MacNest Summer 2024
Students and Startups
Adam Lail ’26 | SayKid
Most technology isn’t made for kids – touch interfaces aren’t natural, rigid form factors aren’t playful, and screen time hurts development. SayKid combines voice tech with tangible play to help kids learn in an actively-engaging way – without screens. SayKid won the Grand Prize in the Alexa EdTech Challenge, was recognized as 1 of 15 orgs with the greatest potential to transform early learning (by Harvard), and was the subject of a TEDx Talk.
Supervisor: DeLonn Crosby
Akshat Koirala ’26 | Cloud Court
Cloud Court is a LegalTech software company that delivers solutions to help litigation teams optimize testimony to improve outcomes. Founded by litigators and in-house counsel, Cloud Court, Inc. is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our hosted solutions enable litigators to reduce the cost of testimony, better leverage data, and extract ROI from historical knowledge by “moneyballing” testimony.
Supervisor: Milena Higgins
Armando Nwagbo ’25 | TurnSIgnl
TurnSignl is a Black-owned mobile platform that allows drivers to chat face-to-face with a lawyer when they’re pulled over or in an accident. The app is live nationwide, and continues to grow with direct consumers as well as an employee benefit for businesses of all sizes. Our mission is to protect drivers’ civil rights, to de-escalate roadside interactions, and to get everyone home safe.
Supervisor: Cree Larson
Arnika Abeysekera ’25 | Neurotype
Neurotype Inc. is supported by the National Institutes of Health, Innovation to Impact at Yale University, the Launch Minnesota program, and MN SBIR/STTR.Neurotype Inc. is building brain sensors and digital therapeutics to improve treatment of craving in drug and food addictions. We are currently developing an FDA regulated device that uses new neurofeedback technology for personalized prevention of drug craving and relapses in Opioid Use Disorder.
Supervisor: Scott Burwell, PhD
Ethen Kantu ’26 | Ascendence
Ascendance is a growth and innovation studio that helps brands and leaders use AI to grow their reach, revenue, and impact. We develop AI & emerging tech strategy, build automations, and do custom AI development for larger clients.
Supervisor: William Preble
Kudzai Dhewa ’26 | BetterYou
BetterYou is a Healthy Habits Companion that helps people find more time in the day for wellness through a no-touch solution rooted in behavior design. We’re creating a world where your time isn’t optimized by apps or advertisers, it’s optimized for the things you care most about. We partner with companies and universities that want to support the wellness journeys of their staff and students. From great products to long-lasting companies, we believe that nothing great is made alone—come build with us!
Supervisor: Andrew Boucher
Linh Dang ’25 | Paadio
Our mission is to bridge the economic gap through professional and business developments; empowered by building resources in marginalized communities. We live our mission by empowering individuals and businesses in marginalized communities by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. We are dedicated to fostering economic growth and opportunity for all. Our Paadio BizBlast platform is all in one business solutions that acts as engine of small business development. This provides them with business automation, social planning, pipeline websites, CRM, chatbot and other cool features that help underserved businesses competitive effectively. We are developing RFP & Grant Center to power micro businesses to compete for contracts and capital access.
Supervisor: Alice Pallum
Long Truong ’25 | TradeOut
TradeOut is an online platform that aims to reduce the risk of fraud or scams for online marketplace purchases. We validate the identity of every user that uses our platform. If anything goes wrong during a TradeOut transaction, TradeOut provides an opportunity to get your money back!
Supervisor: Gafar Amuda
Sohail Mohammed ’27 | xBlock
xBlock targets the $11 trillion retail and hospitality sectors, employing 32 million, with an employee experience platform that addresses the critical technology gap managers face, amidst rapidly evolving markets, employee shift and consumer behaviors. By streamlining operations and offering real-time insights, xBlock combats high turnover and labor shortages, boosting productivity and customer satisfaction.
Supervisor: Dena Neek
Ramier Villarama ’25 | Camperoni
Founded by two moms and an uncle, Camperoni offers a centralized platform designed to ease the usual hassle of registering kids for camps.
Supervisor: Erin Anderson
Xander Hall ’26 | Horto-Logic & Water-Witch
The Water-Witch converts a used carbonated soft drink bottle into a very precise, reliable water device that enables plants to thrive, unattended for up to 60 days. Extremely slow emission, matched to the plant’s ability to absorb, means that nearly 100% reaches the plant. The Water Witch enables us to grow plants healthier, without attention and with the absolute minimum of water.
Supervisor: Nicholas Cook