letter from our
CEO
Eleven years ago, a lifetime ago it seems, a group of students and faculty came together to create something incredible. They came together with the purpose of finding ways to support people beyond themselves and their immediate peers - but to set up a place for innovators to come together. Innovation and entrepreneurship are innate in the Northeastern community, and if a program like IDEA was to form anywhere, I believe it only makes sense that it could have been formed in the exact circumstances that arose in that conference room in Boston in 2008. Over the years, other organizations followed suit and developed - with visions to support more than just themselves, and exist to create opportunities for those who need only ask. A true ecosystem has evolved in the last 11 years, supporting thousands of founders and successful ventures, and educating hundreds of students who strove to support as many community members as possible. Award winning work and awardwinning ventures were coming out of Northeastern, and much of the credit could be thanks to the dozens of students and student leaders who ran these programs. This year was our ecosystem’s first true test. This was our wildfire, our flood, and our volcanic eruption. But the thing about tests though, and other tough situations - is that the world doesn’t stop spinning. People keep moving, lives keep happening, and ideas keep coming. The 16founders you will see here are all examples of people who were tested,
