Uplift Mentorship Midpoint Meeting
Uplift Midpoint Meetup
You've been building. Now let's connect IRL.
The halfway celebration for the Uplift Mentorship Summer Program. All participants and mentors from all five cohorts come together in person to mark the midpoint, connect face to face, and celebrate progress.
REQUIRED FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS & MENTORS
This is your chance to step out of the day-to-day and into the room. Meet founders across all five cohorts of the Uplift Mentorship Summer Program, connect with mentors, and gain insights from our fireside chat. Whether you're in Edison, Hopper, Bardeen, Lawrence, or Morrison, this moment is to celebrate you.
The Five Cohorts of the Uplift Mentorship Summer Program:
Edison: The go-to-market cohort. Ship, listen, ship again.
Hopper: The builders' cohort. Enterprise SaaS, B2B, and MVP-stage founders constructing real product infrastructure.
Bardeen: The technical cohort. AI, Data, and ML founders working at the frontier.
Lawrence: The inflection-point cohort. Founders in the middle of fundraising, pivots, and major launches.
Morrison: The clarity-seeking cohort. Founders refining narrative, defining priorities, and finding their voice
You might meet a peer who's solved the exact problem you're stuck on. You might have a conversation with a mentor that changes how you think about your next six months. You might get introduced to an investor who's been watching the program. All of it is possible in this room.
Special Guest: Sheilisa McNeal, founder of Fria Inc.
Sheilisa McNeal is the founder of Fria Inc., a startup she built around her own lived experience to serve an underrepresented and underserved population: menopausal women. She made the leap from full-time employment to full-time founder, navigating the challenges that come with building something the market hasn't prioritized before. Her persistence has paid off — Fria has secured over $2 million in non-dilutive funding. Sheilisa is building proof that the most important problems to solve are often the ones nobody else thought to fund.
What to expect:
4:00 to 5:15
Meet your peers, Headshots, Step & Repeat, Snacks & Refreshments
5:15 to 6:00
Opening Remarks from Aaron Price, CEO of TechUnited
Remarks from NJEDA
Founding on Your Own Terms: From Pain Point to Funded, Fireside Chat with Sheilisa McNeal, founder of Fria Inc. moderated by MJ Durkin, COO of TechUnited
6:00 to 7:00
Open Networking
Get a Look Into Who the Mentees Are
76 founders. 5 cohorts. One mission, to build something that matters. From a first-ever laundromat in Princeton to AI-powered legal tech, genomics platforms to CPG beauty discovery, our Uplift cohort represents some of the most diverse and driven early-stage founders in the region. Engineers, clinicians, students, veterans, professors, and career-pivoters — all in the same room, building toward something real.
⭐ Gifty Anane · Wash Lodge · Opening the first ever laundromat in Princeton (historic bylaws just changed) · Born in Ghana
⭐ Annalyce D'Agostino-Gavin · Focus Posters · At the intersection of parent tech, ed tech, and health tech · Graduating from a Nasdaq cohort tomorrow
⭐ Bejan Moers · United Solution · Pivoted to a mixed-use renewable energy development site on the east coast · Currently raising
⭐ Alisha Sharma · Undecided · Software engineer in fintech by day building iOS apps on the side
⭐ Ekaterina Kashkina · Stealth molecular diagnostics startup · Spinout from Rowan University, IP secured, looking for first financing
⭐ Elaf Mahmoud · Elune Health · NJIT electrical engineering student building in the femtech space
⭐ Emilia Savich · AnatomyQuest · Co-founder democratizing anatomy and physiology education · Just graduated from NJIT
⭐ Favio Jasso · AnatomyQuest · CTO and full-time software engineer at an energy brokerage while studying enterprise AI at NJIT
⭐ Han Nguyen · Ox Group · Doing roll-up acquisitions in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC · Princeton senior · Former Marine Corps veteran
⭐ Lianna LaRiccia · EduTrend · Co-founder of autism data tracking platform that started as a Stevens capstone and went full-time
⭐ Justin Savage · STEAM FOR ME · Ed tech company with NSF funding · Self-taught electrical, mechanical, and software engineer
⭐ Pearl Gabel · TBD · Aspiring founder in branding, storytelling, and education · Created the viral Voice of New Jersey social media identity as the governor's comms person
⭐ Tosca Marleen · Tend to Belle · CPG discovery platform for pre-retail emerging beauty brands
⭐ Shounak Thaker · Arnex Solutions LLC
⭐ Adeola Adeoye-Davids · Local Window · Hyper-local confirmed-impression advertising platform · Nigerian · Has been intentionally leaning into in-person connection over digital
⭐ Alok Rai · Dumroo.ai · Education intelligence layer working with 3 NJ school districts
⭐ Angela Aricatt · Get Empathix · Clinical psychologist turned tech founder at NJIT · Proficient classical dancer
⭐ Debbie Douglas-Henry · 3DHR Consulting · Made her 5-to-9 her 9-to-5 after a 2024 layoff
⭐ Evan Peneiras · Nooriva · Smart glasses for glaucoma patients · Rutgers medical student · Speaks Portuguese
⭐ Neha Chopade · Meta · Researcher with a solid new idea brewing · Previously taught Hindi and math in NYC after being inspired by a French film
⭐ Paula Machado Jackler · Ozzie · Personal finance platform for Latino immigrants · From Brazil
⭐ Pierre Girgis · Veriflo LLC · Trusted layer for AI content access and monetization
⭐ Rachel Hayes · Ravel Genetics · Health intelligence platform built on genomics · Has a PhD in genetics
⭐ Radha Ratnala · Rekogni AI · Agentic platform giving time back to software engineering teams · AWS and DoorDash alum
⭐ Shell Bobev · Disrupt The Gap · Compensation equity platform
⭐ Stephanie Cwynar · Pinterest
⭐ Pradeep Kumar Gohil · World Micro Stock Vinimay USA LLC
⭐ Idongesit Obeya · Altruistic Scribe
⭐ Jean Guerdy Paul · TETHRRA
⭐ Abhi Ray · Freelance Software Engineer
⭐ Shanthi Viswanathan · Infivista Inc
⭐ Aliya Laliwala · Campus Marketplace · Student buy, sell, and services platform · Just graduated NJIT last week · Won first place in her capstone · Black belt in martial arts
⭐ Andrea Vernengo · TrueSkin · Beauty tech company · Chemical engineering professor at Rowan · Core technology originated from lab research she did studying abroad in Switzerland
⭐ Ebunoluwa Adenekan · KLA Corporation · Engineer by day building toward designing his own hardware, emulator, or game IP
⭐ Kevin Navarro · MechSense Labs · Semi-autonomous surveying rover for hazardous and contaminated sites · NJIT team of three
⭐ Mark Kallback · Clear-Sight · News literacy tool using language-based pattern analysis · 20 plus years in sales and operations · Speech language pathologists reached out wanting to use it as a reading comprehension curriculum for 3rd and 4th grade
⭐ Naveen Kumar · Truxt · AI ROI platform for enterprise · 11 years in devops and software engineering · Wrote, composed, and performed a brand new original song in just 2 days for a community gathering
⭐ Nina Mladenovski · Zenia Graph · Ethical AI with knowledge graphs for insurance, fintech, and wealth management · Co-founded with her father · Visiting her 50th country, South Korea, later this year
⭐ Parminder Singh · DeepInspect.ai · AI security and compliance platform · Competed in his first official powerlifting meet earlier this year
⭐ Rajesh Ivaturi · SekurAI · Agentic penetration testing platform · 15 plus years in infosec, ex-Citibank CISO · Solo founder · Certified meditation trainer
⭐ Maab Iqbal · TBD
⭐ Logan Jones · ticker
⭐ Sharon Joseph · CREWASIS.AI
⭐ Abhaya Pawar · Ilika LLC
⭐ Mehul Sompura · Diamond Hedge
⭐ Harshil Thakkar · Newyorklife
⭐ Britney Medich · Brooklyn Navy Yard · Workforce development background · Also owns a bar and restaurant in Jersey City Heights
⭐ Daniel Lee · Bruce AI (OnwardJustice Inc.) · AI legal tech company · Just wrapped an accelerator in Brooklyn
⭐ Eliana Zebro · Freelance Audio (Pre-LLC) · 11 years in freelance audio across podcasting, film, and video games
⭐ Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw · First and Last PR · 14-year-old firm obsessed with how brands show up in AI and GEO · Former beauty editor · Also co-founded Double Love to celebrate blended parenthood with pop-ups
⭐ Jeremy Ruiz Villavicencio · Menti · Early stage idea connecting local tutors with an AI layer · Lives in Linden
⭐ Kima D'Anjou · The Keenly Group LLC · Strategy and management consulting for founders and CEOs · Ridgewood, NJ · Started her career as a software engineer before pivoting into consulting
⭐ Lina Escobar · Sweet Aurora Soap & Candle · Started formulating candles and bath products during her autoimmune diagnosis in 2020 lockdown · Slogan is a little pampering now and then doesn't hurt
⭐ Mohammad Saleh Nikoopayan Tak · TasteTwin AI · Next generation food and restaurant discovery platform connecting people by culinary taste · PhD candidate at NJIT
⭐ Natalie Kitts · The Zigzag Flow · Autism therapy services in an emerging neurodiversity-affirming market
⭐ Priyal Levine · Wisdom & Wonder Wellness · Yoga teacher studying to become a yoga therapist · Once worked for Oprah's production company Harpo in college
⭐ Soheil Khosravinejad · DRIFTLANE · Creative and design services as an extension of client teams
⭐ Angie Tirado · Fluenci · B2B micro-influencer marketplace · NJIT rising sophomore · Has been freelancing in social media since high school
⭐ Elisa Charters · Juegos AI Lab
⭐ Andrea Ferguson Peterson · Everyday Unstoppable
⭐ Saurabh Gandhe · Creative Sprouts Inc
⭐ Jasmin Jones · JP Morgan Chase
⭐ Chandni Patel · BOA (startup name undecided)
⭐ Daniel Patton · DreamEngine AI
⭐ Jordan-River Samuel · tapyoca
⭐ Chirag Shah · Crestwood Digital
⭐ Gunjan Aggarwal · Virre
Getting There:
📍 Address
Antique Loft at Riverview Historical Plaza
33 Newark Street, Penthouse Level
Hoboken, NJ 07030
🚇 By PATH Train
Hoboken Terminal is a 2-minute walk from the venue.
Newark–WTC line — stops at Newark, Harrison, Journal Square, Grove Street, Exchange Place, WTC and Journal Square–33rd St via Hoboken line — stops at Journal Square, Grove Street, Exchange Place, Hoboken
🚆 By NJ Transit Rail
Multiple NJ Transit commuter rail lines terminate at Hoboken Terminal: Bergen County Line, Pascack Valley Line, Main Line, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
🚌 By NJ Transit Bus
Several bus routes serve Hoboken Terminal including routes 126, 22, 23, 85, and 89. Check your route at njtransit.com
🚗 Parking
Municipal garages within walking distance. Tuesday evening rates (enter 6pm–2am): Garage B — 28 2nd Street and Garage D — 215 Hudson Street *Up to 4 hours: $16 Reserve in advance at SpotHero or ParkWhiz. Street parking is available but limited.