Future Founders Names College Students for Inaugural Entrepreneurial Fellowship

January 14, 2015

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.