On June 10th, 2020 - Valtteri Salomaki, the co-founder of EDGE Sound Research a startup developing new audio systems for immersive entertainment companies allowing users to both feel and hear sound in High Definition has been selected to participate in the LaunchPad Summer Startup Fellowship, during which college students from the U.S. and Ireland will be provided additional opportunity to validate their strategies and advance their businesses. During the program, student fellows will participate in coaching sessions with LaunchPad Campus Directors as well as mentoring from Blackstone Campus Ambassadors and Techstars Entrepreneurs and Advisors. Students will also have the opportunity to hear first-hand from entrepreneurs like Allbirds Co-Founder Tim Brown, Techstars CEO and Co-Founder David Brown, CareMessage Co-Founder Cecilia Corral, and SparkCharge Co-Founder (and LaunchPad Alum) Josh Aviv during the LaunchPad Lessons Learned speaker series.
“At Techstars, we’ve always focused on supporting entrepreneurs who have a deep passion for solving problems they've personally experienced,” said Amy Smith, Senior Vice President, Product for Techstars. “You won’t find more passionate innovators than the student founders in the LaunchPad Fellowship and we’re happy to be helping provide an experience this summer necessary for them to validate and continue pursuing their ideas.”
The LaunchPad Summer Startup was developed this spring in response to a number of current challenges facing college-aged entrepreneurs: According to recent research by Glassdoor, internship opportunities dropped 52% this summer. These opportunities are crucial to informing future young entrepreneurs about their own startup ideas and helping land traditional full-time positions after graduation. Reduced professional entry-level job opportunities and strains on family finances have also increased pressure for students to ‘earn a paycheck’, and potentially postpone or forgo taking a risk on a startup idea.
"I am very excited and humbled to be selected alongside 50 startup founders to participate in Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars Summer Startup Fellowship. This 8-week program will be essential in the growth of EDGE Sound Research as I will have access to a new network of entrepreneurs, resources, and mentorship that will help my team reach our next major milestones. After completing this Fellowship, I hope that EDGE Sound Research will be prepared to participate in an accelerator program to help maintain the fast-paced momentum my team has achieved in the past 6 months of development" said Valtteri Salomaki, co-founder of EDGE Sound Research
In addition to coaching and mentorship from LaunchPad Campus Directors and Blackstone Campus Ambassadors throughout the 8 weeks, students will also get the chance to participate in a Techstars Mentor Week. The LaunchPad Student Startup Fellowship will conclude July 31, 2020.
UCR's Office of Technology Partnerships, with The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Techstars, delivers Launchpad at UCR to help students succeed in entrepreneurship and their careers. Whether you have an idea, have a startup, or just curious about entrepreneurship, LaunchPad @ UCR offers a variety of resources at all stages of idea and venture development. To learn more visit LaunchPad @ UCR or contact Mai Temraz (mai.temraz@ucr.edu).