Launch Pad
A multi-week incubator for early-stage ventures beginning to gain traction. Build your idea through skill-building workshops, mentorship, goal-setting, and a supportive community of innovators.
Overview
Launch Pad supports Yale students who are beginning to turn early-stage ideas into ventures.
Whether you’re developing your first concept or continuing work started through another Tsai CITY program, Launch Pad gives you structure, accountability, and access to people who can help you move forward.
Participants build alongside other student innovators through workshops, mentorship, and ongoing guidance from Tsai CITY’s venture development team.
Resources
Participants receive:
- Live and asynchronous venture development workshops
- One-on-one mentorship with early-stage startup experts
- Support from an assigned coordinator
- Goal-setting, feedback, and connections to relevant resources
- Opportunities to work with student joiners
- Access to Tsai CITY funding opportunities
- Invitations to community dinners with mentors and Founders-in-Residence
- A community of innovators from across Yale
Application and Criteria
Launch Pad may be a good fit if you:
- Are a current Yale student
- Have an early-stage venture or project you want to develop
- Can clearly articulate the problem you want to solve
- Have begun researching your target audience, customers, or competitors
- Are thinking about how your idea could operate sustainably over time
Launch Pad is recommended for ventures at an earlier stage than Accelerator or Summer Fellowship.
Expectations
Participants are expected to:
- Meet monthly with their assigned coordinator
- Set goals and make progress throughout the program
- Participate in relevant workshops and mentorship opportunities
- Actively engage with the Launch Pad community
Apply
Applications will open August 24, 2026.
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