Babson College Hosts 15 Start-Ups In 2013 Summer Venture Program

WELLESLEY, Mass., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 15 start-ups are participating in Babson College's 2013 Summer Venture Program, a 10-week intensive experience sponsored by the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson that is designed to support the College's most promising MBA and undergraduate entrepreneurs.

Babson's Summer Venture Program is one of the area's leading accelerators and has several unique features, including being the only full-time community of entrepreneurs and mentors that work together in an open workspace on the college's campus. In addition, the program provides participants with a noontime lecture series that covers a wide range of topics relating to entrepreneurship, including discussions by successful entrepreneurs, investors and company advisors.

Participants also engage in "Hot Seat" sessions, created by Steve Gold, the Program Director, where they learn to critique presentations and develop engaging sales and investor pitches.

This summer's special SVP guests include Marsh Carter, Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and former Chairman and CEO of State Street Bank, and Jordan Kahn, founder and CEO of the Holmes Group.  Also, Babson graduate Sara Gragnolati of Cocomama Foods, Jill Cartwright of GoGaga bags, Enrico Palmerino of ThinkLite, and Ross Beyeler of GrowthSpark are four of the young entrepreneurs advising participants.

SVP features a diverse array of business ranging from retail to event planning and even a Mango Wine company. All of the lessons and experience from this summer's program culminate in a Summer Venture Program Showcase event, a celebration at Babson College where participants showcase their work to professional investors and the local community, on Thursday, July 25th.

To learn more about Babson's Summer Venture program visit: http://www.babson.edu/svp or see below for a full list of this year's participants:

2013 Summer Venture Program Teams

AfterDark Technologies (@Bias4ActionDJW) (Daniel Wilson M'13) - AfterDark Technologies is creating an immersive nighttime experience for team sports including Ultimate Frisbee and Flag Football. http://masschallenge.org/startups/2013/1817  

Artblix (@Artblix) (Rolando Chinchilla '15) - Artblix is an online marketplace where artists, artisans, retailers, and art-lovers will be able to buy & sell all types of cultural handmade products worldwide!  http://www.artblix.com/start/  

DealTas (Yaniv Koter M'13) - DealTas provides a better way for international consumers to shop online in the U.S. through a variety of value added service such as U.S. address, consolidation of orders and customs advise. Currently focusing on the Israeli market, we are proud to provide the most intimate customer service in the market.  https://www.facebook.com/DealTas  

The Dominican Block (Chet Clem M'13) - The Dominican Block is a historic landmark building that is being redeveloped in downtown Lewiston, Maine.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Block  

EasyPoll.us (Paola Katz Friedler '14) - EasyPoll.Us allows audience members the ability to anonymously rate any event, speaker or performer instantly.  http://www.easypoll.us/  

FedWell (Emily Lagasse M'16) - FedWell Pet Foods is a unique and exciting pet food line that is made of high-quality, human-grade ingredients (including sprouted seeds!) and baked at low temperatures to retain nutrition. 

Guest Listers (@guestlisters) (Eric Sedransk M'14 and Kevin Connors M'14) - Guest Listers is improving the Boston nightlife scene by providing access to the guest list at premier bars and clubs throughout the city.  http://www.guestlisters.com/  

Mango Wine (Mariana Robina Galatas M'13 and Alonso Hidalgo M'13) - A creative solution to use rescued mangos from Mexican farms to produce a high quality wine.

PureAbs (Prateek Sood M'14) - With a patented single motion triple impact design, PureAbs is an abdominal exerciser for home use, providing a comprehensive workout.

ReceptionIt (@ReceptionIt) (Andrew Lee M'13 and Andrew Krebs-Smith M'13) - ReceptionIt makes it easy for event planners to instantly find, compare and book unique venues and properties.  http://masschallenge.org/startups/2013/932  

ReDesIgn (Alexander Huang '15) - ReDesIgn focuses on providing ergonomic and intuitive product innovations to underdeveloped sectors in the home and garden consumer goods industry.

Santa Emilia Estate Coffee (Hans Homberger M'14) - Santa Emilia Estate Coffee seeks to promote craftsman and eco-friendly premium coffee from Central America in the U.S.  http://santaemiliaestatecoffee.com/  

Si devices (@Sidevices) (Jon Morgan M'14, Michael Audi and Stephen Hansen) - Si devices monitors, manages, and optimizes your energy consumption, cutting costs and maximizing profits.  http://www.sidevices.com/  

Snapparent (@snapparent) (Niket Anjaria M'13) - Snapparent is the next step in online parent groups. Snapparent allows you to easily connect with other parents in your town and exchange advice, recommendations, buy & sell things and find fun events for your children.  http://snapparent.com/  

Superego Clothiers (@_superego) (James He M'14) - Superego Clothiers is the premier social marketplace for sustainable lifestyle products.  http://www.superegoclothiers.com/collections/all  

About Babson College
Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds™. The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society -- while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

SOURCE Babson College