Most Disruptive MBA Startups Of 2024

In American lore, the Boston Tea Party represents defiance. When colonists dumped British tea into Griffin’s Wharf, they were protesting against the status quo – a world without a voice. These days, you’ll find this same revolutionary fervor in Boston. From Babson College to MIT, MBA founders are fracturing norms and stretching limits to limits to lower barriers and boost access. That includes startups like TestParty, a Harvard Business School venture drive to provide the same opportunities to everyone.

Like many disruptions, TestParty is rooted in the needs of those left behind. Co-founded by ’24 HBS alum Michael Bervell and software engineer Jason Tan, TestParty is an AI-powered digital platform targeted to individuals with physical and situational disabilities. The venture stems from Tan’s experience at Twitch, which faced lawsuits over digital compliance issues involving areas like captions. Digging deeper, Bervell and Tan found accessibility-related lawsuits had cost companies over $370-million dollars in settlements alone over the past five years. It was a pain point, Bervell says, that led them to tackle the underlying issue behind these suits.

“A UNIQUELY HBS STARTUP”

“The Internet has grown so fast that society has blown past the guardrails that would help differently-abled people enjoy the benefits of successfully using popular digital tools,” Bervell tells P&Q. “TestParty helps companies reduce their costs and provide an additional option to achieve compliance. Instead of only hiring specialized consultants who charge upwards of $300 an hour, we believe that any existing engineer can be upskilled through AI to write accessible code.”

The concept has resonated with investors and institutions alike. Thus far, TestParty has raised over $4 million dollars from entities ranging from the U.S. government to Harlem Capital. The firm now employs eight people and has signed contracts with several government, education and private partners. In one California University, which houses 10,000 students, TestParty has trained faculty to quickly deliver assignments, readings, and tests that normally required two weeks to convert. In the process, Bervell and Tan proved the TestParty concept increases access for individuals with disabilities – and hopefully graduation rates too.

In the long-term, the founders hope to build a centaur – a firm with $100 million dollars in annual revenue. More than that, they envision spearheading a movement where “digital accessibility should be baked into the software development lifecycle from the start.” When this happens, Bervell will be quick to credit Harvard Business School for the firm’s success.

“TestParty is a uniquely HBS startup. It was born in HBS dorms and incubated during the Rock Summer Fellowship (with HBS funding). Our first mentors were HBS alumni and even our investors came through the iLab network. More broadly, my MBA program gave me the time, freedom, and structure to explore this startup in an environment of gracious criticism and candor.”

41 STARTUPS FROM 33 BUSINESS SCHOOLS

TestParty is one of the 41 student startups honored in P&Q’s 6th annual “Most Disruptive MBA Startups.” This year, P&Q invited 45 business schools to submit nominations for ventures with “the greatest potential for lasting beyond business school.” They may include startups that have raked in substantive investment, created a unique business model, or earned recognition in competitions. This year, 33 MBA programs participated in “The Most Disruptive MBA Startups,” including Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, INSEAD, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and MIT’s Sloan School of Management. To qualify, a school nomination must feature at least one founding member from their MBA Class of 2024 or 2025.

Among this year’s disruptive startups, there is the usual food and beverage, healthcare, finance and education solutions – often driven by an AI-component that makes sense of huge vast sets. In several notable cases, there were difference-makers operating out of an intersection between national and economic security – often intersected by environmental concerns. Take Vulcan Elements from Harvard Business School, whose founders can only reveal their funding is under $10 million dollars. For ’24 alum John Maslin, the firm is predicated on an ambitious agenda: reinforcing national security, creating jobs, and fostering a carbon neutral economy – the ultimate business trifecta.

According to Maslin, the firm’s purpose is grounded in a simple fact: China dominates the rare-earth magnets market, whose alloys power sophisticated technologies like drones, satellites, robotics, smartphones, and electronic vehicles. In other words, Maslin notes, most companies using these magnets rely on Chinese-owned firms or their subsidiaries for their materials and equipment. That places Western nations at a significant disadvantage in the event of supply chain disruptions.

“Today, over 90% of rare-earth magnets are produced in China where one ton of magnets manufactured emits nearly 60 tons of carbon,” Maslin explains. “Reliance on a potential adversary for critical supply chain components creates risk to U.S. national and economic security and our ability to build a high-tech, decarbonized economy. Vulcan Elements’ rare-earth magnet technology enables a secure U.S. supply chain and aids in the transition to a decarbonized economy.”

To achieve this end, Maslin has enlisted some heavy-hitters to his cause. “Our team includes my co-founder, who is a professor who opened the first U.S. based rare earth magnetic lab in two decades and served as a Principal Investigator on a DARPA program developing novel magnetics; a COO who is a former SpaceX and Ursa Major manufacturing expert; and a VP who is a chemical engineer with experience scaling novel products to commercial manufacturing.”

FROM LITHIUM BATTERIES TO AI COMPUTING

At Stanford University, Joseph Kao, a ’24 Graduate School of Business alum, joined forces with Yutong Zhu, a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Medicine, to found Infinion. The venture is targeted to firms like EV dealers and junkyards that sell lithium-ion batteries. Infinion’s pitch: their platform enables them to quickly determine a battery’s worth and health, enabling them to provide the best resale options to customers.

“By sorting batteries based on condition at pickup, we direct each type to the highest-paying buyers, eliminating warehousing, cutting logistics costs, and speeding up transactions,” Kao tells P&Q. “Our mission is to divert 1 million lithium-ion batteries from landfills by 2033…Our biggest accomplishment so far has been diverting more than 200 kWh of lithium-ion battery waste from landfills to recyclers and repurposers.”

Vertical Horizons, which matriculated at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, has already attracted $4.25 million dollars in funding. Led by ’24 MBA Cynthia Liao, Vertical Horizons targets the power supply to AI computing, enhancing power density, thermal management, and fast switching capabilities. For Liao, the solution’s appeal covers a wide range of applications, including renewable power, defense, and EVs.

“My goal is to lead Vertical Horizons in disrupting the power industry with cleaner and more efficient power electronics solutions, starting with data center power,” Liao tells P&Q. “Through a portfolio strategy of developing products and direct chip partnerships, we plan to be the go-to power solutions provider across data centers, grids and renewables, electric vehicles and broader e-mobility.”

MAKING EDUCATION MORE FUN…AND FAIR

Education is another popular sector being mined by this year’s disruptive MBA entrepreneurs. As a student at Stanford GSB, Pedro Siciliano founded Teachy, which uses AI to help teachers build lesson plans ten times faster. The startup already boasts a half million teacher customers – not to mention $1.6 million dollars in funding. At Esade Business School, Dominik Kirchdorfer launched Acute XR, which he describes as “therapeutic video games for children and adolescents suffering from mental health conditions.” In early critical trials, he says, the games have been credited with “cutting symptoms of chronic stress and anxiety by over 30% after just playing for 10 sessions.” Similarly, Boston University’s Skuling incorporates a gaming platform – this time to make learning personalized and fun for Indonesian students. Thus far, the venture has signed up over 100,000 students.

At the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School, second-year Ghazaleh Sadooghi co-founded Rumi. Fueled by $450K in funding – and listing nearly a dozen higher education institutions as clients – Rumi provides tools for schools to better integrate AI into learning while reducing the potential for cheating.

“Rumi offers a solution that enables schools to set custom AI policies for each assignment,” Sadooghi explains. “Instead of relying on flawed AI detectors or taking a hands-off approach to AI, instructors can use Rumi to glean insights into students’ writing and thinking processes, rather than just evaluating final submissions.”

TAKING ATHLETIC TRAINING TO ANOTHER LEVEL

Several MBA founders tied AI and analytics to athletic performance. That includes Yogger, a mobile-based solution out of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School, which uses advanced motion analysis to “record, assess, and improve physical performance.” A similar venture, Rubicon Robotics, is being bootstrapped at Columbia Business School. It combines filming robots and AI software to provide high quality capture of movement and in-depth reporting of data points.

“Our long-term vision is to revolutionize how athletes practice and improve,” explains founder Avery Schonberger. “We are making analytics based coaching accessible to any athlete, not just elite competitors. In the coming years, we plan to expand Rubicon’s technology beyond swimming and into other sports, like golf and running. Ultimately, we are working to create a future where athletes can maximize their potential and improve faster than ever before, using data-driven insights from their training sessions.”

Olympus, a SportsTech venture out of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, adds an alternative to same issue. This software can turn handwritten notes into a robust data set with just a photo. Like many ventures, Olympus started out as something completely different. Outside work, founder N. Scott Tsangeos found fulfillment through strength training. Originally, he intended to produce an app to help consumers track their workout. However, he soon pivoted after learning it had minimal appeal beyond a small, hard core consumer base.

“This forced me to ask the question, “Who has a similar problem (managing workout data), but feels the pain more acutely and would be willing to pay to solve it?”,” explains Tsangeos, whose tagline is ‘Find strength in numbers.’ “That question fundamentally changed the trajectory of Olympus. We now work with colleges, high schools, and gyms across the country to help coaches deliver workouts, analyze data, and ultimately improve the performance of their athletes.”

BUILDING TRUST TO BUILD BUSINESS

This disruptive spirit extends to other industries. Take podcasts. Dumi Mabhena and Paul Kassar, recent MBA alumni from Georgetown University’s McDonough School, plan to “democratize podcasting by simplifying the process.” Using an AI-driven platform, Shanda can cut the podcast editing process from six hours to ten minutes according to Mabhena.

“At Shanda, we believe in the power of stories to change the world. Our core mission is to empower people with the tools they need to tell stories for their communities,” writes Mabhena. “Ultimately, our greatest achievement has been creating a solution that genuinely helps people share their stories. We’ve developed a platform that removes technical barriers, allowing voices that might otherwise go unheard to reach audiences.”

At Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business, Burke Reimann and Faris Bseiso have entered the music industry through Cipher. The platform connects music rights holders and license seekers. As a result, Bseiso says, the parties can more easily negotiate license and pay in one place. Thus far, Cipher has reaped nearly $200K in funding. However, Bseiso adds, their biggest achievement may be the credibility they’ve gained despite limited music industry experience.

“In early meetings with investors, our outsider status felt like a big risk and made some associates reluctant to pull the trigger. However, the relationships that we’ve built over the last few months, and the pilot contracts that we’ve signed, have completely changed the conversation. Now, investors don’t ask any questions about our backgrounds, and are solely concentrated on our traction, how fast we can launch, and when we’ll be able to reach scale.”

PUTTING PETS ON JETS

The consumer sector was another sector targeted by top MBA student founders. Exhibit A: RetrievAir – backed by $650K from investors. Launched from Indiana University’s Kelley School, RetrievAir organizes public air charters for families who want to bring their pets on their flights. Forget cold and cramped cargo storage. Here, pets are given space to be around their loved ones. Not only does RetrievAir provide a more humane way for pets to travel, but it also reduces the logistical hassles and emotional toll around pet travel, says founder Benton Miller.

“Every part of the journey is pet-friendly, from our simple booking process, stress-free security at private-like airports, 30-seater planes configured to ensure maximum leg/lay room, and in-flight amenities for pets and their families to enjoy…. We’ve felt the frustration of having to leave our dogs behind or rearranging our plans to bring them along. Like many others, we’ve navigated the confusing rules of commercial airlines and, more than once, driven 17 hours one-way just to avoid putting our dogs in cargo…This experience of modifying travel schedules, skipping trips, and constantly worrying about our pets has shown me just how difficult it can be to travel with them.”

In contrast, BrainFood Industries, a Wharton School startup, is making waves in the food and beverage industry. A water infused with brain health nutrients like CoQ10 and Vitamin B12, Brainfood is framed as a healthy alternative that “support(s) mental clarity, focus, and stress resilience.” In the skin care market, Dhinil Patel and Simon Zhang have rolled out FaceFlow.AI, the winner of the 2023 INSEAD Venture Competition. True to its name, the platform uses skin characteristics like texture and tone to provide “data-backed” product recommendations. By the same token, Sean Finney, a University of Texas’ McCombs School ’24 MBA alum, was inspired to launch Tano Skincare after a life-altering experience as a nine-year-old.

“After a serious injury on a coral reef in Brazil, a local healer used banana sap to stop the bleeding and save my leg—a moment that has stayed with me ever since,” says Finney, whose venture has generated over $300K in funding. “I witnessed the incredible healing power of this natural ingredient and later used it for various skin-related issues. Realizing its untapped potential, I launched Tano to bring this highly effective, natural solution to skincare, knowing that its benefits could extend far beyond its traditional medicinal uses.”

Next Page: Big Obstacles to Entrepreneurship and School Support Services

Page 3: Profiles of 41 Disruptive MBA Startups