Launch Pad

The Tsai CITY Launch Pad is designed as an incubator for ventures finding their earliest traction. We support founders, creators, and joiners with skill-building workshops, accountability partners, and opportunities to meet a variety of startup mentors. If you have an early idea for a venture or if you’ve participated in other Tsai CITY programs and want to continue workshopping your project with the support of Tsai CITY, then the Launch Pad community is for you.

Founder Resources:

• Asynchronous and synchronous startup content such as venture development workshops and skill-building workshops to help you grow your idea
• Access to one-on-one mentorship and coaching with early-stage startup experts and assigned coordinators to provide industry-specific advice, help you set program goals, and connect you to resources
• Project support with student joiners
• Opportunity to apply to Tsai CITY’s Student Exploration Fund and Student Milestone Fund
• Invites to monthly dinner clubs with mentors and founders-in-residence
• The chance to join an awesome community of innovators from around Yale!

Founder Application and Criteria:

To participate in Launch Pad as a founder, you should meet the following criteria:

• You must be a current Yale student
• You can clearly articulate your idea and the problem you are trying to solve, for example:
  • You have researched it sufficiently to answer basic questions about your target customers and key competitors
  • You can describe how you might implement this idea in a way that is sustainable over time
• You can commit to submitting biweekly updates to Tsai CITY staff on progress and meeting monthly with the assigned coordinator

The Launch Pad cohort will be capped at 40 ventures each semester. The cohort will be selected through a random lottery consisting of the founders who meet the above criteria. If you aren’t selected in the random lottery, you’ll be added to a waitlist. A random lottery will also be used to determine who gets removed from the waitlist if a spot opens up.

Joiner Resources:

Are you interested in gaining experience working with an early-stage startup? Sign up to work on projects with Tsai CITY’s Launch Pad teams as a startup joiner - someone who works at an early-stage startup with the founding team. As a joiner in Launch Pad, you have access to the following resources:

• Invitations to sessions on key venture development topics and skill-building workshops
• Access to a gallery of available projects from Launch Pad founders
• Invite-only matchmaking sessions between Launch Pad founders and joiners
• Mentorship from Tsai CITY Venture Associates on project-related questions
• Opportunity to apply for up to a $300 professional development stipend to continue learning as a joiner

Joiner Application and Criteria:

To participate in Launch Pad as a joiner, fill out the Launch Pad application and follow the prompts to indicate your interest in being a joiner. Please keep the following criteria in mind when applying:

• You must be a current Yale student
• You can attend a matchmaking event with Launch Pad founders and joiners on Friday, October 4, at 12:30pm
• You can commit to working on at least one project with a Launch Pad founder and submitting biweekly updates to Tsai CITY staff on project progress

The Launch Pad is part of a broader venture development sequence at Tsai CITY: if you are further along in your project,  our Accelerator or Summer Fellowship might be a fit. The Launch Pad, Accelerator, and Summer Fellowship share a common application.

*The application process for the Fall 2024 semester has ended. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more updates about this and other programs/events happening at Tsai CITY.