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Learning by Doing
Duke I&E offers a broad range of experiential programs to support students, alumni, faculty, and staff with their interests and goals—events, competitions, guest speakers, clubs, venture support, and beyond. With the entrepreneurial mindset and skills our community gains from these and other Duke experiences, they are prepared to become the next generation of impactful leaders.
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Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs
Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs, Duke’s premier startup accelerator for students who have launched their own companies, continues to provide an exceptional experience for a select group of founders who have demonstrated both traction and commitment with their startups. To date, the 128 student founders who have gone through the program have raised more than $150 million, with 12 companies making successful exits.
In 2023-24, the Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs accelerator supported 10 student founders, providing executive coaching; mentorship from Duke alumni, parents, and other community members; travel experiences, and one-on-one conversations throughout the year with program sponsor and namesake Melissa Bernstein ’87, P’15, P’16, P’26, co-founder of Melissa & Doug toys and Lifelines.
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Sarah Houston '24
Aurganics is a luxuriously gentle, plant-based skincare for melanated glow-getters with sensitive skin, because healthy skin is worth more than gold (Au). The deeper someone’s complexion, the more prone they are to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. However, many acne products today are not formulated with melanated skin in mind. Aurganics products inhibit excess melanin production at the source without compromising skin.
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John Xu ’26
Alleviate Health works to make doctor-patient communication as efficient and easy as possible. Currently, administrative workers and doctors spend up to hours every day answering patient voicemails—time that can be better spent on helping patients in the office receive the care they need. Alleviate Health’s software platform transcribes all incoming voicemails, automatically drafts responses to each question, and triages questions in terms of category and importance.
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Arya Diwase MBA/MPP ’24
Himayat is a comprehensive human resource management and employee benefits platform supporting female domestic workers (DW) and their employers in India, where currently 500 million households employ at least one DW. Through Himayat, which works on a monthly subscription basis, employers can save money, recruit, and retain consistent labor, whereas DWs can gain benefits and security.
Duke I&E Pop-Ups
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In 2024 we piloted a series of skill-building workshops and value-add programs geared toward student founders and those interested in one day launching a company. A total of 34 sessions were offered last year, with topics ranging from “Generating Demand for Your Idea,” to “Bootstrapping 101,” to “Build a Prototype Using No-Code Tools,” attended by 1,306 students from a wide range of degree programs.
Student Organizations
Duke I&E offers support to various student groups as they provide opportunities for students to learn through practice as well as hone their leadership skills:
Duke Startup Showcase
Sixty-one exciting new ventures applied to participate in the annual Duke Startup Showcase, with 36 making it to the quarterfinals and earning the opportunity to show off their ventures at event tables, 12 semifinalists pitching to a panel of distinguished judges, and 6 finalists winning more than $100,000 in non-dilutive prizes and presenting their pitches live to an audience of more than 500 at the culminating event.
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