Startups
Shonali Ditz’s time in Northwestern Formula Racing led her to found SparkShop, a nonprofit delivering engineering curricula to Chicago students underrepresented in STEM.
Launched in 2015 in a converted space within a campus parking structure, The Garage has helped more than 10,000 students explore the world of entrepreneurship. Ten years later, it has expanded beyond the Evanston campus, utilizing Northwestern’s academic space in San Francisco to offer programming for Bay Area alumni who are a part of the startup ecosystem.
Jehana Ray founded PackLess Travel, a clothing rental service helping tourists travel lighter.
Chelsea Jeon and Ryan Jeon co-founded Immigo, a peer-to-peer English learning platform powered by AI.
Manufacturing and design engineering majors Gass Iyacu ’24 and Emma Jackson ’24 teamed up with classmates Pratham Bansal ’24, Alicia Cabrera ’24 and Kevin Kaspar ’24 to invent an expandable bike helmet that accommodates thick, curly and voluminous hair while prioritizing safety and ventilation.
Ryan Cook ’12 and Mitch Lee ’11 met at Northwestern, where they both studied mechanical engineering, and later worked together at Boeing. They co-founded Arc in 2021, and in early 2024 the company unveiled its first mass-market model, the Arc Sport, a high-performance EV boat designed for wake sports.
Researchers plan to 3D-print a lunar landing pad using the moon’s own materials, with the aim of building a permanent base on the moon. But first they need to analyze what moon dust is made of (and nope, it’s not cheese).
Co-founded by Andrew Youn ’06 MBA, ’19 H, One Acre Fund is a nonprofit that provides training and equipment to 4 million farm families across nine countries in eastern and southern Africa.
The Metzger family’s efforts to cut down on household waste led Ryan Metzger ’01, ’09 MBA to co-found Ridwell, a multicity recycling operation. Since 2018, Ridwell has helped divert more than 21 million pounds of plastic and other hard-to-recycle materials from the waste stream.
Erica Bethe Levin ’05 founded Globowl, a company that creates baby and toddler food featuring flavors from around the world. Diversifying babies’ palates early on can help stave off picky eating and mitigate food allergies down the road, she says.
