The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute events calendar for fall 2021 is now available in print and online formats. See links below. We have many events and opportunities planned for the semester. We have Make Space hours, grants, workshops, mentor hours, application deadlines, entrepreneur classes through the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy, and more. All University of […]
Latest News
VIDEO: Lassonde Studios Walking Tour 2021
See inside Lassonde Studios at the University of Utah in this walking tour recorded in summer 2021. We start in the lobby and walk throughout the first floor and upstairs community spaces. Learn more and apply to live here at lassonde.utah.edu/studios.
uAir: A Streamlined, Ultra-Portable Asthma Inhaler
If you’re not a person with asthma, you probably don’t think very often about inhalers. If you use one, however, you understand the unseen annoyances. Most importantly, you’ve probably dealt with a crucial choice: do I bring my inhaler and risk losing it because of how hard it is to store, or leave it behind […]
Sathya Vijayakumar: Healthcare Executive and Mentor to Entrepreneurs
Since its establishment, the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute has built a community that caters to creation and connection. Sathya Vijayakumar embodies these traits; as a healthcare expert and entrepreneurial guide, she mentors student entrepreneurs through her knowledge and network. Vijayakumar feels grateful for the years she has spent at Lassonde and cherishes her continued involvement with student […]
Rise Up School of Dance: More Than Just a Business
For founder Alyssa Bertelsen, Rise Up School of Dance is so much more than a business. “Rise Up started just out of my own story growing up; I wasn’t able to afford ballet classes and was given a scholarship,” Bertelsen said. “That totally changed my life because I could pursue ballet and it really grew […]
Neighbor Closes a $53 Million Funding Round
Neighbor, a peer-to-peer storage company, proved that early failures don’t always determine the success of a startup. While competing in one of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute’s Get Seeded grant rounds for student entrepreneurs, Neighbor came in last place. Five years later the company has closed its $53 million Series B round of funding. Neighbor was […]
HelloGM: Empowering Hoteliers with Data Science
Co-founders Viral Shah and Dhaval Chokshi are empowering hoteliers with their startup HelloGM, which provides a single interface to see data from disparate property management systems easily compiled, analyzed, and utilized. A data-science-focused endeavor, the pair grew the company as members of the Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles […]
Hadley Designs: From Baby Shower Invites to Home Decor
Hadley Designs is a husband-and-wife venture specializing in stationery and gift-related products, from baby shower invites to home decor. Starting as a hobby, the couple’s custom-order wedding invitation business pivoted into selling products on Amazon and has exploded over the past few years — now, they dominate the stationery and gift categories they sell in […]
Campman: An Online Marketplace for Outdoor Gear
There’s rarely such a thing as an immediate success story, and University of Utah David Eccles School of Business alumni Chris Holt definitely knows this. After graduating with an MBA in 2005, Holt became a medical technologist, but dreams of starting his own business stayed present after his experiences with what is now the Lassonde […]
No Society Media: Making Professional Video & Photos Accessible for Everyone
Professional video and photo production quality is often not an option for small businesses and personal projects, but Syd Ostendorf is changing that as the founder of No Society Media and an entrepreneurship and film student at the University of Utah. Ostendorf’s company aims to make high-end, commercial work accessible to everyone. She wants to […]