HBS Opens A ‘Startup Studio’ In New York

NINE TEAMS ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THE HBS STUDIO IN NEW YORK

The initial teams in the Startup Studio represent a cross-section of industries, from consumer products and health care to digital and financial technology. They currently include:

• ARCHWAY HEALTH, bundled payments platform for healthcare providers;

• BOOYA FITNESS, an online fitness video platform;

• BRINGMETHAT, an online food delivery platform;

• BUNDLE ORGANICS, beverages that provide proper nutrition for expectant and new mothers;

• GREENSHIELD, a new financial wellness and benefits utilization platform aimed at putting more money back in employees’ pockets and reducing employer’ healthcare costs and payroll taxes;

• LEGAL HERO makes law simple for businesses by providing experienced, vetted lawyers at fixed prices;

• SHOW SCORE is like a Rotten Tomatoes for New York City theater — all the shows, all the reviews, and all the prices — all in one place;

• SUMMUS, building a platform for expertise in specialty medicine; and

• TOOTELAGE, which provides educational content for at-home learning.

As the new director of the Studio, Avani Patel joins Harvard Business School with years of experience in the startup world as a founder, advisor, mentor, and investor. Most recently, she founded TrendSeeder, New York’s first fashion-focused accelerator, which also has an educational component once described by Women’s Wear Daily as a “mini-MBA program taught by industry experts.” TrendSeeder boasts over a hundred mentors recruited by Patel from the executive levels of the world’s most highly regarded fashion companies. In her work with TrendSeeder and other organizations, Avani has advised more than 500 entrepreneurs in the U.S. and abroad.

A graduate of Loyola University in Chicago, Patel holds an MBA from Columbia and a JD from the Northwestern University School of Law. While in law school, she founded a men’s and women’s contemporary clothing label before working as a corporate attorney in Chicago and New York, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. “Harvard Business School has proved itself to be the leader in the entrepreneurial space,” Patel says in a statement. “I am delighted to be able to share my knowledge and experience with HBS alumni who are eager to make a difference in the world by creating and developing new products and services.”

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