The Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) held its annual Impact Prize competition on Nov. 19 at Bird Library, commemorating Global Entrepreneurship Week. Seven student startup companies were awarded a total of $15,000 in cash prizes for ventures that create meaningful change.

The event featured a keynote from Carl Schramm, University Professor in the School of Information Studies and an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth.  An economist, serial entrepreneur and author of the book “Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do,” Schramm was named  “the evangelist of entrepreneurship” by The Economist.

This year’s winners are:

• First place ($5,000): Haley Greene ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founder of Miirror, a free, peer-led digital platform providing inclusive eating-disorder recovery support and crisis tools, making treatment accessible for underserved communities.
• Second place (tie) ($4,000): Dylan Bardsley ’26 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Clarity, an AI-powered credit card discovery tool that gives students personalized, unbiased recommendations to avoid debt and build credit.
• Second place (tie) ($4,000): Jacob Kaplan ’28 (School of Information Studies), founder of The OtherGlasses, adjustable prescription glasses using tunable liquid-crystal lenses that fit normal frames, allowing real-time vision changes without multiple pairs.
• Runner up ($500): Carolina Aguayo-Pla ’27 (School of Information Studies/Whitman School), founder of Frutecho, a modular cooling retrofit for non-refrigerated trucks that reduces produce spoilage and helps small farmers access premium markets.
• Runner up ($500): Ava Lubkemann ’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), founder of Revamped, a mobile thrift and textile-recovery model that collects, refurbishes and resells donated clothing to cut waste and expand affordable access.
• Runner up ($500): Rajdeep Chatterjee G’26 (Whitman School), founder of TradeBridge, a blue-collar ed-tech platform offering mobile-first vocational training, integrated tool purchasing and job placement.
•  Runner up ($500): Samantha Kurland ’26 (Newhouse School), founder of Acellsé, a high-fashion brand using medical cell imagery to create ethical, purpose-driven apparel that funds medical research.

During this year’s competition, the LaunchPad pilot tested new accessibility technology from Sign-Speak, a local upstate New York startup, which provided real-time American Sign Language translation during the competition.

This year’s 2025 Impact Prize competition judging panel included  Suli Abdul Sabor, fashion designer and owner of By Suli; Lee Carman, chief commercial banking officer for Broadview Federal Credit Union; Corinne Sartori, Libraries’ inclusion and accessibility specialist; Alice Maggiore, media strategist at Strategic Communications LLC;  Ibou Ithior, senior HIV prevention technical advisor at PATH; Meghan Durso, senior human capital manager at TDO; Janice Harvey, founder of JJR Strategies LLC; Emad Rahim, CenterState CEO Syracuse Surge entrepreneurship manager; Hailee Greene, chief everything officer at Green Acres Processing; Peter Wohl, chief performance officer at Broadview Federal Credit Union; Rina Corigliano-Hart, director of client engagement and outreach at OneGroup; and Vicente Cuevas, program coordinator at the Lerner Center in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Story by Sawyer Tardie ’27, Whitman School