HUGE SUCCESS! The 1st Harvard vs. MIT student-led MBA Startupathon

I am very proud to organize and judge the 1st ever MBA Startupathon

I am very proud to 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗕𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 with my partners Rob Blaine, ❉Thomas Baker, Mike Grandinetti.

What happens when 100+ of the world’s smartest MBAs get together and ‘vibe-code’ their startup out? They 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝟰𝟬 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, with ideas spanning across AI-powered media, enterprise tools, health and wellness, education, social platforms, and B2B marketplaces. Top winners from both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University impressed judges with solutions that were 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Beyond prototypes, what we witnessed was even more future-shaping:

🧠 𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽
AI is redefining what it means to build, validate, and launch a startup. With generative tools now embedded into every stage—market research, UX design, prototyping, go-to-market—Founders are becoming systems thinkers, bringing prototypes, not just business plans to meetings.

⚡ 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘆
Testing product-market fit will take days, no longer months. Founders that have validation velocity—who can ship multiple variations in a few days, learn from every iteration, and pivot based on real user signals—will win.

🔧 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀
The no-coding tools are only getting better. Not only the roles of developers are changing, so are the PMs, Designers, CEOs… With AI accelerating the feedback loop, your biggest advantage might not (only) be technical depth, but knowing your customer better than anyone else.

If you want to dive deeper, stay tuned for our upcoming white paper with TNT sharing insights from 100 Future Business Leaders at MIT & HBS.

Most importantly, HUGE THANKS to our:
𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 - Microsoft (Miranda Lee), TNT, Technically Non-Technical, Codapt, StackAI, Replit, Lovable, Vercel, Sundai, Hyperskill, Silicon Valley Bank, Fresh eats, ReconAI;
𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀 - Adrianna Gugel, Amber Nigam, Chloe Fang, Nikolay Vyahhi, Rem Koning (also key speaker), Scott Weller, Paul Cheek;
and MIT Sloan AI Club and Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship (Bill Aulet, Maya Freed, Ylana Lopez) to make this event truly unforgettable.