Congratulations to the eleven teams selected for CUBE residency this year! Designed and managed in partnership by the UNC Campus Y and Innovate Carolina, CUBE provides student innovators with a supportive environment to collaborate, receive one-on-one coaching, and earn seed funding as they develop social ventures.
CUBE was founded in 2012 to forward the Campus Y’s rich history of championing civil rights and social justice. Since then, the accelerator has helped five cohorts launch more than 50 social ventures, including a mix of for-profit and nonprofit companies. Most recently, the Campus Y has worked with Innovate Carolina to further develop CUBE into a campus space where innovation and advocacy intersect.
“CUBE brings together innovators from diverse disciplines, backgrounds and lived experiences, each seeking to create transformative change with a shared mindset and toolkit for venture creation,” said Melissa Carrier, Director of the Office of Social Innovation at UNC-CH. “As the Entrepreneurship and Innovation ecosystem at UNC continues to expand, CUBE’s position inside UNC’s hub for social justice uniquely attracts entrepreneurs who are committed to exploring and tackling complex social problems.”
The newest CUBE ventures were selected by a coalition of campus partners from Carolina Center for Public Service, Innovate Carolina, Launch Chapel Hill, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, UNC School of Education, UNC Libraries, Campus Y, and CUBE alumni. The 2020-2021 cohort boasts a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds.
“What excites me about this group is how different each team is. CUBE 6.0 is bringing together undergraduates and graduate students; some have been working on their venture for years, and some are just starting,” explained Jakelin Bonilla, the Campus Y’s Social Innovation Initiatives Coordinator and CUBE’s program manager. “Their differing perspectives are going to inspire a lot of productive and meaningful conversations.”
Although each team brings something different to the table, Bonilla applauds their shared passion for helping others.
“These eleven teams specifically applied to CUBE because they want to be a part of a Campus Y community that thinks critically about how to make the world a better place,” she said. “They are accomplished and eager to learn more. Those qualities we’re looking for in social entrepreneurs.”
The CUBE 6.0 teams will work on bringing innovative solutions to challenges like small business development, mental health access, and education inequity. The full list of ventures includes:
Ante | founded by Tyrell Carter
A startup that uses data analytics to help small businesses increase efficiency and decrease cost.
Behavioral Health Support System for Parents (BHSSP) | founded by Juli Vanderburg
A telehealth service designed to provide consultation, coaching and support to parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Emergi | founded by Eric Scheier
A nonprofit that allows members to collectively invest in impactful projects that provide environmentally sustainable benefits.
HALOSCOPE Media | founded by Savannah Bradley
A digital platform by (and for) young creatives with news on culture, music, fashion, film, sexuality, and politics, serving as a way for Gen Z individuals to obtain original, transparent reporting.
LiRA | founded by Andrew Prince, Andres Tello, Alison Schaefer, Dina Yamaleyeva, and Nga Nguyen
A monitoring device that utilizes state-of-the-art facial tracking software to capture lip movement, which is translated into audio or visual feedback.
Mission: Scholarship | founded by Sherrod Crum, Karen Calderon, and Ajani Mcintosh
In-person and virtual services aimed at tackling the issue of access to high quality college and scholarship application resources for underserved students within the United States.
mPOWER | founded by Snigdha Peddireddy and Gretchen Mason
A social venture designed to increase connectedness and restore agency to individuals with chronic disease by providing a mobile platform for social support and accessible health information.
Name TBD | founded by Aneesha Tucker and Joy Aikens
A hidden app that educates, supports and empowers people experiencing domestic violence and intimate partner violence with an emphasis on accessibility and intersectionality.
Pink STREAM | founded by Rida Bayraktar
An initiative that creates educational materials and environments for K-5 girls to explore science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, and math.
Special Needs Special People | founded by Amrutha Nandam
An online educational program to teach children about special needs as well as the harmful effects of bullying on mental health and self-esteem.
The Unfiltered Project (TUP) | founded by Charity Lackey
A nonprofit organization that facilitates safe spaces for young, black adults to discuss philosophies and approaches to living well.
One Response to “CUBE announces 2020-2021 cohort”
Terry Munn
I would like to know more from the Telehealth project and behavioral health for parents. I can be reached at the email above or my cell 919-717-6922. TEC just started our telehealth program.
Thanks
Terry