The Future Founders Foundation, a non-profit organization that inspires youth in Chicagoland to explore and practice entrepreneurship, today announced the top 12 college students who were selected to participate in the inaugural Founders Fellowship, a part of its Future Founders Startup (formerly College Founders) program.
The Founders Fellowship is a selective year-long program designed to accelerate the development of rockstar student entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial-minded leaders. Founders Fellows will benefit from mentoring, job shadowing, scholarships for resources, unique entrepreneurial experiences, and volunteer opportunities through other Future Founders programs.
“Our fellows possess an unquestionable passion and insatiable drive to become successful entrepreneurs,” said Scott Issen, President & CEO, Future Founders Foundation. “Through the Founders Fellowship, we hope to amplify their existing successes by connecting them with high caliber mentors and providing them with access to resources necessary to help bring their business goals to life.”
The Founders Fellowship is a key component of Future Founders Startup, which connects students to the best entrepreneurial resources, events and activities in the Chicagoland community. Future Founders Startup brings together dozens of universities, incubators, community organizations and businesses, promoting collaboration and engagement. The program is supported by The Coleman Foundation, The John E. and Jeanne T. Hughes Foundation, Capital One, and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Acceptance into the Founders Fellowship followed a vigorous application process. The 12 students who have been selected for the first cohort represent seven schools and are working on industries ranging from tech and consumer products to healthcare and non-profits.
Congratulations to the participants of the 2015 Founders Fellowship: (listed in alphabetical order by school and last name)
Columbia College Chicago Kelsey Hayenga, Founder of Bandwagon Ticketing
DePaul University Elizabeth Ames, Co-Founder of EarlyVention Liliana Leon, Founder of Wine Folded and Once Upon A Wine Andy Marsh, Managing Partner of TagPrints Digital
Emory University Kaeya Majmundar, Founder & CEO of BZbox and ZipTank
Illinois Institute of Technology Kevin Roemer, Founder of Brandless.io and Partner & CTO of FUND Conference Elizabeth Zubiate, Co-Founder of Purshable
Lincoln Park High School Samuel Lurye, CEO of Social Synergy Media
Trinity Christian College Ryan Hesslau, Founder of foreverU Thomas Iwema, President & Co-Founder of IKG Property Maintenance, Inc.
University of Chicago Jason Li, Founder of iReTron Inc. and UProspie Daniel Yu, Founder of Reliefwatch
For more information, contact Katie Sowa, Senior Director, Startup at Future Founders at katie@futurefounders.com.
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