蓝莓视频

Three 蓝莓视频 women entrepreneurs (left to right) Rachel Friesen, Alexa Roeper, and Laura Smith

In celebration of the , we talked to three women who are part of the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 .听

EyeCheck

Rachel Friesen studies international development and business and is the co-founder of , a company that is working to eliminate preventable blindness by making vision assessment more accessible.

She describes her entrepreneurial journey as a winding path, based on a diverse range of opportunities to explore her interests within the University ecosystem. 鈥淚 have never been on a one-track lane. I just wanted to try everything!鈥�

Friesen has these words of encouragement to prospective women entrepreneurs: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no better time than now to be a woman entrepreneur, so don鈥檛 undervalue what you can bring to a situation. Apply to industries that don鈥檛 necessarily fit with your background, and don鈥檛 feel like you have to prove yourself because you鈥檙e a woman or because you don鈥檛 come from a STEM background.鈥�

Penta Medical

Alexa Roeper is a biomedical sciences student, and co-founder of , which is developing a medical fabric to promote faster and less painful healing. Roeper got to where she is today through hard work, but also credits the startup community at the as a source of support.

鈥淵ou want your mentor to be someone who is six months ahead of you to help you with the tiny, but critical, things,鈥� says Roeper. She notes that the community is 鈥渁 great resource because everyone is willing to help one another and it doesn鈥檛 feel like a competitive environment at all.鈥�

Penta Medical has built a strong team, which Roeper believes is a testament to the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 , and applied academic programs. 鈥淣ew programs like materials and nanoscience and biomedical engineering fill the knowledge gaps that are coming up as new technology is being developed.鈥�

Pout

Laura Smith, is a computer engineer and co-founder of , an app to show and tell,听inspire,听discover and explore the fashion industry. Smith discovered her passion for science and math at an early age, leading her to pursue her engineering dream.

Smith values the applied work experience she acquired as a student: 鈥淚 pursued mobile internships because I knew that鈥檚 where everything was going, and as a teen I was interested in fashion and beauty, and figuring out that part of who I was.鈥�

Smith also recognizes the importance of community and mentorship: 鈥淲e became pretty tight with Ted Livingston from Kik. He has helped us make some key decisions.鈥� Smith also notes that due to limited early-stage resources, "the free workspace at the Velocity Garage where we work every day is a huge asset.鈥�

With active users in over 150 countries, Pout is taking the fashion world by storm. Laura wants to make sure women entrepreneurs know to continually push their boundaries. 鈥淎lways continue to question. 听鈥榃hy can鈥檛 I do this? Why not me?鈥� 鈥�

Velocity Fund Finals

Both EyeCheck and Pout are former winners of the , a pitching competition that offers $125,000 in grants to emerging startups each term. Penta Medical is a finalist in this term鈥檚 Velocity Fund Finals on November 26. . Find out more about at the University of 蓝莓视频.