Summer Program

Caiti Donovan is global marketer, world traveler, and mentor. She has spent nearly 15 years working in advertising, marketing, and digital media. This includes experience at major media companies like Viacom and Spotify, where she developed regional and global marketing programs and narratives which have been recognized by organizations like MediaPost and AdAge.

Caiti Donovan is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of SheIS Sport. Their mission is to use the power of women’s sport to create a future of, by, and for strong women. The organization focuses on the positive attributes of sport to increase fan engagement with women’s sports, while acknowledging and celebrating those who are collective powerhouses and unwavering cheerleaders for women in sport at all levels.

Our students had this to say:

• Absolutely amazing session!!! I really enjoyed listening to Caiti's train of thoughts when she designed the marketing strategies for the big brands like Spotify.
• It was very helpful - thank you! This was extremely fascinating to see, especially with examples of the company you're currently working on, and Spotify, which is an app I use daily, and seeing how much the data drives how each app/website works. Thank you!
• Data driven marketing is what, I believe, all entrepreneurs should be mindful of in the 21st Century. It helped our team understand how to understand customer behaviors and shopping patterns using reliable data.
• My key takeaway is that marketing can never be based from what you think you know but rather what you have found though research.

Bill Aulet is changing the way entrepreneurship is understood, taught and practiced around the world. He is an award-winning educator and author whose current work is built off the foundation of his 25-year successful business career first at IBM and then as a three-time serial entrepreneur. His first book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, released in August 2013, has been translated into 18 languages and has been the content for three online edX courses which have been taken by hundreds of thousands of people in 199 different countries. He has been a featured speaker on shows such as CNBC’s Squawk Box, BBC News, Bloomberg News as well as at events and conferences around the world. He has degrees from Harvard and MIT and is a board member of MITEK Systems (NASDAQ: MITK) and XL Hybrids Inc. (Private) as well as a visiting professor at University of Strathclyde (Scotland). On July 1, 2017, Bill was named a Professor of the Practice at MIT Sloan.

Our student had this to say about their session with Bill:

• Definitely one of the highlights of my LaunchX experience! I loved this session. I learned about different myths that really challenged my mindset and how I view entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs.
• The content is pretty interesting and the slides are really cool, which totally drew my attention to the course
• Entrepreneurship is invention combined with commercialization, and both are very important in ensuring a successful startup! In a team, you should have people specializing in both aspects.
• Being a successful entrepreneur takes skill, passion and drive. Passion for an idea isn't enough - be passionate about your vision, your values.

Christa Chambers-Price is the CEO of Entre-SLAM, Inc. a brand story and marketing strategy group. Christa is a U.S. Military Intelligence Army veteran and a former FBI Analyst. She helps brands discover, build, and launch big ideas that move the world. With an emphasis on consumer psychology, behavioral science, and storytelling, Entre-SLAM has crafted a methodology that guides innovators on how to discover what makes their brands unique and identify market opportunities, while learning how to blend them together to tell a compelling story. 

Our students had this to say:

• Miss Chambers-Price is quite different from other speakers considering that she has been in the army - this may be common in the US, but definitely NOT where I live in (Hong Kong). We don't often see (former) army members hosting lectures for high school kids.
  But I enjoyed it quite a lot since she was able to inspire me to think how to discover my purpose at Launch and at my own startup with her unique experiences.
• Your brand isn't just company it is building your image so that it is compelling and presentable to others because people invest in others, not the company.
• Never ever give up on your mission! Your mission should be so compelling that everyone involved with your brand is subconsciously aware of it.

Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, international keynote speaker and author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller, Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others. His new book, Friday Forward: Inspiration and Motivation to End Your Week Stronger Than It Started, comes out September 1. 

Student comments:

• The most valuable thing I learned in this session is that spiritual capacity provides a framework for all other aspects of leadership and team dynamic. Spiritual capacity is not necessarily religious; rather, it is one's set of core or "North Star" values. One can pinpoint and strengthen their own core values by asking questions.
• Being inspirational yourself is really important, especially in a team dynamic. I learned that if you don't believe in your own company, no one else will

Before starting her own business as a speaker, consultant, and career coach, Diane’s career spanned the globe. She was a tour leader on all seven continents and in over 60 countries, a non-profit fund-raiser, and a business guru helping top companies maximize their talent, time, and money.

Drawing from these experiences, Diane’s talks and one-on-one coaching services teach people how to find common ground with others in order to form beneficial relationships for mutual benefit.

As an internationally published author, educator, and consultant, every year Diane teaches thousands how to find their voice and use it to advance their careers and find success in their lives. McGraw-Hill published her books in 9 languages - which is amazing since she only speaks English.

Student comments:

• I've watched quite a number of pitches before Launch, but I didn't think closely to how it is crafted in a systematic but unique way. I learned about great ways to put oneself out there, and effectively deliver the core message behind one's startup. The lessons taught in this elective also will help me when pitching during LaunchX, and after.
• It was especially helpful as we are crafting our pitches now and I learned a lot about the importance of storytelling which we could include in our pitch.

Mr. Poisel is responsible for managing PCI Ventures, including transitioning technologies into start-up companies, assisting the principal investigators with funding strategies including grant applications, as well as mentoring the developing companies.

Prior to UPenn, Michael made investments in enterprise software and business services for NewSpring Capital, Apax Partners and GE Capital spanning more than ten years in private equity. He began his career in manufacturing operations for General Electric/Lockheed Martin and participated in the successful completion of several commercial and government satellite programs.

• Start building relationship before you ask for money. “If you ask for advice, they’ll give you money. If you ask for money, they’ll give you advice.”
• I thought the session was very informative and interactive, with important steps for our startups. The most valuable thing I learned in this session was the long process, with specific anecdotes, from an idea, to company formation, team recruitment, business development, capital acquisition, to business operations.

Gerry recently served as an Executive-in-Residence (EIR) for a medical device program jointly run by Spectrum Health Innovation and others. Recently, he was the CEO of Civionics, a University of Michigan Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) startup that was acquired; and an EIR at TechTown Detroit, where he helped entrepreneurs transition their ideas into sustainable businesses. Gerry earned his PhD from Carnegie Mellon, where he worked on ground-breaking mobile robotics projects; and recently passed the USPTO patent bar exam.

Students had this to say about the session:

• I learned about different ways to start prototyping a design. I learned about different types of models, how to develop them, and significance of MVP. Moreover, I learned about how to actually start prototyping because there are different types and ways to prototype.
• The most valuable thing I learned in this session was how were the steps needed to be taken to build a minimum viable product, with all sorts of modeling tools that might help us do that, from physical objects to digital software.
• Working with a tech startup, this session provided valuable advice when it came to how to work through iterations and operations of a tech prototype.
• I thought the session had a lot of informative content and I enjoyed the class exercise in designing an app idea with example card screens.

Philip Greenwald is the associate director of technology at Harvard Innovation Labs. Before founding the Lab’s Technology Development department, he lead technology programming and advised student and alumni entrepreneurs on software development and building new technologies.

In addition to teaching, Phil has worked with aspiring CEOs and young professionals from Boston to Korea to bring minimum viable products (MVPs) to realization, secure business funding, and get accepted into accelerators such as Y Combinator and MassChallenge. He has officially advised approximately 60 startups that have in aggregate raised over $100 Million. Prior to teaching, Phil was the chief software architect on several large-scale web and mobile applications and the Founder of the Code Undercover coding school. Phil continues to take on a small number of clients for whom he oversees large-scale and tough tech development tasks, primarily in the fields of AI, AR/VR, and mobile app development.

Students had this to say about Philip's session:

• He's seriously the best teacher I've ever had in my entire life I never imagined that a virtual class would be the best thing I've experienced so far I'm so thankful for having this opportunity and for sure I've learned far more than just coding and nerdy stuff. He was so patient with 35 students, each had their own problems and difficulties but he was committed and he helped every single one, he put in his time and patience and just went through it all. Instead of 8 hours per day we worked for 12 and more per day which is something not much people would sacrifice for others, he inspired me to change for the better. I'm so grateful, I don't think I made him know how much I enjoyed this weekend, but he deserves tons of credit for it and I hope one day I could meet him which is pretty close to impossible, but I really hope thank you for giving me this opportunity. 
• BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN! I learned so much about Ruby on Rails, the different syntax, and a lot about the back end of programming!
• Phil is an incredible instructor! What a treat to learn from him this weekend. I gained lots of valuable insight into how coding works because I came into this workshop with little experience with coding.
• This was an amazing experience. Mr. Greenwald as a fantastic teacher. He was patient with all questions and happily shared his knowledge about deeper concepts that weren't part of the course. He spent hours and hours making sure that everyone was on the same page and that everyone's code would work. I learned a ton from this session and every second was worth it!