Zell Entrepreneurs
A year-long program for students pursuing entrepreneurial careers.
- Venture Track: for final-year students preparing to pursue their ventures full-time post-graduation.
- Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Track: for second-year MBA students seeking experience searching for and acquiring a company to buy and/or lead.
Both tracks offer tailored support to help students take their entrepreneurial ambitions to the next level, whether through building a new venture or acquiring and leading an existing company.
Zell Entrepreneurs is open to final-year students from all the University of Michigan schools and colleges in Ann Arbor.
set yourself up for success with…
Mentorship
Receive one-on-one mentorship from Michigan Ross faculty and external advisers from across business sectors.
Support
Join a cohort of like-minded individuals who are driven to make their new venture a success. Once the program has completed, students remain engaged through the global ZGen network.
Connections
Get invited to work with students from our sister programs at Northwestern University and Reichman University.
Funding
Receive up to $10,000 to invest in their new venture. Participants also have an opportunity to apply for financial investment from the Zell Founders Fund following graduation.
Success stories
a platform designed to help prospective college students connect with future classmates before they arrive on campus.
Founders: Jonah Liss & Blake Mischley
Notable Accomplishments:
30 Under 30
A media company targeted to young professionals with a daily business newsletter, podcasts, and much more.
Founders: Austin Rief, BBA’17 & Alex Lieberman, BBA’15
Notable Accomplishments:
+4 million subscribers to the daily newsletter
$50M in revenue in 2021
Sold a majority stake to Business Insider in 2020
Zell Entrepreneurs Alumni
Benton Boeck, FT MBA, ETA
Zannah Baker, BSI, Fastflo
Kenny Berrouet, FT MBA, ETA
Kelvin Chang, MSI, Tinu AI
Christopher Corbett, Online MBA, ETA
Ebbin Daniel, FT MBA, ETA
Samuel Deutsch, LSA-Poly Sci, Roxbury
William Furge, LSA-Mathematics, BasisEdge
Ishika Gupta, BSE-ent minor, Rupay Bachao
Mahsa Javadi, FT MBA, ETA
Tyler Jensen, FT MBA, ETA
Noah Kim, FT MBA, ETA
Gunn Lakdee, FT MBA, Maison
Jaenelle Lauture, FT MBA, Krik Krak
Brian Lipchik, FT MBA, ETA
Ryan Lynn, FT MBA, OuterEdge
Bryce Masterson, Online MBA, ETA
Saron Mechale, FT MBA + MSE, GoTeff
Serena Ahuja, FT MBA, Kusuma Collective
Rachel Silcox, Phd-BSME, Puffin Air Purifiers
Shalin Zarboulas, BSI, Skala
Cameron Allen, BA 2025, Novl’d
Maya Ambady, MBA 2026, H.E.A.L.
Christian Brymer, MBA 2027
Pavani Chennamsetti, MBA 2025
Yash Goyal, MBA 2025, Evoltik International
Tyler Jensen, MBA 2026
Zachary Joelson, BA 2026, Rushlink Inc.
Grant Kruger, MBA 2026, Arbor Medical Innovations
Dhiya Krupashankar, BS 2024, Neonest Global
Drake Leonard, MBA 2025
Chiao Lin, MSI 2025, Mixel Studio
Jonah Liss, BA 2025, MeetYourClass
Tyler Malm, MBA 2025
Ryan McManus, MBA 2025, Sceptre Surgical
Blake Mischley, BS 2025, MeetYourClass
Megan Pouncy, MBA 2025, AuraLink
Brianna Ross, MBA 2025, H.E.A.L.
Nathan Shatz, BA 2025, Milieu
Cory Sihombing, MBA 2025,Argo Santara Indonesia
Robert Squiers, MBA 2025
Ryosuke Takenaka, MBA 2025, Willow Inc.
Trinity Brown, BBA ’24, founder of Trinity Barbara
Jason Obrycki, BSE ’24, founder of BioLink
Tirth Patel, BSE ’24, founder of ImmiHealth
Karthik Ramani, MBA ’24, founder of Dialysis Innovations
Karthik Ramasubramanian, MBA ’24, founder of OrganFlow
Faith Richardson, BBA ’24, founder of Mitzi Development
Jake Sadow, BA ’24, founder of Current2
Matthew Stone, MBA ’24, founder of Pathless Productions
Ana Timoficiuc, BSE ‘24, founder of MinaRosa
Cory Cooney, MBA ’23, co-founder of EpiSLS
James Holland, MBA ’23, co-founder of Halcyon Hempworks
Abigail Miars, BA ’23, founder of UMICH APPAREL
Kayan Mishra, BBA ’23, founder of PerfectSelf
Michael O’Brien, MBA ’23, founder of Verso
Sebastien Patino, BBA ’23, co-founder of Bastion
Joshua Sum; BSE ’23, co-founder of BeatNami
Nathan Alston, MBA ’22, co-founder of Plucky Comics
Justin Gainsley, BBA ’22, founder of Wander
Dimitri Alejo Giraldo, MBA ’22, founder of Creating Who You Are
Akhil Kondepudi, BS ’22, founder of Phonica
Alec Kremins, BBA ’22, co-founder of Ember
Megan Martis, MSE 21′, founder of CLOVO
Claire Pardington, WMBA ’22, founder of Pardington Collective
Dylan Rushton, MSE ’21, co-founder of Arbor Simulation
Justin Woods, MBA/MSW ’21, founder of EQuity
Tim Blair, MBA ’21, founder of Bramble
Sean Geier, MBA ’21, co-founder of Scopal
Ben Hilkert, BBA ’21, founder of Kare
Stew Kerr, MBA ’21, co-founder of MyAutO2
Kaitlyn Lo, MBA ’21, founder of Just Enough Wines
Varun Madan, BBA ’21, founder of LeaseMagnets
Kene Onuorah, BBA ’21, founder of Comme Homme
Imani Rickerby, MPH ’21, founder of Aurora Tights
Dan Zakon, BS ’21, founder of MintyBrain
Connor Boike, BBA ’20, founder of Skope
Hugh Davis, MS ’20, co-founder of Revolin Sports
Rima Fadlallah, MBA ’20, founder of For Dearborn
Natalie Fang, MBA ’20, co-founder of Nochi
Tyler Makhani, BBA ’20, founder of THE WHEREHOUSE
Danielle Mandelblatt, BBA ’20, founder of Lenny&Lee
Angel Rodriguez, BSE ’20, founder of Vitresoft
Rachel Skolnick, MBA ’20, founder of Women Who Launch
Pranav Tadikonda, BSE ’20, co-founder of Pikki
Hope Tambala, MSI ’20, founder of Puente
Steffan Bankier, MBA ’19, founder of Rootcraft
Tim Carter, MBA ’19, founder of AIM Tech
Dhruv Dhawan, MBA ’19, founder of Bschool Travel
Alison Elgass, BS ’19, co-founder of BusyBox
Alexander Gonzalez, BBA ’19, founder of CommerceCat
Jack Griffin, BBA ’19, founder of FoodFinder
Catalina Kaiyoorawongs, MBA/MS ’19, founder of Dough
Holly Meyers, MBA ’19, founder of Holly Keith Linge
Akira Nishii, BSE ’19, founder of Perch
Florence Noel, MBA/MSI ’19, founder of Dear Black Women
Patrick Skelly, BS ’19, founder of LineLeap
Matt Stelmach, MBA ’19, founder of Graduates Unbound
Ann Duong, MSI ’18, co-founder of With Canopy Co.
Kiley Judge, BS ’18, co-founder of Quirk
Benjamin Kriegsman, BS ’18, founder of Spade America
Alexander Mills, BSE ’18, co-founder of Arbor Automation
Scott Munekawa, MBA ’18, founder of Bloomscape
Danny Sheridan, BBA ’18, founder of Woodside Distributors
Arshan Ahmad, MBA ’17, founder of Indie Incubator
Ellis Fried, BBA ’17, founder of proteinbits
Jordan Golshan, BBA ’17, co-founder of StepFor
Spencer Heaton, MBA ’17, co-founder of Panacea Health
Rachel Jaffe, MSI/MURP ’17, co-founder of Adjacent
Walker McHugh, MSE ’17, founder of PreDxion Bio
Austin Rief, BBA ’17, co-founder of Morning Brew
Sheleen Sahi, MBA ’17, founder of Sahi Cosmetics
Nate Sladek, MBA ’17, co-founder of Statum
Ally Stewart, MBA ’17, co-founder of Thrive
Josh Gottesman, BBA ’16, co-founder of BeloDoc
Marco Hidalgo, MBA ’16, founder of Inverxion
Zachary Neff, BBA ’16, co-founder of BeloDoc
Chiedozie Okafor, MBA ’16, founder of NELO
Joe Price, MBA ’16, founder of Grown Up Sports
Howard Sobel, BBA ’16, co-founder of Saturnup
Luiz Sodre, MBA ’16, founder of Perfarm
Girim Sung, MBA ’16, founder of Pathlyte