Pitches and Pizza: A Day of Entrepreneurship at Tufts

From mock board meetings and venture pitches to networking and an evening mixer, entrepreneurship is thriving at Tufts!

Entrepreneurship doesn't slow down during the summer at Tufts! The Derby Entrepreneurship Center (DEC) recently ran a day jam-packed with of entrepreneurial activity ranging from mock board meetings and venture pitches to networking and a cross-university mixer.

During the summer, DEC runs the Tufts Venture Accelerator (TVA), a full-time venture accelerator that provides structure, accountability, mentorship, networking opportunities, and funding to help Tufts founders develop their entrepreneurial leadership skills as they build and prepare to launch their ventures. This year, the TVA welcomed teams working on a variety of ventures from improving access to clean water in Punjab, to helping youth explore career pathways through experiential learning, to detecting concussions on the field - and more! Throughout the summer, TVA teams receive 1x1 coaching sessions with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, executive leadership coaching, mock board meetings with custom mentor matching, networking opportunities, and much more.

TVA 2025 Cohort — The 2025 Tufts Venture Accelerator Cohort!

After weeks of personalized coaching, networking, guest lectures, and hands-on preparation, this year's TVA cohort was prepared to present in their first mock board meeting. These sessions are designed to simulate real venture board meetings, offering students a low-stakes environment to practice, make mistakes, and learn from experienced mentors who volunteer their time and insights.

TVA 2025 Working — TVA teams work hard over the summer to make rapid progress on their ventures.

After the mock board meetings, the TVA cohort brought their venture pitches to students in our Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Pre-College program. The Tufts Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is a two-week-long immersive experience for high school students interested in learning how to solve big societal problems through new venture creation. These students come to Tufts eager to develop an entrepreneurial mindset at this early stage in their academic journeys.

TVA 2025 at pre college — Madison Page, founder of Lynx, sharing her pitch with 50+ pre-college students.

TVA 2025 at pre college 2 — Natalia Cedeño and Saumya Mehta of Mosaic Minds answer questions during their pitch.

After the pitches wrapped up, students from both programs mingled and networked. Pre-college students and TVA entrepreneurs scattered around the room to ask questions, share advice, connect on LinkedIn, and talk about entrepreneurship - truly a full-circle moment!

insight example — Conor McVey and Arnav Kachwaha of Insight Innovations LLC demonstrated their concussion detection app during their pitch.

With the classroom buzzing from the exchange of entrepreneurial insight, one more event remained for the day: the Cross-University Student Innovator Mixer (CUSI)! CUSI mixers are multi-school collaborations where student innovators throughout the Boston area connect with like-minded peers, meet potential cofounders or team members, and share innovative ideas.

CUSI July 10 2025 — Students across multiple universities, and even different countries, visited Tufts for the July 10th CUSI mixer!

The July 10th CUSI event welcomed entrepreneurs from other Boston area accelerator programs to mingle at Tufts in an evening of idea-sharing, networking, and, of course, pizza.

students at CUSI — Two students enjoy a conversation at the CUSI Mixer.

CUSI conversation — TVA students create connections with students from other universities at the CUSI Mixer.

CUSI conversation 2 — 50+ entrepreneurs made their way to Tufts for the July CUSI Mixer.

At the end of the day, further progress was made on ventures, young entrepreneurs were inspired to pursue their entrepreneurial paths, and new connections were formed over pizza and shared ambitions!