NYC Gazette

One CUNY student and two recent graduates were among five national winners of the prestigious Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition, putting them atop a group of nearly 2,200 students who entered. The winners received $10,000 to help develop their ideas for startup companies and products. They are Reginald Wills and Sujen Wu, both 2022 graduates of Queens College, who worked as a team, and current Borough of Manhattan Community College student Gesy Duran. 

Wills, 29 and Wu, 25, won the contest’s Social and Climate Impact category for “Collabiversity” — an online apparel marketplace that they envision as an intermediary between brands and colleges to create merchandise and digital assets for students and alumni. The marketplace, which was inspired by CUNY’s collaboration last year with popular streetwear brand KITH, would help generate funds for student scholarships.

Duran, 35, won the contest’s Consumer Products and Services category for “Wheel-eating” — a concept she developed to bring to market a portable serving tray that can adapt to any table for wheelchair users. The product is meant to make it easy and comfortable for wheelchair users to enjoy their meals without worrying about spilling food or losing balance. 

Started more than a decade ago, the Blackstone LaunchPad program expanded to nine CUNY campuses in 2021 as part of a $40 million commitment by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation to partner with dozens of minority-serving higher-education institutions that have majority-diverse populations and serve under-resourced communities. Blackstone LaunchPad works with colleges across the United States to deliver entrepreneurial skill-building programs that help students launch successful careers, providing training and support through partnerships with higher education institutions, nonprofits and employers to increase access to career-building opportunities. 

“We congratulate this enterprising CUNY trio and applaud their creative, winning ideas in the Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Contest. Their success is a reflection of our mission to develop changemakers,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Partnerships between CUNY and organizations like Blackstone LaunchPad are helping us bridge the opportunity gap that exists for historically underrepresented students, allowing them to achieve their entrepreneurial ambitions. We are extremely proud to be able to uplift such a diverse group of immigrants, first-generation college students, student-parents and students who have actively served in our military armed forces.”

“Congratulations to Reginald, Sujen and Gesy! Blackstone LaunchPad is thrilled to continue our mission helping to foster economic opportunity and career mobility for students like them across the nation,” said Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Maura Pally. “We look forward to helping students increase their competitiveness in today’s job market with career readiness and entrepreneurial skill building.” 

Since 2010, Blackstone LaunchPad has supported students on more than 60 college and university campuses, now with a focus on Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and community colleges. In the last year, LaunchPad has engaged more than 30,000 students. 

The Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition begins with a preliminary campus round, which awards prizes of $1,000 and invites winners to submit a pitch deck and compete for a national grand prize of $10,000 to put toward their business idea. The competition is geared to mitigate the risk factors involved with entrepreneurship, helping students of all study fields and experience levels become early entrepreneurs and build strong professional relationships. Students submit ideas that address issues in categories that include social and climate impact, health and life sciences, and consumer products and services.

To read the full stories of the winning students, you can visit here.

Original source can be found here.