The TIA Summer Accelerator is officially underway following a four-day, on-campus intensive workshop held May 11–13. Three ventures spent the kickoff period working closely with highly experienced mentors to set themselves up for a summer of learning and growth.
Brian Horey ’82 was on-campus for the duration, and Kim Schafer ’92 and Per Sekse ’78 joined remotely; several additional alumni and friends of the University joined for one-on-one remote sessions. The three ventures were selected by Weiner Family Entrepreneur in Residence Jen Martin and each has been lined up for intensive mentorship, networking opportunities, and seed funding.
“I am absolutely thrilled with the strong start of this year’s TIA Summer Accelerator. What makes this program truly unique is its ability to not only accelerate student ventures, but also cultivate meaningful connections and a supportive community among founders navigating similar entrepreneurial journeys,” Martin said. “Being part of a cohort, especially as a student or a solo founder, is an accelerator in its own right. They learn so much from one another, and watching their peers succeed inspires them to see what is possible for their own businesses, even across different industries.”
One venture in the program is a returning face: 2026 TIA Entrepreneur Showcase Pitch Competition winner PLNT, founded by Porter Comstock ’26. He was also a member of the 2024 Summer Accelerator. PLNT uses revolutionary drone technology to help plant nurseries track their inventory with 90% accuracy. This summer, Comstock aims to enhance PLNT’s technology with the help of his development partners in the hope of securing them as clients at the end of the program. He will be spending time flying drones and using machine learning to test new models. As of now, Comstock plans to use the funding to purchase a multispectral drone.
Another recent graduate, Andrew Sullivan ’26, is participating with his venture Oasis Running. His venture aims to solve the problem of “boring, overpriced running singlets” by producing high-quality, customizable track uniforms. In the TIA Summer Accelerator, Sullivan is focusing on “the big picture” for Oasis Running to understand how he can set up the business for long-term success. In particular, he noted working on accounting and growing visibility. Sullivan plans to use his seed funding for manufacturing running singlets and creative advertising.
Joining those two graduates is rising senior Sophie Martin ’27, founder of SoundSync. Her venture is a platform for music discovery that allows users to explore new genres and share songs within their community. Sophie’s goals for this summer include “producing a working demo, testing it with potential customers, and preparing the venture for investors,” she said. Due to a recent pivot in the app’s philosophy from playlist sharing to music discovery, Sophie is focused on fleshing out her business model. While she is still preparing a full budget breakdown for her funding, Sophie said she plans to use it towards building her prototype and AI productivity tools to assist with the more trivial nuances that come with being a solo founder.
“All three of our student ventures have truly hit the ground running, following our highly-productive four-day intensive,” Jen said. “We are only two weeks into the program, and these founders are already making incredible progress alongside our deeply dedicated mentors. Our approach is to hold them to a high standard of accountability, but we never leave them to figure it out all on their own. We are right there with them, helping them navigate those crucial early steps and decision points required to get a venture off the ground. Because of that focused support, they have already hit some of their initial summer goals and are now reaching for even bigger milestones.
“The energy, commitment, and focus these entrepreneurs have shown this early in the program give me immense confidence that they will successfully reach their goals and set their businesses up for long-term success,” Jen added.