Couri Hatchery

Couri Hatchery Student Business Incubator

 

Whitman’s Couri Hatchery Business Incubator helps Syracuse University students and alumni turn ideas into businesses. Open to founders from every school and college, the Hatchery connects founders with Whitman’s nationally recognized entrepreneurship faculty, successful alumni founders, investors, and business leaders while providing mentorship, workspace, and funding opportunities from idea to launch and growth.

 

Since 2018, the Hatchery has supported more than 6,000 students and alumni, helped launch 290+ companies, and supported founders who have raised more than $294 million in investment capital. Participants also have access to more than 150 mentors and approximately $250,000 in annual funding opportunities through university-wide pitch competitions and grants.

 

There is no cost to join the Couri Hatchery. Named in honor of John Couri ’63 (A&S), co-founder of Duty-Free International and president of the Couri Foundation.

 

 

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Couri Hatchery Alumni

Businesses that have been initiated within the Couri Hatchery include:

  • Dream Water
  • Golden Gear
  • ExPrep
  • Brevite
  • ThunderCakes
  • Funk ’n Waffles
  • Wholesale Jewelry Liquidators
  • Brand Yourself
  • EB Active and many others.

Entrepreneurship News and Profiles

LaunchPad Announces 2026 Afropreneurship Competition Winners

Cristina Hatem
Winning students pose with their oversized checks

Six student entrepreneurs took home cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500 at the annual pitch competition in Bird Library.

 

Syracuse University Libraries’ LaunchPad awarded prizes to several student entrepreneur teams as part of its annual Afropreneurship Celebration and Pitch Competition held in Bird Library on Feb. 6.

 

The event included a panel discussion featuring student and alumni entrepreneurs, followed by a pitch competition open to student teams across campus. Students pitched in either the Concept/Idea Track, where participants delivered a 90-second pitch on their idea for a chance to win $250-$500, or the Proof of Concept/Prototype/In-Market Track, where participants delivered a 4-minute business pitch and question and answer for a chance to win $1,000-$2,500.

 

 
Winning teams in the Concept Track were:

 

Yuqian Di ’26 (SOA), founder of ReBoot, won 1st place ($500). ReBoot is a specialized on-campus service to save students’ winter boots from salt damage through professional restoration, extending the lifespan of expensive footwear.

 

Yuxin Chen ’26 (SOA), founder of PlateMap, placed 2nd and was awarded $250. PlateMap is a visual meal-mapping system that eliminates decision fatigue by aligning food planning with a user’s actual schedule to make healthy, cost-effective eating effortless.

 

 
Winning teams in the In-Market Track were:

 

Edouard Agbor G’26 (iSchool), founder of GritGateway won 1st place ($2500). GritGateway is an ethical human-centered AI-powered global opportunity platform with active users across 20+ African countries that helps ambitious African students turn their life stories into verified profiles of grit, resilience and potential that universities can trust.

 

Imaad Maqsood ’29 (A&S), founder of Upstate Pressure won 2nd place ($1500). Upstate Pressure is a residential and commercial pressure washing service that restores and protects exterior surfaces such as concrete walkways, driveways, decks, siding, fences, patios and more.

 

Dylan Bardsley ’26 founder of Clarity won 3rd Place ($750). Clarity is a transparent, AI-powered platform that instantly gives students clear, hyper-personalized credit card recommendations.

 

Naheem Cadiz III ’28 founder of Coveted won 4th place ($250). Coveted is a mobile fashion marketplace app designed for independent and emerging clothing brands and the consumers who discover them.

 

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J. Michael Haynie

I came because of this institution’s tradition of excellence, its spirit of service and something I can only describe as its character. There is a sense of purpose and belonging here that is uniquely Syracuse.

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Chancellor, Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship

  • Faculty

Lilly deWildt ’27

What brought me to Syracuse is definitely the program that I’m in right now, the ability to get undergrad and law school done in six years instead of seven.

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Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises; 3+3 Whitman/Law program

  • Undergraduate

Sam Hollander ’22 (WSM/NEW)

I’ve always wanted to start something and build my own destiny, and the resources and like-minded people at the LaunchPad helped point me in the right direction.

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Finance and Advertising

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Nick Monzi ’11

In education, there’s always more work to do. There are always more students to reach, and there are never quite enough resources to reach them all, and so we’re constantly building our relationships with teams, philanthropy, so on and so forth, to make sure that we’re resourced to continue to scale the organization.

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Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises

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Trey Augliano ’27

I love working on the back end of startups—seeing ideas go from concept to commercialization. And I’ve learned so much from SU alumni entrepreneurs. Their insights and support have been incredible.

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Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises

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Hyoju Jeong

Collaborating was my number one factor in choosing Whitman, as it’s important to find a place where your research fits, and you can have meaningful conversations with others...also noting that she found the University to have many of the resources she needed.

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Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises

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Connor Schultz

Follow your passions. Do what interests you.

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Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises/International Relations

  • Undergraduate Dual

Michael Dichter ’26

Whitman prepared me in so many ways. Courses in data analytics, entrepreneurship and financial management gave me the foundation I needed. The emphasis on real-world projects and presentations gave me the confidence to step into a startup and contribute right away.

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Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, Finance

  • Undergraduate Dual

Will Lewandowski ’27

The people at Whitman have played a huge role in my journey, and the environment has been incredibly supportive, I believe this is what sets Whitman apart from other business schools.

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Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises

  • Undergraduate

Joan and Gary S. Greenberg ’72

My whole career revolved around business, even though I didn’t actually go to the business school. But, I still participated in some of the competitions and especially loved Whitman’s entrepreneurial spirit.

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