The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management has selected the 2026 cohort of startup teams for its Johnson Summer Startup Accelerator. Comprising 38 companies, this year’s cohort is developing innovative solutions across healthcare, energy, and AI-powered platforms, addressing challenges that span industries and global markets.
The Johnson Summer Startup Accelerator (JSSA) supports graduate management students as they advance their entrepreneurial ventures over the summer while participating in internships and enables Executive MBA students to continue building their startups alongside their full-time roles. This structured 10-week program provides participants with the time, resources, and guidance needed to refine business concepts into actionable strategies and market-ready startups. Throughout the accelerator, entrepreneurs participate in weekly workshops, engage in professional networking opportunities, and receive individualized support through one-on-one consultations with dedicated Entrepreneurs in Residence.
This year, JSSA partnered with Cornell’s EMC² Mark Mobius Pitch Competition to support its finalists through the program’s virtual summer curriculum. The partnership expanded JSSA’s reach to a diverse group of emerging-market entrepreneurs while providing finalists with access to Cornell’s startup ecosystem.
MBA students planning to work full-time on their startups post-graduation were eligible to apply for a stipend from the Vrinda Kadiyali Student Entrepreneur Fund. Stephen Smith ’91, MBA ’95, established the fund in honor of Vrinda Kadiyali, the Nicholas H. Noyes Professor of Management, who inspired him to launch his startup. Smith’s idea ultimately became Naviance, the successful college and career readiness software. Smith believes that the summer between the first and second years is critical for MBA students who plan to launch their own businesses, prompting him to establish the fund to alleviate the financial burden on young entrepreneurs.
This year’s recipient of the Vrinda Kadiyali Student Entrepreneur Fund is Justin Bertelsen, MBA ’27, founder of Thrive Time.
“Through JSSA, I’m hoping to gain some traction and win our first contract by the end of the summer”, said Bertelsen.
Meet the featured JSSA startups:
AdaptIV: A portable IV compounding and infusion platform that enables on-demand sterile medication preparation at the point of care, reducing infrastructure dependency, medication waste, and delays in infusion therapy delivery, founded by Taesu Park, MBA ’27, Ying Chi Lo, MBA ’27, and Kim Elizabeth, MPH ’27.
Amply: A company building EV charging stations for every home, founded by Rukuma Viegas, EMBA ’26, and Don Hursey, EMBA ’26.
Bonfire: A social platform designed to transform networks into lasting community through both spontaneous and curated experiences, founded by Sarah Higgins, EMBA ’27, Stephen Fang, EMBA ’27, and Lydia Booz, EMBA ’27.
Bruma: An on-the-go skincare hand sanitizer startup, founded by Yasmine Piechottka, MBA ’27.
Care Idos: A patient registration platform designed to eliminate patient misidentification, streamline check-in processes, and improve patient communication through a HIPAA-compliant, FHIR-enabled system, founded by Narendra Panapitiya, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’27, Rhea Iyer, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’27, Ojaswini Wabgaonkar, EMBA /MS Healthcare Leadership ’27, Ana Ferreira, EMBA /MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, and Jared Rosa, EMBA /MS Healthcare Leadership ’27.
Cora: The first at-home cortisol test designed for women with PCOS, founded by Daniel Madmony-Ziegler, MBA ’27, and Shreya Dandwate MEng BME ’26.
Emily: A personalized CRM that helps users build relationships with in-person acquaintances, founded by Madison Gamma, Cornell Tech MBA ’26.
Epigenia: A biotechnology startup focused on epigenetic reprogramming through mRNA-based transcription factor cocktails, founded by Srikanth Kakumanu, EMBA ’26.
FurSure Diagnostics: A company developing a rapid feline coronavirus diagnostic device for suspected Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) cases, founded by Jessica Caroline Gomes Noll, Ph.D. ’24, Fumei Cerecino Mayer, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, and Danni Tang, Ph.D. ’26.
GlowRoute: An AI-powered U.S. market entry platform that helps Korean brands launch and scale in America by automating Amazon localization, regulatory compliance, translation, and go-to-market operations, founded by Min Namkoong, MBA ’27 and Doh Joon Park, MBA ’27.
Impact Compass: An AI-powered system that helps allocate philanthropic capital more proactively and dynamically, founded by Alejandro Cercio, MBA ’27.
Infra Engine: A company leveraging AI to improve engineering design and support smarter capital investment decisions, founded by Haziq Zainudin, EMBA ’26.
Launchbrief: An on-demand marketing kit service that provides startup founders with complete, ready-to-use marketing campaigns in minutes, founded by Natascha Johnson, EMBA ’27.
Livby.ai: A peer-to-peer renter network that transforms scattered rental listings, roommate posts, and sublets into trusted, structured housing matches powered by AI, founded by Mosfigul Aktar, MBA ’27.
Maidimi LLC: A business operations service that handles day-to-day operations so business owners can regain clarity, time, and the freedom to grow, founded by Gladys Prias, EMBA ’27.
Memplane: An on-device AI performance layer that learns how people work to keep computers fast, focused, and responsive in the background, founded by Maya Sagalin, MBA ’27.
Nobren Energy: A company accelerating the adoption of the energy-as-a-service model in Mexico, enabling businesses to access clean and reliable energy solutions without significant upfront capital investment, founded by Ivan Rivas, EMBA ’27.
Not So Boring CPA: An AI-enabled tax training simulator for tax preparers, founded by Kat Khalandach, and Humza Khattak, EMBA’27
Nüey: A lifestyle platform that connects users to Puerto Rico’s leading wellness, beauty, and hospitality experiences through seamless discovery and booking, founded by Valeria Ortiz, MBA ’27.
Pendulum PowerForward: A platform that enables households to access solar energy without upfront costs by allowing neighbors to finance installations and share returns, founded by Tika Diagnestya, MBA ’27, and Nadya Restu, MBA ’26.
PreVia: An AI-driven platform that replaces indiscriminate wellness screening with evidence-based, risk-stratified diagnostic pathways, ensuring the right people are tested for the right conditions at the right time, founded by Vinod Petluri, EMBA ’26, and Praveen Poojari, EMBA ’26.
Project Acuvia: A B2B Data-as-a-Service platform that transforms data from China’s national ETC network into actionable intelligence for planners, insurers, lenders, logistics providers, and map companies, founded by Yifan Ping, MBA ’27.
Quantum Markets: An exchange for tokenized equities in emerging markets, founded by Pranav Sehgal, EMBA ’26.
RELAI: A real-time, interoperable hospital transfer coordination platform that integrates with existing hospital systems and includes structured hand-off tools, and standardized electronic transfer protocols and enables bi-directional sharing of patient data, bed availability, specialty coverage, and staffing resources across organizations, founded by Aly Abrams, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, Carly Skudin, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, Galina Borodulina, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, Avilia Amat, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26, and Vijay Raghunathan, EMBA/MS Healthcare Leadership ’26.
ReNest: A platform that helps relocating students save time and money through flexible, affordable access to used furniture and home essentials, founded by Lin Xu, MBA ’27.
Resonance: An AI-powered due diligence engine that verifies startup financial metrics before they reach investors, replacing manual analysis with a trusted, standardized signal, founded by Megan Wei, EMBA ’27, and Scott Sablan, EMBA ’27.
silo labs: A healthcare operating system powered by long-term memory technology, founded by Yaron Klein, MBA ’27, and Sahil Desai, Ph.D. ’26.
Epigenia: An epigenetic platform focused on developing treatments for liver-based diseases, founded by Srikanth Kakumanu, EMBA ’26.
The Lowdown: An AI-powered platform that searches databases and websites to fact-check information shared by online dates, transforming extensive online research into a verified confidence scorecard delivered in minutes, founded by Maria Surinach, EMBA ’26, and Alexis You, EMBA ’26.
Thrive Time: A school-based after-school care program serving families with children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, founded by Justin Bertelsen, MBA ’27. Bertelsen is the recipient of this year’s Vrinda Kadiyali Student Entrepreneur Fund.
Trimester Abroad: An intelligence platform for family travel that helps parents plan safer, simpler trips by turning global travel data into life-stage-specific destination intelligence, founded by Matthew Morris, MBA ’27, and Shannon Morris EMMH ’26.
Vestra: An intelligent wardrobe platform that transforms a woman’s existing closet into a personalized, lifestyle-aware, AI-driven system for daily outfit planning, helping time-constrained, multi-role women reduce decision fatigue and feel confident every day, founded by Cristina Sousa, EMBA ’26, Alexis Abramson, EMBA’26, Ellis Gomez, EMBA ’26.
