing customer discovery when you can’t leave the house

With in-person classes canceled, we’re about to start our online versions of Hacking for Defense and Hacking for Oceans (and here). The classes are built on the Lean Startup methodology: customer discovery, agile engineering and the business/mission model canvas. So how do our students get out of the building to do customer discovery when they can’t leave home? How do startups do it?