STL Startup Week 2022

The panel will highlight 3 SLU entrepreneurship programs that provide experiential learning opportunities, advising and mentorship for SLU students through engagement with the STL entrepreneurship ecosystem. Each program will have 2 panelists, one representing the student experience and the other the community experience. These programs are built on the tenet to provide value to both the student and our community ecosystem partners. An overview of the programs and their engagement is below. 
MedLaunch
MEDLaunch is a student-driven, biomedical and entrepreneurship incubator in the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University. The program is the product of collaborative efforts between the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, School of Law, Chaifetz School of Business, School of Science and Engineering, and College for Public Health and Social Justice. MEDLaunch participants work in multidisciplinary teams under the guidance of clinical and industry mentors to develop innovations in areas including (but not limited to) surgical devices, health information technology, and medical diagnostics. MEDLaunch maintains its mission to improve the standard of healthcare through the engineering and design of creative solutions while also fostering a community of entrepreneurship and collaboration at Saint Louis University and other organizations in the greater St. Louis area.
SLU eMentor Program
The SLU eMentor Program provides students access to mentors and knowledge to address their challenges and prepare them for launching their careers.  The eMentor program is for students interested in thinking like entrepreneurs and developing social networks to engage and learn. The mentor program engages a ‘many-to-many’ approach to mentorship by developing a network of mentors and mentees who can then, as needed and as appropriate, engage in mentorship via one-on-one interactions as well as the group meetings. 

This program is built on the following tenets:
·     Value add for the student and the mentor
·     Mentorship cannot be forced and will form through long lasting relationships
·     Mentor and mentee relationships are formed over time through social engagement 

CCE Clinical Model
The CCE Clinical Model is a pedagogy for teaching and research to produce entrepreneurial-minded students. The innovation of the CCE Clinical Model comes from acting as a classroom for experiential learning, a physical space for students to execute on their ideas, a locus of interaction between the University and area startups, and a practical research lab for data collection. 
Much like a medical student observing and learning from a surgeon in the operating room, CCE Clinicians observe and learn from startup founders and entrepreneurs within St. Louis’ ecosystem.  The CCE Clinic will operate on campus in the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship located in Davis-Shaughnessy Hall and off campus in the COLLAB located in Cortex. 
The Entrepreneurship Clinic provides experience through classes, modules and workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines. Students form diverse teams, based on the best mix of strengths, and act as consultants to partner companies. Partner companies, ranging from early-stage startups, to scaling businesses, to established companies apply to the Entrepreneurship Clinic with specific business issues that need attention. Student teams meet with company applicants, evaluate their strengths and opportunities, and develop and execute a strategic action plan to help them get from where they are not to where they need to be.

Moderator: Lewis Sheats
Panelists:
MedLaunch: Aakash Nagarapu (student) & Ed Bayham (advisor)
SLU eMentor Program: Lexxy Ahn (student) & Austin Smith (mentor)
CCE Clinical Model: Nick Finerock (student) & Tina Sappington (entrepreneur)