On Friday, October 9, more than 300 members of the NYU entrepreneurial community came together to celebrate the 15th Annual NYU Entrepreneurs Festival, an afternoon filled with inspiring founder stories, innovative startup pitches, and opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.
Co-hosted by the NYU Stern Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship and the NYU Leslie Entrepreneurial Institute, the Festival welcomed students, alumni, and entrepreneurs from across the University to celebrate the ideas and people shaping the future of entrepreneurship at NYU.
The afternoon kicked off with a conversation between Avante Price, Co-Founder and CEO of Posh, and Mir Hwang, Founder of GigFinesse. Both NYU entrepreneurs have built businesses around bringing people together through live experiences, offering attendees a look at the journeys behind their ventures and the realities of building a startup.
That entrepreneurial spirit carried into a panel featuring NYU student founders who are building businesses while pursuing their degrees. Representing ventures across healthcare, technology, and commerce, the students shared perspectives on navigating the entrepreneurial journey and bringing their ideas to life.
The excitement continued with Demo Day, where 10 startup teams from the NYU Entrepreneurs Challenge and the Leslie Entrepreneurial Institute’s Summer Launchpad took the stage to pitch their ventures and compete for the audience’s vote for Best Pitch. From emerging technologies to innovative solutions addressing real-world challenges, the showcase highlighted the creativity, ambition, and diversity of NYU’s entrepreneurial community, while giving founders an opportunity to share the progress they’ve made through NYU’s entrepreneurship programs.
Beyond the conversations and pitches, the Festival was an opportunity for founders at every stage to exchange ideas, build relationships, and find inspiration in one another’s experiences.
For 15 years, the NYU Entrepreneurs Festival has brought together the people who make entrepreneurship at NYU possible. This year’s celebration was a reminder that while every venture begins with an idea, it’s the connections, collaboration, and community behind those ideas that help them grow.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this year’s Festival such a memorable celebration of NYU entrepreneurship!
