Anthony Aguilar

Why did you join Ivystart?

One of the first things that struck me about Ivystart is the opportunity to be in community with like-minded people. Working in a startup requires working with others that have different sets of skills, and Ivystart offered the environment for that to flourish. I saw that by joining, I will be able to actively learn and engage with the entrepreneur community. The resources offered give me the opportunity to grow my startup and myself. I am optimistic that Ivystart will bring many entrepreneurs and students together.

What are you currently working on/interested in? I am currently working on Lunar8 and stakeholder research for the Moon Village Association. Lunar8 is a startup intent on getting humans back to the moon. We are determined to create a Reusable Lunar Lander that will travel from lunar orbit to lunar surface in order to deliver cargo, modules, and people to the moon's surface. We hope to be a leading presence in the formation of a Moon Village. The Moon Village Association (MVA) is a collective, multidisciplinary effort to support the worldwide decision-making process for the creation of Moon Village infrastructure in and beyond Low Earth Orbit. MVA will serve as a catalyst for government, scientific research, education and industry activities, thus stimulating a virtuous cycle for the development of a lunar economy. It will be fully organized during the fall and be headquartered in Paris, France.

What do you do for fun? In my spare time, I enjoy reading, watching shows and hanging out with friends. I also enjoy listening to music such as rock and film scores. Some of my favorite bands and artists include: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer.

Something interesting about yourself? I am from Miami, Florida and my family is from Nicaragua. I therefore love traditional Nicaraguan food, and I also highly enjoy drinking coffee throughout the day. Besides academics and entrepreneurship, I am also actively involved with Cru, a Christian fellowship, on campus.

Emmanuel De Leon

Why did you join Ivystart?

Working in isolation is not an ideal situation when pursuing an entrepreneurial venture. Immersing oneself in an environment where ideas are constantly in flux is the smarter alternative. Ivystart facilitates this interdisciplinary collaboration as everyone works on different projects. My peers’ passion with their ideas allows me to become even more passionate with my own ideas.

What are you currently working on/interested in? Education technology has been a quickly expanding market over the past eight years. With the ubiquity of smartphones, tablets, and computers, entrepreneurs are creating an increasing number of applications and technologies in order to penetrate and reform the archaic public education system. My work focuses on developing education technology and using it to overcome the fundamental issues of an outdated education system. One of the fundamental issues I hope to address is the learning-style disparity among all students under the “one-size-fits-all” approach in classrooms. Particularly, it involves assessing the curriculum, textbooks, methods, topics, concepts, and education media of all topics taught in schools and connecting them. This network could perhaps provide a novel platform to create momentum in optimizing and personalizing education media in all schools, across all topics, for all people—now and in the future.

What do you do for fun? Music is an important part of my life—playing piano is the daily norm. I have been involved with several musical groups at Cornell these past few years. As a percussionist, I’ve been a member of CU Winds, CU Percussion Ensemble, and CU Orchestra. As a pianist, I have spent a great amount of time playing with Cru Cornell’s Contemporary, Acoustic, and Gospel Praise and Worship music teams. Additionally, I have been involved Cornell’s Jazz program, playing piano for jazz combos and the main university jazz band.

Something interesting about yourself? I can’t settle for one subject as a life passion. I know for a fact many fields have captured my interest. My undergraduate major is music and my graduate school major is materials science and engineering. Materials science and engineering is an interdisciplinary field comprising physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, electronics, and design. Majoring in materials science and engineering has allowed me to study these fields in way that wouldn’t have been possible through another major. Yet, other fields like technology, education, and entrepreneurship have recently caught my interest—enough to consider starting a company—despite not majoring in either of them. Other passions of mine include cooking, design, acoustics, and geography/travel.

Ian Achira

Why did you join Ivystart?

Ivystart presents an opportunity in which I can live with and share ideas with other students for whom entrepreneurship is a primary involvement. The fact that I'm able to constantly have exposure to and be involved in entrepreneurial pursuits is what makes ivystart attractive.

What are you currently working on/interested in? I am currently looking at market analytics with emphasis on emerging markets. The ultimate goal is to come up with a convincing module that will serve as a benchmark in business development in the currently underserved developing countries.

What do you do for fun? I enjoy playing chess and soccer.

Something interesting about yourself? I often entertain the dream of being a grandmaster.