Harvard Innovation Labs

Happy International Women’s Day! Women founders receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, yet studies show that women-led startups generate 10% more in revenue over five years compared to those led by men. Representation matters. Women are at the forefront of social impact and consistently drive higher profitability. Let’s invest in women together!

In celebration of Women’s Day, we asked Harvard women founders and innovators to share their advice for fellow women entrepreneurs. Tag a female founder who inspires you!

Let us know your advice in the comments 🥰

Congratulations to WHOOP's founder and CEO, Will Ahmed (College '12), for being featured in Boston Globe Media's Bold Types series!

Will started WHOOP as a Harvard College student and athlete. Exercising 3-4 hours daily, he wanted to understand his athletic performance's impact on his health in as much detail as possible. This curiosity led Will to use the i-lab's resources to help launch WHOOP in 2012.

Since its early days at the i-lab, WHOOP has grown into a unicorn company, attracting celebrity users and investors such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, and LeBron James.

Read the full story in The Boston Globe:

How Will Ahmed turned an idea he had as a student athlete at Harvard into a $3.6 billion fitness-tech brand - The Boston Globe Ahmed's company, Whoop, has scored investments from Michael Phelps and LeBron James, opened a flashy headquarters steps from Fenway Park, and made waves in the crowded world of wearable tech.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the winners of the President’s Innovation Challenge!

From portable operating rooms to chip-scale quantum sensors, the impact these ventures will have on the world is boundless.

25 Harvard ventures competed for a share of $515,000 from the Bertarelli Foundation on May 1st. Finalists pitched to 1,000+ attendees at Klarman Hall and the winners were announced live.

We’re so grateful to all participants, judges, and supporters, including Harvard University Interim President Alan Garber and our own Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Executive Director, Matt Segneri. And of course, a huge thank you to the i-lab team as well as Harvard Business School volunteers who helped make this year’s ceremony another spectacular night!

Read more about the event and meet the winners in the Harvard Gazette:

Turning ideas into impact — Harvard Gazette Startup founders inspire global audience at 2024 Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge Awards ceremony.

Today is the day!

Join the Harvard Innovation Labs for our annual celebration of innovation, community, and entrepreneurship at Harvard.

We’ll hear live pitches from 25 finalist ventures and reveal which will receive a share of $515,000 in funding, courtesy of the Bertarelli Foundation.

Watch the livestream here (tonight!!) at 6pm:

Watch the Livestream A venture competition for Harvard students and select alumni to propel their ideas forward.

A huge congratulations to the finalists in the President’s Innovation Challenge Social Impact Student Track.

The Social Impact Student Track is open to student ventures that make our planet safer, more equitable, sustainable, and beautiful.

Congratulations to:

Mai Soli Foundation

: Empowering young girls to break the cycle of child marriage with education and entrepreneurship.

Saturday Art Class

: Unleashing the creative potential of one of the world’s largest marginalized child populations by developing social-emotional skills through visual arts education.

Solara

: Providing on-demand solar irrigation to Indian farmers, increasing their access to affordable, reliable, and clean irrigation.

Trans Health HQ

: A one-stop shop of clinical, legal, and expert resources for clinicians seeking to improve care for transgender patients.

UMA

: Helping female artisans break free from the poverty trap by enhancing leadership skills and providing access to markets.



RSVP to attend the awards ceremony on May 1 online or in-person at Klarman Hall (in-person is sold out, but you can hop on the waitlist!)

https://innovationlabs.harvard.edu/pic/pic-2024

On April 8th, founders at the i-lab took a short break from working on their startups to collectively witness a partial solar eclipse.

Together, they shared moon pies, mars bars, and a mission: don’t look directly into the sun without your eclipse glasses.

Thank you for the pictures, Jorge Cortell!

Join us tonight for an evening of inspiration as we host Megan Smith, CEO of shift7 and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer (2014-2017), in conversation with Mitch Weiss, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School.

Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist. She is the CEO and co-founder of shift7. Before serving as the U.S. Chief Technology Officer, she spent 11 years as vice president at Google, leading new business development.

She’ll share insights from her lifelong journey of innovation and impact. She’ll talk about designing, building, and scaling new technologies and companies; the importance of creating a culture of inclusive innovation; and multi-dimensional entrepreneurship.

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3VF7z2G

This event is in-person only.

A huge congratulations to the student finalists in the President’s Innovation Challenge Open Track.

The Open Track recognizes that great ideas can transcend categories. These ventures may include commercial enterprises, including both business-to-consumer and business-to-business models.

The 2024 ventures are driving innovation to make a significant impact, reshaping the limits of what's achievable.

🌾 Crop Diagnostix
: Redefining precision agriculture with patented, AI-powered gene expression technology.

🫶 Hometeam
: Enabling family and paid caregivers to deliver the best care possible, as efficiently as possible.

📍MesaQuantum
: Developing chip-scale quantum sensors for next-generation GPS capabilities in positioning, navigation, and timing.

💻 Skills.tech (Skills For Industry)
: Leveraging AI to deliver personalized corporate training that enhances learning with tailored content and analytics.

🚘 Vocadian
: Using voice AI to predict and manage fatigue risk, empowering a safer, healthier, and more productive workforce.



RSVP to attend the award ceremony on May 1st online or in-person at Klarman Hall:

https://bit.ly/3THVfMp