FELLOWS & INTERNS

fellows AND INTERNS

Fellows are considered valuable members of the NC IDEA team, assisting in the review and evaluation of grant applications, making recommendations and, at times, taking on modest coaching roles with competitive applicants.

NC IDEA has three different opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to support our work and engage directly with NC startups. Competitive candidates for all opportunities will have a demonstrated interest in startups and entrepreneurship. Learn more about each of the opportunities.

2024 Intern: Carter Bridges

Carter Bridges

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Ian Brizes

Ian Brizes

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
2024 Intern: Neriah Friday

Neriah Friday

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Marshal Fritz

Marshal Fritz

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
2024 Fellow: Hans Grohs

Hans Grohs

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow
2024 Intern: Daniel Lee

Daniel Lee

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Shaffer Woody

Suman Kasoji

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Nikhil Mittal

Nikhil Mittal

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Michele Riva

Michele Riva

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
2024 Fellows: Kelsey Worsham

Kelsey Worsham

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow
Shaffer-Woody

Shaffer Woody

2024 Startup Analyst Associates

Carter Bridges

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Carter Bridges is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Management and Society with minors in Entrepreneurship and Data Science.

He is passionate about getting UNC students involved with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem by being a TA in the Introduction to Entrepreneurship class. He serves as a mentor to high school students through the Shuford mentorship program, helping them develop their personal brands and managing the transition from high school to college. He is also an avid cyclist and races for the UNC Chapel Hill team, training throughout the week and racing on the weekends.

Ian Brizes

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Ian is a first-year MBA candidate at the North Carolina State Jenkins MBA program concentrating on finance and entrepreneurship and pursuing a career in medical devices. Prior to business school, Ian graduated from University of Mississippi in 2020 and started his career in supply chain logistics and international sales for a military aircraft broker in Fort Worth, TX. After his time in Texas, Ian enlisted into the Navy. He was selected as a Navy SEAL candidate but time in service was cut short due to an injury in the training pipeline. In his free time, Ian enjoys watching football, running ultramarathons, and spending time with friends and family.

Neriah Friday

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Neriah Friday is a first-year undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is majoring in Information Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship through the Shuford Program at UNC.

Neriah is passionate about developing an entrepreneurial mindset. As a current Student UX Designer in Chapel Hill, she is interested in the intersection of business and technology, specifically with design and web content. At NC IDEA, she hopes to deepen her understanding of the challenges behind building a startup and learn more about the journey that entrepreneurs must take to rise above the status quo and break barriers in the community.

Marshall Fritz

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Marshall Fritz is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. His research targets gene engineering in immune cells. He is interested in a career in entrepreneurship and venture capital.

While at UNC, Marshall served as a venture catalyst fellow at KickStart Venture Services and as a student analyst at Carolina Research Ventures. Additionally, he worked to develop the “Rx Investment Club: Investing & Financial Literacy Workshop” that focused on expanding financial education to scientific disciplines.

Prior to graduate school, Marshall graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a minor in History. At Georgia Tech, he led a sustainability initiative for on-campus housing groups.

In his free time, he enjoys golfing, snowboarding, traveling, and spending time with his wife and their miniature Australian Shepherd.

Hans Grohs

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow

Hans is an MBA/MPP Candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business & Sanford School of Public Policy. As an aspiring K-12 entrepreneur, Hans is passionate about leveraging education, business, and policy to improve school change management and drive innovation within early childhood education. At Fuqua, Hans serves as a CASE Fellow, Admissions Fellow, VP of Professional Development for the American Latinx Management Association (ALMA), & Board Member at Communities in Schools – Durham.

Prior to graduate school, Hans worked as an Associate Consultant at Public Impact, a boutique educational consultancy, collaborating with district leaders to rethink their school design to improve student learning outcomes. Before Public Impact, he served as a Bilingual Teacher through Teach for America at a Title I elementary school in Houston, Texas. Hans holds a master’s in education from the University of Virginia & a bachelor’s in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In his free time, Hans enjoys watching college sports, traveling throughout Latin America, and testing taco trucks.

Daniel Lee

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Daniel Lee is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is majoring in Business Administration with concentrations in Investment Banking & Real Estate, and minoring in Data Science.

He is passionate about educational equity and technology, having spent the past year working with EdTech startups Classmate and Deep Learning Labs. During this time, he developed a keen understanding of the behind-the-scenes operations of early-stage startups, from hiring to fundraising. Daniel is also involved with the UNC Product Management Club, which collaborates with local technology startups to develop new features.

In his free time, Daniel enjoys weightlifting, watching college basketball, cooking, and engaging in passive investing.

Suman Kasoji

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Suman is a first-year MBA candidate at the North Carolina State University’s Jenkins MBA program concentrating in Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Commercialization. Prior to business school, he spent seven years working in corporate finance in the pharmaceutical industry. Suman is passionate about the environment, and looks forward to learning more about the sustainability and start-up community in North Carolina. In his free-time, Suman enjoys traveling, hiking, and playing soccer.

Nikhil Mittal

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Nikhil is currently a first-year Executive MBA student at Duke University’s The Fuqua School of Business and is dedicated to blending technology and business in the pursuit of transforming the way we operate in our daily lives. Currently, he serves as a cabinet member of the Fuqua Entrepreneurship Club and is also an active member of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club. Before embarking on his MBA journey, Nikhil earned a postgraduate diploma in Finance and Systems from Goa Institute of Management, India. He also holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering. Notably, he worked on Cryptography especially Internet security and got published in an IEEE journal. Nikhil has also gained professional experience as a Process transformation and strategy consultant in the Compliance domain for global banks, working with IBM across India, Europe and United States.

Outside the academic and professional spheres, Nikhil is actively engaged as an investor/partner and strategic advisor for two cutting-edge healthcare startups in India. He is an avid motorcyclist and enjoys landscape photography. He has a long-standing association with Doctors Beyond Borders and UNICEF.

Michele Riva

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Michele, a first-year MBA student at Duke University’s The Fuqua School of Business, is dedicated to blending technology, science, and design in the pursuit of building innovative tech products, particularly in the consumer health sector. Holding double certificates in Health Sector Management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Michele is passionate about the intersection of these fields. Currently, he serves as a cabinet member of both the Fuqua Tech Club and FuquaPride.

Before embarking on his MBA journey, Michele earned a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy. His academic achievements include a focus on theoretical physics and a minor in Analog Microelectronics. Notably, he contributed to cancer particle beam therapy advancements by designing a numerical model for an analog microchip, leading to a published paper in an IEEE journal. Michele has also gained professional experience as an IT consultant in the SAP Ecosystem, working in both Milan and Hamburg.

Outside the academic and professional spheres, Michele is an active volunteer, supporting human and civil rights causes in Italy. His involvement spans privacy advocacy, end-of-life rights, drug policy reform, and LGBT rights. With a diverse range of interests, Michele enjoys practicing martial arts and engaging with podcasts.

Kelsey Worsham

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow

Kelsey is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Before starting school, she lived in the Durham area for five years and operated a marketing consulting business outside her full-time work. Working directly with small and early-stage startups, some of them past NC IDEA grant recipients, gave her a unique appreciation for entrepreneurship and its many fascinating challenges.

Kelsey is passionate about supporting founders of all backgrounds and currently serves as the inaugural Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship MBA fellow, where she is working to continue bridging entrepreneurial efforts to the greater Duke community.

Lee “Shaffer” Woody

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Shaffer is a first-year STEM MBA candidate at the North Carolina State University Jenkins MBA program concentrating in Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization. Prior to business school, Shaffer attended Syracuse University, where he played four years of lacrosse for the Orangemen as a short-stick defensive midfielder.

Throughout Shaffer’s undergraduate career, he spent his off-season working for a financial advising firm called CAPTRUST as a marketing intern. Shaffer gave intriguing ideas on how to become more cost efficient when planning and executing the company’s advisor kickoff meeting. Shaffer plans to intern with Gallagher in Durham, NC as a sales intern this upcoming summer. In his free time, Shaffer enjoys playing golf and wants to play as many new courses around the country as possible.