The iStartup Lab, co-founded by Information School faculty members Mike Teodorescu and Jeremy Zaretzky, has introduced a new micro grant program designed to support student entrepreneurship. 

After conducting a survey and interviews across the iSchool’s student population, it was clear to Teodorescu and Zaretzky that students sought more than just theoretical coursework — they wanted tangible experiences in entrepreneurship. 

“Students wanted both the curricular element in terms of classes and the social element of meeting like-minded peers to ideate and potentially co-found companies with," said Zaretzky. “While students understood the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of new product development, many lacked knowledge in the practical aspects of launching and sustaining a business.”

The iStartup Lab launched in the 2023-24 academic year to address this demand for practical resources, offering courses and workshops for students. This summer’s launch of the micro grant program marks a significant expansion of the lab’s support of student entrepreneurship, with a focus on data-driven projects that drive social change. 

“The social impact element is really key here. We're big believers in the importance of creating value beyond just dollars,” said Teodorescu. 

With this focus, the micro grants program offers $500 to student teams to assist with the initial costs of starting a business, such as forming a corporation, purchasing domains, and web hosting. Students and recent alumni in all iSchool programs, including Informatics, MLIS, MSIM, Museology and Ph.D., are eligible to apply. The grants are funded by gifts from iSchool donors.

The first round of grants saw an overwhelming number of applications, underscoring the strong demand for support. Although the lab initially planned to award three undergraduate and two graduate student/alumni grants, the high quality of submissions resulted in four graduate/alumni grants being awarded, supporting a total of seven teams. 

Among the micro grant recipients are student teams with impressive, socially impactful projects.

One recipient, Pivot, co-founded by MSIM student Shinjini Guha, addresses the challenge of career transitions for professionals looking to change fields. Guha and her team developed a personalized platform that analyzes a user’s skills, identifies gaps for desired roles, and provides tailored job matches. Pivot, which started as a class project in Teodorescu’s IMT 589 entrepreneurship course, plans to use the grant to cover foundational startup costs such as company registration and cloud credits. 

“The iSchool provided us with so much support throughout the process,” said Guha. “The iStartup Lab was especially helpful because a lot of its members came into our entrepreneurship class to guide us on how to take our class projects further.”

Another recipient, GAIA, led by junior Informatics major Pushkar Rimmalapudi, tackles climate change through enhanced rock weathering to sequester carbon and improve soil fertility in India. By sourcing minerals like basalt and wollastonite dust, GAIA aims to combat rising atmospheric CO2 levels while boosting agricultural productivity. Rimmalapudi and his team will use the microgrant to establish servers and run a pilot project.

“This is the first grant we’ve received, so we’re very excited to move forward with budgeting and planning accordingly,” said Rimmalapudi.

“Since the iStartup grant recipients were announced, we’ve been so thrilled to have people reach out and express interest in collaborating and connecting us with additional funding opportunities,” added GAIA co-founder Akshith Bathena.

Teodorescu and Zaretzky are excited by the passion for entrepreneurship demonstrated in the micro grant applications they received.

“This cohort should be particularly proud of receiving these grants, as they began developing their companies with access to fewer resources than future recipients will likely have,” said Zaretzky.  

"We're proud of the entrepreneurship from our students and alumni and excited to support them moving forward," said Teodorescu. 

Looking ahead, the iStartup Lab aims to expand the micro grant program, offering more grants each year and potentially creating special categories based on emerging needs. 

Through initiatives like the micro grants and its broader educational resources, the iStartup Lab is ensuring that students not only understand the entrepreneurial process but have the tools and support to launch successful, socially conscious businesses.