Mera McGrew, founder of Soapply, speaks during the final TIA Incubator session of the academic year.
The last TIA Incubator session of the 2025–26 academic year was a great representation of what the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is really about: changemaking, perseverance, and growth.
The morning started off with updates from a number of TIA ventures, ranging from a record-breaking $10,000 in sales, to competing in the New York Business Plan Competition, to putting out a working prototype. After the ventures were celebrated, Weiner Family Entrepreneur in Residence Jen Martin gave students some valuable tips on pitching and tabling, activities in which she has extensive experience.
After the announcements and acknowledgments, two seniors pitched their ventures to a panel of judges. Ellrose Hanlon ’26 started off the pitching segment with her creative media company, Edits by Ellrose. Hanlon’s venture integrates creativity, storytelling, and engagement in advertisement, offering photography, videography, and bundles such as “Early-Stage” and “Creative” packages.
Fletcher Goodell ’26 was next to take the floor with his innovative digital wallet software, Hatch Pay. It allows users to maximize their rewards by automatically choosing which credit card is best for each payment. While this is the first year participating in a TIA program for Hanlon and Goodell, both innovators are planning on continuing their venture after graduation.
On the panel of judges was the weekend’s keynote speaker Mera McGrew. McGrew is the founder of Soapply, a sustainable, skin friendly soap company that is committed to ending the worldwide handwashing problem. Soapply relies on glass refillable bottles to hold high-quality soap that is made of science-backed ingredients to ensure users are clean and protected.
Although Soapply is now a massive success, McGrew started her entrepreneurship journey in the same position as many TIA students: diving headfirst into innovation when passion develops. After her time studying neurobiology, behavioral biology, and political science at Vassar College, McGrew worked in an antimicrobial, antibacterial lab at the National Institutes of Health, leading her to give National Geographic TED Talks. She described her “lightbulb moment” as when she was living in East Africa and was exposed to the sanitation problem that caused high child mortality.
“I was seeing kids that were getting sick with dysentery and respiratory diseases. We don’t really think about it — you go home, you miss a day of school, but you come back. And what I was seeing was these kids getting sick and never coming back. And for me, there was a moment that I said, ‘This is something simple and cost effective, how is it not getting funded?’ I realized that my background and my network gave me an opportunity to do something,” said McGrew of her “lightbulb” moment for starting Soapply.
After witnessing first-hand the devastating fate of 1.4 million children who lose their life each year due to lack of sanitation, McGrew moved back to the United States, determined to help. Her solution was to make soap but her challenge was a value proposition. She started researching and found that there were 2,100 soap brands available, many being marketed as “natural and organic” but in reality contained ingredients that were carcinogens or endocrine disruptors. Soapply’s recipe was carefully crafted by McGrew to be environmentally conscious, safe, and transparent.
“I realized, if we’re going to do this, we need to look at every step of the supply chain from ingredients to packaging to impact. And what if we could convince people to upgrade their soap and in doing that, change people? How could we empower people to make a difference?” recalled McGrew on her thought process formulating Soapply’s mission.
Soapply quickly became an immense success, being featured in The New York Times shortly after establishing the company. McGrew also mentioned the brand’s infiltration into Hollywood. Many celebrities have posted about Soapply, not because it’s a paid promotion, but because they use the product and endorse it. The soap is in multiple Michelin-star restaurants, large boutiques, and will soon be in hotels. McGrew is still looking forward to developing Soapply’s first new product in nine years.
“We’re going to harvest marine bioactives and I’m very excited to share what’s ahead. Our bet is that the future of personal skin care is regenerative. It’s regenerative for both your skin and the planet,” shared McGrew of the new product.
As Soapply grows, McGrew has not lost sight of why she began her mission. For every bottle of soap sold, Soapply donates part of the profit to nonprofit organizations advocating for sanitation in East Africa.
The final TIA Incubator session served as a powerful reminder that entrepreneurship is rarely just about the product—it’s about the person behind it. Whether it’s streamlining digital payments or revolutionizing global health through a bottle of soap, these innovators prove that the most successful ventures are fueled by a relentless drive to leave the world better than they found it.
While students prepare for life beyond graduation, they carry with them the blueprint provided by McGrew: that with a clear mission and a bit of perseverance, a simple “lightbulb moment” can spark a global movement.