Demo Week 2026

2026 Demo Week Recap

Demo Week is the culminating event in the Zahn Innovation Center’s Venture Incubator and Competition program, engaging more than 300 students, faculty, staff, mentors, judges, and supporters to help award $82,000 in prizes for student-led ventures.

Congratulations to our 8 prize-winning teams, as well as the entire 2026 cohort. This group of student-led teams were selected in December 2025 and participated in a 12-week incubator program throughout the Spring 2026 semester. Weekly workshops with guest facilitators as well as Zahn Innovation Center staff covered all aspects of entrepreneurship for new ventures and non-profit organizations. Student teams also had the opportunity to engage with mentors in office hours and practice pitch events.

Demo Day - Tuesday, May 5, 2026

The week started on Tuesday, with 12 startups competing in closed-door pitch sessions, followed by a Demo Day expo at the NAC Plaza featuring Audience choice voting. The top two teams in each track, as scored by an external panel of judges, advanced to Final Pitch night.

Thanks to our Demo Day Judges:

• Anna Savva, NYC Service
• Stephanie Fowler, Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Mason Murray, New Enterprise Associates
• Rebekah Tweed, Public Interest Tech Consultant
• Mia Manatan, Company Ventures
• Matteo Pietrobelli, Startup CTO

Final Pitch - Thursday, May 7, 2026

The 8 finalist teams participated in Final Pitch, hosted this year by Standard Chartered in their office space on the 36th floor of 3 Bryant Park.

We began the evening with an introduction from Mandy DeFilippo, CEO, US & Americas, and EMEA at Standard Chartered. “Through our longstanding partnership with the Zahn Innovation Center at The City College of New York, we are proud to support and recognize New York’s next generation of young entrepreneurs powered by leadership, vision, initiative, and hard work -- the same values that guide us every day at Standard Chartered. The 2026 cohort has demonstrated incredible ingenuity, and we are delighted to honor this year’s winners as they move from the incubator stage to real-world impact.” 

Thanks to our Final Pitch judges:

• Amanda Ramos, Chief Executive Officer, Women in Innovation
• Lona Vincent, Global Director, Strategy & Ops, External Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
• Peter Zahn, Chief Executive Officer, Futures Unbounded

Prize Winners:

Standard Chartered Women + Tech

Grand Prize, $15,000: PoppedUp! - An app that connects brands to event attendees to improve event experiences and provides real-time analytics.

• My Anh Phan, a Sophomore majoring in Finance at Baruch College
• Madina Monowara, an alumnus of Hunter College

Finalist Prize, $5000, PlantPulse - A simple plant care kit that tells indoor plant owners exactly when to water their plants.

• Jessica Gomez Parral, a 2026 graduate in Emerging Media Technology at New York City College of Technology
• Lalchan (Bryan) Lutchman, a Junior majoring in Economics at The City College of New York

PoppedUp! was the Audience Choice winner in the Standard Chartered Women + Tech track.

Zahn Social Impact

Grand Prize, $15,000: ReHome - A service providing newly moved, low-income families with essential household items by handling the pickup and vetting of donated goods, reducing moving stress for donors and lowering the financial burden of moving for recipients.

• Clive Thompson, a first-year Economics student at The City College of New York
• Richard Cruz, a first-year Economics student at The City College of New York
• Janak Gautam, a Sophomore Economics student at The City College of New York

Finalist Prize, $5,000: Campus Connect - A workforce training program universities pay for to keep first-generation student entrepreneurs enrolled and earning.

• Sandy García, a first-year Biological Sciences student at Baruch College
• Ying Lai, a Junior majoring in Finance at Baruch College

ReHome was the Audience Choice winner in the Zahn Social Impact track.

Zahn Software

Grand Prize, $15,000: Ortica - An AI-powered learning platform that teaches any subject through realtime visual explanations.

• Wahab Ahmed, a Junior majoring in Computer Science at Hunter College
• Sultan Fattah, a Junior majoring in Political Science and Computer Science at The City College of New York
• Ibnan Hassan, a Junior majoring in Computer Science at Hunter College

Finalist Prize, $5000: College Compass - An AI-powered advising platform that provides personalized academic, campus, and career guidance for every CUNY student.

• Mikhail Fershalov, a Ph.D. student in Applied Math, Engineering Sciences, and Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York

Ortica was the Audience Choice winner in the Zahn Software track.

Kaylie Hardware

Grand Prize, $15,000: Sensaeon - Drug-free, wearable sleeves that address treatment-resistant phantom limb pain by restoring movement feedback through biomimetic nerve stimulation.

• Mason Enis, a Sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering at The City College of New York

Finalist Prize, $5000: XeroForm - Low-cost SLS printers to increase accessible manufacturing to all.

• Petr Lelikov, a M.S. student in Electrical Engineering at The City College of New York
• Ryan Ramnauth, a Junior majoring in Electrical Engineering at The City College of New York
• Alexander Genel, a Sophomore majoring in Physics at The City College of New York
• Luther Saint Jacques, a Sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York
• John Henry, a 2026 Mechanical Engineering graduate of The City College of New York, 

XeroForm was the Audience Choice winner in the Kaylie Hardware track.

Additional Startups pitching at Demo Day:

Cognition, an AI-Powered LMS Web Platform with interactive sales, navigation, and product training tailored for each store and for each employee.

• Srewashi Mondal, a Senior majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York
• Addina Rahaman, a Senior majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York

NavU, a campus-navigation platform that delivers personalized, accessible routes and real-time facility updates to help students move across campus efficiently and safely.

• Desiree Caceres, a Senior majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York
• Fatoumata Drammeh, a Senior majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York
• Tahsina Khan, a Senior majoring in Computer Science at The City College of New York

SunNest, the first wellness cabin to harness the power of the sun to deliver physical and mental health. 

• Aurora Kerluku, a M.S. student in Marketing at Baruch College

HumanlySynced, creating assistive devices that improve blue-collar workers' health, safety and overall quality of life

• Peter Gimes, a Sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York
• Concepción Rodriguez, a Sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York
• Jared Veliz, a Sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York