Accelerate@Shea
Accelerate@Shea is a 9-week program that provides student startups with expert advice, resources, and funding to launch and grow their businesses.
Teams have access to a network of founders and mentors, including alumni and friends of Boston College.
Through comprehensive workshops and one-on-one office hour sessions, Accelerate@Shea aims to bring together the innovative startup community at Boston College by giving teams the opportunity to discuss their progress and build a relationship with other student entrepreneurs going through the same challenges.
Several student founders who have been a part of a past Accelerator cohort have gone on to grow their startups in the professional world. Others have used their Accelerator knowledge to jumpstart successful careers in entrepreneurship, finance, technology, and many other fields.
Check back in Fall 2023 to apply for the Spring 2024 cohort.
Questions? Email shea.center@bc.edu

$1500 in an equity-free grant to use toward their startups
Personalized mentorship from professionals and alumni
Workshop sessions to implement new ideas
Curated lectures and Q&A sessions to inspire growth and confidence
Access to all Shea Center resources, learning spaces, and community
Free publicity and visibility for student startups, including an end-of-semester Demo Day open to the BC community
Nine weekly workshops featuring collaborative exercises and guest lectures by established entrepreneurs
Office hours with mentors experienced in running accelerator programs and managing startups
Group bonding and reflection to allow student startup concepts to become fully realized
Personalized advice and assistance for student startups, whether they are a new idea or a licensed company
Meet the 2023 Accelerator Cohort

Bell
Ava Korbani '26, Dylan Dulchinos '26, Sophia Perry '26, Keira Dubitsky '26
Bell plans to significantly reduce textbook costs while also creating a digital platform for a college-specific, student-driven economy. Their app directly connects students within the same college, allowing them to buy and sell textbooks from one another.

BlockPool
Leo Henkels '23, James Pusey '23
BlockPool is creating anonymous, automated, betting pools with no fees. Through development of the Block Pool app, its creators will leverage blockchain technology to make a decentralized application to host transparent, automated, no-fee pools, thereby making pool betting a better experience for all involved.

Campi
Michael Faris '23, Madelyn Divino '23, Bobby Wittman '25, Erica Bittinger '23
Campi reduces social and economic waste for colleges. The Campi app creates a safe space for students to connect with peers, learn about on-campus events, and sell or trade their products and services.

Crypto Bites
Evan Brady '23, David McCabe '23, Michael Hofbeck '23, Minh Le '23
Crypto BItes allows users to buy food using crypto without an exchange. Users will be able to spend directly from their self-custody wallets. No waiting periods. No transfer fees. Only the crypto to cover the food costs is put in escrow.

Grapher
Matthew Klein '25, Matthew Gordon '25
Grapher is the first online authentic sports memorabilia marketplace. Their user-friendly marketplace actively evaluates the prices of assets based on recent transactions, demand, supply, and popularity, helping sellers and buyers make informed decisions.

Joga by PassionLabs
Zach Peter '23
Joga is creating a soccer-specific social media with NIL training. Their platform provides high-level, low-cost training to athletes by connecting them with local college-level players. Much like how Uber connects passengers with local drivers, Passion will utilize gig-work to pay college athletes for training nearby youth athletes interested in learning from the best of the best.

LiquiDex
Blake Germani '24, Aiden Nasca '24, Nick Obert '24
LiquiDex is securitizing startup equities on-chain. They remove the incentivized third party in the Venture Capital system, which is the venture capital firm itself. The removal of the venture capital firm in this transactional relationship allows for maximal benefit for both the investor and the startup receiving capital.

Macellum
Justin Walker '26
Macellum is creating a SaaS enabled free-market exchange of virtual goods. The video game industry is incredibly competitive. Being able to promise players the ability to earn money playing your game is a differentiator. By creating the tools for developers to institute free markets into their games, Macellum gives independent developers the opportunity to utilize the newest and most user friendly means of monetizing their games.

Shakedown
Chris Farese '24, Mason Willix
Shakedown gamifies beer labels. By using an extended content peel-off label, printed with interactive information, on a beer bottle, Shakedown provides a way for beer companies to differentiate themselves from competitors and offer a better experience for customers.

Socion
Ted Wind '25
Socion is creating an influencer marketplace centered around trust. Businesses looking for partnerships with influencers will be able to post projects and contracts on the Socion site, allowing influencers to freely apply for the contracts and partnerships they actually want to do.

Venu
Trent Tully '23, Maite Macias Cazorla '24
Venu is simplifying the process of making plans with peers by creating a collaborative interface showing local bars, clubs, restaurants, sports games, and concerts. Users will be able to see their options, create a plan, and send it to their group via the Venu app messenger. Peers have the opportunity to vote on or edit a plan, making the process of getting together easier and more fun.

Vitaliti
Zarah Lakhani '24, Andrea Crewe, Lindsey Dotson
Vitaliti believes human health should not be a privilege but a norm. Their first project seeks to address one aspect of air quality and safety by developing and producing an effective, affordable, and accessible in-home mold detection device. This is the start of Spore.
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Evan Brady '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites
Evan Brady '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites
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Julia Burdsall '25
Team leader, Accelerator programming
Julia Burdsall '25
Team leader, Accelerator programming
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Sophia Cassidy '23
Team leader, Accelerator programming
Sophia Cassidy '23
Team leader, Accelerator programming
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Chris Carrabes '25
Team member, Accelerator programming
Chris Carrabes '25
Team member, Accelerator programming
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Michael Cavoto '13 JD '19
Business Attorney, Accelerator mentor
Michael Cavoto '13 JD '19
Business Attorney, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Secret Shakedown
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Chloe Chen '24
Team member, Accelerator programming
Chloe Chen '24
Team member, Accelerator programming
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Tom Coburn '13
Co-founder and CEO of Jebbit, Accelerator mentor
Tom Coburn '13
Co-founder and CEO of Jebbit, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Vitaliti, Campi, and Bell

Andrea Crewe
Co-founder, Vitaliti
Andrea Crewe
Co-founder, Vitaliti
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Kieran Dennis '22
Investor at Amity Ventures, Accelerator mentor
Kieran Dennis '22
Investor at Amity Ventures, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for LiquiDex
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Jaimin Desai '16
CEO and Co-founder of Reconcile, Accelerator mentor
Jaimin Desai '16
CEO and Co-founder of Reconcile, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Block Pool and LiquiDex
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Madelyn Divino '23
Co-founder, Campi
Madelyn Divino '23
Co-founder, Campi

Lindsey Dotson
Co-founder, Vitaliti
Lindsey Dotson
Co-founder, Vitaliti

Jere Doyle '87 P '15
Shea Center Executive Director, Accelerator mentor
Jere Doyle '87 P '15
Shea Center Executive Director, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Venu and Socion
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Keira Dubitsky '26
Co-founder, Bell
Keira Dubitsky '26
Co-founder, Bell

Dylan Dulchinos '26
Co-founder, Bell
Dylan Dulchinos '26
Co-founder, Bell
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Mark Faggiano '96
Advisor, Investor, Founder, Accelerator mentor
Mark Faggiano '96
Advisor, Investor, Founder, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Macellum and Socion
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Chris Farese '24
Co-founder, Shakedown
Chris Farese '24
Co-founder, Shakedown
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Michael Faris '23
Co-founder, Campi
Michael Faris '23
Co-founder, Campi

Blake Germani '24
Co-founder, Liquidex
Blake Germani '24
Co-founder, Liquidex
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Matt Giovanniello '18
CEO and Co-founder of Frenalytics, Accelerator mentor
Matt Giovanniello '18
CEO and Co-founder of Frenalytics, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Passion, Campi, and Secret Shakedown
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Matthew Gordon '25
Co-founder, Grapher
Matthew Gordon '25
Co-founder, Grapher
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Lizzy Hanley '20
Technical Program Manager at LiveRamp, Accelerator Mentor
Lizzy Hanley '20
Technical Program Manager at LiveRamp, Accelerator Mentor
Mentor for Socion
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Leo Henkels '23
Co-founder, Block Pool
Leo Henkels '23
Co-founder, Block Pool

Drew Hession-Kunz MSF '99
BC Entrepreneurship Professor, Accelerator mentor
Drew Hession-Kunz MSF '99
BC Entrepreneurship Professor, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Grapher and Venu
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Mike Hofbeck '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites
Mike Hofbeck '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites

Matthew Klein '25
Co-founder, Grapher
Matthew Klein '25
Co-founder, Grapher
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Ava Korbani '26
Co-founder, Bell
Ava Korbani '26
Co-founder, Bell
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Zarah Lakhani '24
Co-founder, Vitaliti
Zarah Lakhani '24
Co-founder, Vitaliti
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Victor Lanio '09
Partner at Flare Capital, Accelerator mentor
Victor Lanio '09
Partner at Flare Capital, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Campi and Crypto Bites

Minh Le '23
Co-founder, Crypto BItes
Minh Le '23
Co-founder, Crypto BItes
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Lindsay LoBue '96
Advisory Director at Goldman Sachs, Accelerator mentor
Lindsay LoBue '96
Advisory Director at Goldman Sachs, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Bell and LiquiDex
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Sam Loui
Marketing Manager at Sydecar, Accelerator mentor
Sam Loui
Marketing Manager at Sydecar, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Macellum and Venu

Maite Macias Cazorla '24
Founding member, Venu
Maite Macias Cazorla '24
Founding member, Venu
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Luke Mairo '17
Co-founder and COO of Voltpost, Accelerator mentor
Luke Mairo '17
Co-founder and COO of Voltpost, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for LiquiDex

David McCabe '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites
David McCabe '23
Co-founder, Crypto Bites
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Jimmy McDermott '21
CTO and Co-founder of Transeo, Accelerator mentor
Jimmy McDermott '21
CTO and Co-founder of Transeo, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Grapher
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Aiden Nasca '24
Co-founder, LiquiDex
Aiden Nasca '24
Co-founder, LiquiDex
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Nick Obert '24
Co-founder, LiquiDex
Nick Obert '24
Co-founder, LiquiDex
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Michael Perry '18
Marketing Manager, Accelerator mentor
Michael Perry '18
Marketing Manager, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Socion and Grapher
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Sophia Perry '26
Co-founder, Bell
Sophia Perry '26
Co-founder, Bell

Zach Peter '23
Founder, Passion
Zach Peter '23
Founder, Passion
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Emily Pollock '22
Shea Center Administrative Assistant
Emily Pollock '22
Shea Center Administrative Assistant
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Mo Punjwani '19
Investor at General Catalyst, Accelerator mentor
Mo Punjwani '19
Investor at General Catalyst, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Vitaliti, Block Pool, and Crypto BItes

James Pusey '23
Co-founder, Block Pool
James Pusey '23
Co-founder, Block Pool
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Kelsey Renda '12 MBA '18
Shea Center Senior Associate Director, Accelerator mentor
Kelsey Renda '12 MBA '18
Shea Center Senior Associate Director, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Bell
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Seamus Ruiz Earle '20
CEO of Carabiner Group, Accelerator mentor
Seamus Ruiz Earle '20
CEO of Carabiner Group, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Macellum and Block Pool

Doug Shaw '77
BC Entrepreneurship Professor, Accelerator mentor
Doug Shaw '77
BC Entrepreneurship Professor, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Secret Shakedown
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Aly Steichen '24
Team member, Accelerator programming
Aly Steichen '24
Team member, Accelerator programming

Trent Tully '23
Founder, Venu
Trent Tully '23
Founder, Venu
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Justin Walker '26
Founder, Macellum
Justin Walker '26
Founder, Macellum
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Sydney Walker '18
Account Executive at Salesforce, Accelerator mentor
Sydney Walker '18
Account Executive at Salesforce, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Crypto Bites and Vitaliti
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Adam Whitfield '07
Member Engagement Director at WHOOP, Accelerator mentor
Adam Whitfield '07
Member Engagement Director at WHOOP, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Passion and Grapher
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Mason Willix
Co-founder, Secret Shakedown
Mason Willix
Co-founder, Secret Shakedown
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Ted Wind '25
Founder, Socion
Ted Wind '25
Founder, Socion
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Bobby Wittman '25
Co-founder, Campi
Bobby Wittman '25
Co-founder, Campi
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Maggie Yan '22
Associate at KPMG, Accelerator mentor
Maggie Yan '22
Associate at KPMG, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Passion
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Bemnet Zewdie '19
Investor at Amity Ventures, Accelerator mentor
Bemnet Zewdie '19
Investor at Amity Ventures, Accelerator mentor
Mentor for Crypto Bites
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Adzen
Ivan Lubyanitskiy '25 • Content Marketing for Eastern European Companies
European companies have trouble entering the U.S. market. With the use of AdZen, these companies receive security consulting at a low cost. All AdZen team members live, work, and see the world the way that U.S. consumers do. AdZen understands their target audience, because they are the target audience.

CrossCheck
Kevin Koh '24 • Using Machine Learning to Eliminate Organizational Stress
Cross Check came from a personal need for an automated scheduling system that ensures that users never miss an assignment. Sometimes, professors always put up the quizzes late or sometimes an assignment, you just don’t see it. That’s why Cross Check automatically refreshes and checks daily, or multiple times a day, to make sure you never miss an assignment.

DeFi-Able
Hailey Wilcox '23, Jack Moffat '23 • Portfolio Valuation Analytics for NFT Traders & Investors
The recent development of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and NFT portfolios has sparked confusion in determining their value. DeFi-Able is a platform that appraises NFT portfolios. Right now, DeFi-Able is leading the charge in the NFT space in trying to develop software that accurately projects price trends, market trends, collection data, and collection validity.

Eagle Analytics
Nathan French '24 • Improve Dining Hall Efficiency Through Traffic Analytics
Eagle Analytics, is a Boston College dining hall app which features wait times, menu items, nutritional information, status updates, and more. The name of the game today is data driven analytics, and this is what Eagle Analytics is founded on, whether that be consumer or business facing.

fello
Julia Burdsall '25, James O'Malley '25 • Organize Your Connections Into Relationships
fello is a streamlined note-taking platform that allows users to keep track of contacts and people they meet.

KATCH
Jack McConnell '24 • Insulated Lock Box for Packages and Groceries
KATCH is an insulated lockbox that secures your packages with a keypad. Equipped with a one way door located on top of the box, KATCH is hassle free and easy to use for any delivery service.

MCEE
Rhett Somers '23, Jack Russell '23 • Collaborative Music Curated By Everyone, Everywhere
MCEE is an interactive music platform that allows users to select songs to play at an event. It allows people to crowdsource music on a common cue, giving the power to the people when it comes to the music being played. Users will be able to instantaneously request their own songs which will then be subject to voting by everyone else at the party.

MDFiTech
Alex DiBlasi '23, Nilesh Mukherji • The Alternative and Automative Asset Management Firm
MDFiTech is a hedge fund company for investors to generate returns correlated to market conditions by focusing on risk avoidance and capital preservation. The fund has two core competencies. The first is its trade packages, which are a unique way of layering equities and options to provide us with exposure asymmetric risk. The second core competency is its software, which allows it to scan dozens, if not hundreds, of stocks instantaneously, and figure out where those trade packages would best be executed.

Sneakers Made Simple
Scott Holmes '24, Jack Winslow '24 • Mainstreaming the Ability to Secure Limited Edition Sneakers
Sneakers made Simple is a platform to enhance the shopping experience. The market for sneakers is becoming increasingly competitive, resulting in expensive resale prices. To combat this, Sneakers Made Simple is a free platform that organizes shoe release dates into a calendar, ensuring that buyers never miss a purchase.

Split
Jay Wadhwa ’24, Colin Nichols ’24, Hans Dewitte ’24, Jorge Dickens ’24, William Sievewright ‘24 • Reimagining Group Payments with Buy-Now-Pay Later Technology
Split is an app that simplifies paying your friends back. When you go out, Split will pay for your bill. All you have do is invite your friends, and after that, they have 24 hours to accept the invitation and select what they owe.

SpotDrop
Arthur Brenninkmeijer '22 • The Foodie App that Brings Hot Spots and Friends Together
On the SpotDrop app, users can recommend their favorite restaurants to each other, creating a more enjoyable and effective dining experience.

VYBE
Isabelle Bauer '22, Jean Ng '22 • A More Authentic Take on Social Media Shopping
In the age of social media, users have trouble identifying the products they are interested in,. VYBE is a platform that creates an authentic shopping experience where users can share their favorite items in a consolidated list. VYBE hopes to create a business model that supports consumer to consumer relationships where people who successfully recommend products to their peers are rewarded.

Alai
Andrew McGuire, Will Nadeau, Nick Temple '21
Detect Racial Bias Events in Healthcare Real-time

Artspo
Steven Son '21, Ivan Ip '21
Portfolio Valuation Analytics for NFT Traders & Investors

Beyond Classroom
Jiqian Zhao '24, Yi Li '23, Juho Sam Jang '23
Optimizing Field Trip Experiences for K-12 School Districts

Cells: Divide and Conquer
Daniel Kabanovsky '24
Learn Biology Through Excitement, Humor, and Thrill



Leal
Juan Suarez '21, Lucas Montes '21
Providing Superior Experience for B2C Interactions

MacDraddy & Co.
Grace McKenna '23, Sarah Draddy '23, Casey McNamara '23
Share Wardrobes With Other Students

My Brother's Friend
Nisha Momin '21, Sophia Yepes '21
Discover and Support Small International Streetwear Brands

Pomona
Joelle Sugianto '23, Alex Park '23
Maximizing the Use of Food in F&B to Its Full Potential

Sencha Credit
Kristian Lamarre '24, Rishi Nair
Build Credit and Reach New Financial Heights

Apparycle
Alina Yan '23
Upcycle Old Clothes to New Reusable Fashion Items

Aventure Trading
Shivansh Padhi '21
Providing Bond Market Access to Underrepresented Communities

Eagles Realty
Danny Schantz '20
A Boutique Real Estate Brokerage by Eagles for Eagles

Mac Daddy
Shane Barys '20
Anonymous Chat Platform Connecting College Students and Large Communities

Palette
Zier Wang '22
Turning Creativity Into Reality

Phoebe Jon
Manyaqi Wang '21
Taking the Work Out of Dressing for Work

ScriptChain
Moh Noori '20
Building Interoperability in Healthcare Through Blockchain Technology

Solodko
Ilona Znakharchuk '21
Luxury Desserts That Are Both Visually Appealing and Delicious

Spotted
Arthur Brenninkmeijer '22
Connecting Friends Through the Places They Love

Sucker Punch
Meghan Schlageter '22
An All-Natural Bug-Spray Revolutionizing Bug Repellants

Travalum
Jacob Small '20
Student-centered Information Platform Offering Personalized, Curated Tours