Meet student founders in the 2025-26 Hatchery Incubator cohort

By Christina Steiner Nov. 19, 2025

The Hatchery, Emory Center for Innovation, is excited to welcome the 2025-26 Incubator, with 26 ventures led by student founders from six Emory schools. This year marks a milestone for the program, with 126 applications from 8 of Emory’s 9 schools — more than double the number received last year.

“The growth of the incubator reflects how deeply innovation has taken root across the Emory community,” says Rizky Etika, senior programming coordinator at The Hatchery. “This was our most competitive applicant pool ever, which shows in the caliber of ventures we have accepted. We’re excited to work with such a diverse and driven group of founders this year.”

The new cohort represents a wide range of industries, including health care, AI, education, finance, software-as-a-service (SaaS), e-commerce, the arts, agriculture and cybersecurity. Seven of the selected ventures are social impact projects, focused on addressing real-world challenges through creative, community-centered solutions.

“Empowering purpose-driven founders is core to The Hatchery’s mission,” says Ben Garrett, director of The Hatchery. “This cohort of founders is emblematic of Emory’s commitment to enable students to innovate in the service of humanity.”

What is the Hatchery Incubator?

Now in its fourth year, The Hatchery Incubator supports student founders from all schools who have early- to mid-stage ventures, ranging from the idea stage to those that have a prototype and are interacting with their target audience.

This year’s cohort launched Sept. 27 and runs through April 2026, giving founders a structured path to develop, test and grow their ideas. On average, students dedicate up to 10 hours per week to their ventures, balancing coaching, workshops and hands-on experimentation.

Each team receives:

Guidance from Innovation Consulting Fellows with expertise in business development, finance and technology
Monthly one-on-one coaching with Hatchery staff and Innovators in Residence
Hands-on workshops
Weekly venture accountability check-ins
Access to The Hatchery Coaching Network, where founders can schedule meetings with business leaders in a wide variety of industries and disciplines
Up to $1,600 in venture funding per semester, based on participation and progress

The cohort will also showcase their progress during The Hatchery Student Founders Showcase pitch event in March 2026.

An overview of the 2025-26 ventures

This year’s ventures include innovations from a wide variety of fields. Student founders are working on projects such as:

Zero-code ecommerce storefronts for small businesses in Indonesia
AI-driven navigation designed to increase women’s safety in cities
A fashion-pattern generator that democratizes garment design
Social impact ventures advancing youth creative expression and equitable access to mental health care
A digital tool to support ADHD students with focus, time management and self-advocacy in academic environments
A social impact organization driving sustainable rural development in The Gambia
A gamified financial literacy app catered to low-income high school students
AI-powered platforms transforming health care, skincare guidance, pet health record access and more

Student entrepreneurs building the future

With this year’s cohort, The Hatchery continues to strengthen Emory’s role as a hub for next-generation entrepreneurship and innovation. For participants, the resources The Hatchery provides are invaluable.

Oxford student and cohort member Jack Steffen is the founder of Scholarly, a purpose-driven company helping homeschool families around the world access higher education.

“I haven't gone a single week without The Hatchery connecting me with industry-leading entrepreneurs, sharing an amazing grant opportunity or introducing me to another founder working on a similar project,” Steffen says.“I am consistently blown away by the support The Hatchery provides.”

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What is the Hatchery Incubator?

An overview of the 2025-26 ventures

Student entrepreneurs building the future

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