The TIA Summer Accelerator is officially underway following a four-day, on-campus intensive workshop held May 11鈥13. Three ventures spent the kickoff period working closely with highly experienced mentors to set themselves up for a summer of learning and growth.
Brian Horey 鈥82 was on-campus for the duration, and Kim Schafer 鈥92 and Per Sekse 鈥78 joined remotely; several additional alumni and friends of the University joined for one-on-one remote sessions. The three ventures were selected by Weiner Family Entrepreneur in Residence Jen Martin and each has been lined up for intensive mentorship, networking opportunities, and seed funding.
鈥淚 am absolutely thrilled with the strong start of this year鈥檚 TIA Summer Accelerator. What makes this program truly unique is its ability to not only accelerate student ventures, but also cultivate meaningful connections and a supportive community among founders navigating similar entrepreneurial journeys,鈥 Martin said. 鈥淏eing part of a cohort, especially as a student or a solo founder, is an accelerator in its own right. They learn so much from one another, and watching their peers succeed inspires them to see what is possible for their own businesses, even across different industries.鈥
One venture in the program is a returning face: 2026 TIA Entrepreneur Showcase Pitch Competition winner , founded by Porter Comstock 鈥26. He was also a member of the 2024 Summer Accelerator. PLNT uses revolutionary drone technology to help plant nurseries track their inventory with 90% accuracy. This summer, Comstock aims to enhance PLNT鈥檚 technology with the help of his development partners in the hope of securing them as clients at the end of the program. He will be spending time flying drones and using machine learning to test new models. As of now, Comstock plans to use the funding to purchase a multispectral drone.
Another recent graduate, Andrew Sullivan 鈥26, is participating with his venture . His venture aims to solve the problem of 鈥渂oring, overpriced running singlets鈥 by producing high-quality, customizable track uniforms. In the TIA Summer Accelerator, Sullivan is focusing on 鈥渢he big picture鈥 for Oasis Running to understand how he can set up the business for long-term success. In particular, he noted working on accounting and growing visibility. Sullivan plans to use his seed funding for manufacturing running singlets and creative advertising.
Joining those two graduates is rising senior Sophie Martin 鈥27, founder of . Her venture is a platform for music discovery that allows users to explore new genres and share songs within their community. Sophie鈥檚 goals for this summer include 鈥減roducing a working demo, testing it with potential customers, and preparing the venture for investors,鈥 she said. Due to a recent pivot in the app鈥檚 philosophy from playlist sharing to music discovery, Sophie is focused on fleshing out her business model. While she is still preparing a full budget breakdown for her funding, Sophie said she plans to use it towards building her prototype and AI productivity tools to assist with the more trivial nuances that come with being a solo founder.
鈥淎ll three of our student ventures have truly hit the ground running, following our highly-productive four-day intensive,鈥 Jen said. 鈥淲e are only two weeks into the program, and these founders are already making incredible progress alongside our deeply dedicated mentors. Our approach is to hold them to a high standard of accountability, but we never leave them to figure it out all on their own. We are right there with them, helping them navigate those crucial early steps and decision points required to get a venture off the ground. Because of that focused support, they have already hit some of their initial summer goals and are now reaching for even bigger milestones.
鈥淭he energy, commitment, and focus these entrepreneurs have shown this early in the program give me immense confidence that they will successfully reach their goals and set their businesses up for long-term success,鈥 Jen added.