From smart soil testing to reinventing umbrellas, the 2025 cohort tackles real-world challenges with innovative solutions
Boston University’s Innovate@BU Summer Accelerator program kicks off this summer with a lineup of student-led ventures poised to make a significant impact across various industries. The 10-week intensive program provides participating teams with $10,000 in funding, dedicated mentorship, and comprehensive resources to transform their ideas into viable businesses.
This year’s cohort represents the diversity of innovation happening across Boston University, with teams developing solutions in agriculture, education, legal services, fashion, and more. The program culminates in August with a showcase event where teams will present their ventures to the BU community and beyond.
The moment I stepped into Innovate@BU, I felt like a fish in water. BU's entrepreneurial ecosystem offers unparalleled support, and the Summer Accelerator program was transformative—combining mini-MBA learning, powered networking, and real-world application. In just 10 weeks, I went from concept to pilot, conducting customer surveys and developing our telehealth platform. The program supports ideas, nurtures innovative minds, and empowers entrepreneurs to create meaningful impact. I am grateful to the team as they've revolutionized my approach to innovation in healthcare.
Meet the 2025 Summer Accelerator Teams
Agrinova is developing NOVA, a portable soil-testing device that uses microbial biosensors to detect heavy metals in agricultural soils. The device provides farmers with real-time data to help them make informed decisions about soil management and improve food safety. Their solution addresses the problem of expensive and time-consuming traditional soil testing methods, making contamination detection more accessible to smallholder farmers through a cost-effective system with disposable microfluidic chips.
Agrinova is led by Meritxell Ortodo (ENG’26).
BrightBook is an AI platform that helps reduce teacher burnout by generating customizable, standards-aligned lesson plans in under 60 seconds. The tool creates lesson plans, worksheets, and rubrics while keeping educators in control of the customization process. By streamlining these time-consuming tasks, BrightBook aims to free up teachers to focus more on instruction and student engagement rather than administrative work.
BrightBook is led by Tommy Ross (Questrom’24).
Busy Bee Refills is a sensor-based subscription service for household essentials that uses smart, refillable jars to automatically track and reorder products when supplies run low. The team partners with sustainable brands to provide eco-conscious urban families with a convenient way to maintain their pantry inventory without the hassle of managing multiple subscriptions or carrying heavy items home. Their weight-sensing jars eliminate the common problem of overordering or running out of essentials.
Busy Bee Refills is led by Christa Campbell (Questrom’25) and Maria Saldivar Palacios (Questrom’25).
DesignMy Education is an after-school program that teaches entrepreneurship to middle school students through hands-on experiences. Students create real products using print-on-demand services, sell them through the team’s marketplace platform, and learn about analytics, marketing, and financial literacy. The program partners with school districts to use existing facilities and employs local teachers as instructors, making it accessible and convenient for families.
DesignMy Education is led by Aryan Jain (CAS’26).
DocReserve has built a platform that simplifies scheduling between medical practices and medical sales representatives. Their two-sided platform allows medical offices to publish available meeting slots that sales reps can book, eliminating the inefficient process of unannounced office visits and cold calls. The system also includes a sample request feature so offices can easily locate reps with specific products they need.
DocReserve if led by David Johnson (Questrom’26).
Epoch Labs is developing a portable smart tennis camera that provides real-time analytics, personalized feedback, injury detection, and live-streaming capabilities for tennis players. Their single-camera solution offers comprehensive match statistics, AI-driven coaching feedback, precise line-calling, and streaming capabilities without requiring professional setup. The technology supports athletes who travel without coaches and provides coaches with detailed performance data beyond what the human eye can capture.
Epoch Labs is led by Betty Zhao (Questrom’25) and Farida Abdelmoneum
NextStep EDU is developing a digital application guidance platform for college admissions, targeting schools rather than individual students. The team aims to address inequities in the college application process, noting that private college consultants (costing $4,000-$15,000) are predominantly used by high-income families. Their platform provides guidance, management tools, and informational resources to both students and counselors, offering schools a cost-effective way to reduce counselor workload.
NextStep EDU is led by Dominique Csehill (ENG’26).
Orobor, founded by two BU tennis doubles partners, collects discarded tennis strings and transforms them into polyester yarn for textile manufacturing. The team aims to prevent microplastic pollution and reduce CO2 emissions from polyester production by 50%. They’ve established a collection network with tennis clubs, universities, and tournaments across Massachusetts, where participants can send used strings in repurposed cardboard boxes.
Orobor is led by Jonah Dickson (COM’25), Jakob Esterowitz (ENG’27), and Yash Seth (MET’26).
Redstone has created an all-in-one algorithmic trading platform that allows retail investors to develop, test, and execute trading strategies in a single application. The team simplifies the typically complex process of algorithmic trading by providing an integrated environment with a code editor, Python-based trading library, backtesting tools, and broker connections. Their platform makes sophisticated trading tools more accessible to individual investors by reducing the need to use multiple separate platforms.
Redstone is led by Mihai Trinca Vespan (Questrom’25) and Brennan Mahoney (ENG’25).
Regal Rain Co. is a student-founded fashion brand creating durable, stylish umbrellas that aim to transform rainy day protection into a fashion statement. The team identified gaps in the $350 million U.S. umbrella market, particularly noting that most current options lack both style and durability, with the average umbrella lasting only six months. Their products target style-conscious consumers, especially Gen Z, who seek accessories that blend functionality with personal expression.
Regal Rain Co. is led by Tyler Best (CAS’26), Nebiat Tefari (ENG’26), Anya Agidi (ENG’26), and Tadiwa Zinyongo (ENG’26),
Sciterest is an AI-powered platform that helps researchers find and share scientific content more efficiently. The platform aggregates research articles from multiple journals into one centralized location, offers personalized recommendations based on user interests, and includes social features that allow users to interact with articles and connect with peers. Designed for researchers, students, and professionals, Sciterest addresses the challenge of navigating the rapidly growing volume of scientific publications.
Sciterest is led by Zhen Jiang (Questrom’26) and Stephanie Zhang.
Score is a web-based search engine that helps people find criminal defense attorneys by using public court data to rank and profile litigators based on specific needs. The platform analyzes over 3.5 million cases to provide objective evaluations of attorneys’ courtroom specializations and expertise, making the selection process more transparent and informed for clients facing criminal charges in Massachusetts.
Score is led by Travis Falk (CAS’26), Rehan Samaratunga (CAS’26), and Matthew Koszewicz (CAS’27).
