New student entrepreneurship program to focus on campus life

This fall the Entrepreneurs Club is launching a new program, called InNUvate, in which a team of students will spend the semester developing a business or resource focused on improving campus life.

Applications are now available for InNUvate, which is open to undergraduates. Students interested are asked to apply by Monday, Aug. 22.

The InNUvate team is expected to comprise four students, each with a unique skillset and perspective. Once the team is selected, its members will work closely with the Entrepreneurs Club’s board to identify what aspect of student life InNUvate will focus on improving. The application is even helping to get the ball rolling, as students are asked whether they have a “student-oriented innovation idea in mind.”

Entrepreneurs Club co-president Parshwa Khambhati, DMSB’17, said that from his experience working alongside student ventures and other groups within Northeastern’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, success starts with the team. “Something I’ve learned is that the team is the most important factor,” he said. “You can have a great idea, but you won’t execute it without a strong team. The theme for this program is innovation for student life, and what better way to do that than to bring in a diverse team.”

Khambhati and Entrepreneurs Club board member Connor Gross, DMSB’20, who conceived the idea for InNUvate, said the program’s goals are four-fold: teach students how to run a business, teach teamwork, launch a sustainable company with the ability to scale quickly, and benefit the Northeastern community.

To help the InNUvate team achieve these goals, the students will meet with, gather resources, and seek advice from members of the Mosaic community, a network of student-led campus organizations that support venture incubation. Khambhati and Gross said the hope is that the InNUvate team’s business is ready or close to launch by the end of the fall semester. The team would then move forward with the business, with an eye toward entering startup competitions to accelerate its growth.