The Vassar community is invited to celebrate student creativity and entrepreneurship at the 2026 New Ventures Pitch Competition, hosted by the Vassar Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program.

This annual signature event brings together some of Vassar’s most innovative students to showcase ventures addressing real-world challenges at the intersection of the liberal arts, technology, social impact, and business.

This year’s competition will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2026, and will feature 8 student-led ventures spanning sustainability, mental health, AI, finance, fashion, and community-focused innovation.

2026 Competition Participants

FutMarket, Cailan Baker ’26

FutMarket is the only consumer-to-consumer marketplace built exclusively for soccer cleats, jerseys, and gear — ensuring the game remains accessible, affordable, and authentic.

Cherish, Cher Mei ’26

Cherish is a fashion initiative that aims to sustainability transform discarded fabric into unique garments, giving new life to materials that otherwise would have been in landfills.

Pawse, Yueqi (Jane) Zhang ’29

Pawse is an AI-powered desktop companion designed to support college students’ well-being by combining stress-relief conversations with intelligent calendar generation.

Bonsai, David Sagardi Diaz ’28

Bonsai is a device that uses machine learning and computer vision to identify and sort out trash into its different recycling bins.

Shower Empowerer, Elijah Helsinger ’28

A shower and drying unit, easily implemented across the globe, to provide the dignity and safety of being clean to all, for free. It is net energy positive and requires no water from public infrastructure.

Axis, Samip Paudel ’28

Axis is a unified financial operations platform that brings general ledger, payroll, inventory, and spend management into one automated system

Accorr, Brandon Ogesi ’29

Accorr is a personalized networking platform designed to make relationship-building more intentional, manageable and effective.

Emotional Empowerment Project, Cooper Jaffe ’29

The Emotional Empowerment Project (EEP) gives people interested in mental health an opportunity to disseminate a global perspective of managing mental health by training communities on diverse tools to better support themselves.