SEARCH

Past Fellows & Interns

Manuhe Abede

Manuhe Abebe

2021 Summer Intern
Michelle_Addison

Michelle Addison

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
Solomon_Alolga

Solomon Alolga

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
Catherine Bhattachar

Catherine Bhattachar

2020 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
2024 Intern: Carter Bridges

Carter Bridges

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Ian Brizes

Ian Brizes

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Christina Catavero

Christina Catavero

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Lefko Charalambous

Lefko Charalambous

2020 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Thomas Cheng_Updated Headshot

Thomas Cheng

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow
Kat Cummings

Kat Cummings

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Sekou_Diarra

Sekou Diarra

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
ProfilePicture_RossFly_2022

Ross Fly

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow
2024 Intern: Neriah Friday

Neriah Friday

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Marshal Fritz

Marshal Fritz

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Tegus_fu

Tegus Fu

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Alex Galvez

Alex Galvez

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Lance photo

Lance Gloss

2022 Summer Graduate Fellow
Tucker_SarahGrace headshot

Sarah Grace Tucker

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow
Andrew Granatstein

Andrew Granatstein

2022 Summer Graduate Fellow
2024 Fellow: Hans Grohs

Hans Grohs

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow
Katie_Haynes

Katie Haynes

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
Jolie Helton

Jolie Helton

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Houchins,Jenna

Jenna Houchins

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow
Sanford School of Public Policy Masters Programs, Staff Headshots

Joe Janey

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow
Daria Jordan

Daria Jordan

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Shaffer Woody

Suman Kasoji

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Dechen Lama

Dechen Lama

2021 SUMMER FELLOW
2024 Intern: Daniel Lee

Daniel Lee

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern
MORGAN MACCHERONE

Morgan Maccherone

2020 STARTUP ANALYST & SUMMER FELLOW
Jeff Mainwaring

Jeff Mainwaring

2021 STARTUP ANALYST & SUMMER FELLOW
Austin McIlwain

Austin McIlwain

2020 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Nikhil Mittal

Nikhil Mittal

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Sean Moore II

Sean Moore II

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Kirti Nimmala

Kirti Nimmala

2022 Undergraduate Intern
Nya Patton

Nya Patton

2022 Undergraduate Intern
Arya Ranjan headshot

Arya Ranjan

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Emilie_Riggs

Emilie Riggs

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
Reece Rios-Starks

Reece Rios-Starks

2021 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Kyle_Ritter

Kyle Ritter

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow
Michele Riva

Michele Riva

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
Spruill

Isabella Spruill

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern
Poole College of Management, Jenkins MBA, Jared Vallner

Jared Vallner

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow
Olivia Watkins

Olivia Watkins

2020 STARTUP ANALYST FELLOW
Matt Wofford headshot

Matt Wofford

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow
Shaffer-Woody

Shaffer Woody

2024 Startup Analyst Associates
2024 Fellows: Kelsey Worsham

Kelsey Worsham

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow
Zhang_Helen headshot

Helen Zhang

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

STAY IN THE KNOW!

CONTACT

Linkedin Facebook Podcast

CONTACT

Twitter Linkedin Facebook

Manuhe Abebe

2021 Summer Intern

Linkedin

Manuhe is a passionate second-year college student with a tireless work ethic, strong analytical and problem-solving skills. He is pursuing a B.S. in Mass Communication at North Carolina Central University with a concentration in Public Relations and a member of the African-American Male Initiative on campus. Manuhe enjoys valuing connections with students and professionals and promoting these long-lasting connections through continuous networking and community outreach. Manuhe saw the NC IDEA Summer 2021 Internship Program For Under-Represented Student Entrepreneurs as an opportunity to support our state’s growing economy and local entrepreneurs while also learning more about NC’s plethora of innovation and the tight-knit startup community.

Michelle Addison

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Michelle is an MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Michelle received her undergraduate and law degrees from Northwestern University. She spent 5 years as a corporate lawyer doing billion-dollar merger and acquisition deals in tech, renewable energy, and healthcare. For the last 10 years, Michelle has been an entrepreneur. She founded a parent and child education company in Tampa, Florida, which grew to three locations. She also founded the first dental sleep center in Miami, treating sleep apnea with custom-made dental devices. At Fuqua, Michelle is pursuing a concentration in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and working on her new start-up, a food allergy-related tech startup. Michelle will be interning with P&G this summer to gain a better understanding of brand management and operations. Michelle enjoys cooking, hiking, and playing pickleball with her husband and 3 kids. Michelle is committed to the NC start-up community and looks forward to making a positive impact as an NC Idea Fellow.

Solomon Alolga

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Solomon is a first-year MBA candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, concentrating in corporate finance and entrepreneurship. Prior to business school, Solomon spent six years with KPMG and Deloitte in New York as a senior consultant, where he specialized in hedge fund and private equity fund tax strategy and compliance services. At UNC Kenan-Flagler, Solomon is currently pursuing careers in venture capital and private equity. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, and the NC IDEA Fellowship is an opportunity to support our state’s economy and entrepreneurs while also learning more about the startup community in North Carolina.

Catherine Bhattachar

2020 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Catherine served as an MBA Startup Fellow with NC IDEA during her time as an MBA student at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, where she focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. Prior to business school, Catherine worked in strategy consulting at L.E.K. Consulting and business analytics and product management at Wayfair in Chicago and Boston. Next, she will join the strategic partnerships and pricing team at IQVIA while continuing to participate in the NC startup ecosystem by advising early-stage tech companies. Catherine loves listening to podcasts, hiking, and trying new food with her husband, Adithya.

Carter Bridges

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

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

Linkedin

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.

Christina Catavero

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Christina is a 5th-year Neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she leads the Carolina Graduate Consulting Group. She is passionate about supporting companies advancing human health and wellness, and has worked with life sciences, medtech, and healthcare startups. Upon graduation, Christina plans to stay in Durham and work in life sciences consulting or venture capital. In her free time she enjoys gardening and creating mixed media collages.

Lefko Charalambous

2020 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Lefko is an MD/MBA student at Duke who has a passion for medical innovation. Having studied neuroscience at Duke as an undergraduate, he fell in love with Durham and the Duke community and decided to stay for graduate school! Lefko has worked with a number of med tech startups spun out of Duke Health and is excited to build his own disruptive healthcare company as a practicing physician. After his first two years at the medical school, he jumped at the opportunity to develop his business acumen at Fuqua as a dual degree student. Lefko is deeply devoted to advancing the entrepreneurial community in North Carolina and he saw the NC IDEA Fellowship as a great way to give back to the North Carolina startup community while also gaining insight into what investors are looking for in a company.

Thomas Cheng

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow

Linkedin

Thomas is passionate about educating, connecting, and motivating people to achieve great things. His background is mostly in the education sector, with global experience in schools, nonprofits, large companies, and emerging startups. Thomas lived in China for six and a half years, working with rural education nonprofit Teach For China and education giants VIPKid and TAL Education Group.

He believes in the power of entrepreneurship to address social problems and is excited to work with NC IDEA’s founders on the challenges they are tackling. Thomas is a first-year student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he co-founded and hosts “The Fuqua Show” podcast.

Kat Cummings

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Kat has spent the last seven years working with a diverse range of vulnerable youth, most recently as the Director of Strategic Initiatives a sports-based, youth development nonprofit. Currently a full-time first-year MBA student and Forté Fellow at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Kat is concentrating in Social Entrepreneurship and a founding member of the NEYES Mentors program, providing entrepreneurial mentoring to high-school students in the Durham community. Kat also holds a Master of Science in Child, Youth, and Family Studies with a specialization in Youth Development, as and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies: Global Environment and Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The NC IDEA Fellowship is allowing Kat to gain a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of early-stage startups that she plans to put to use empowering at-risk youth and their communities after graduation. Kat lives in Durham with her fiancé (also an entrepreneur!), their cat, and two dogs.

Sekou Diarra

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Sekou is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Before attending business school, Sekou was an Actuary and Risk Management professional in the European Insurance Industry. He spent more than seven years helping financial services companies manage their risks and optimize their capital allocation. At Fuqua, Sekou focuses on Finance and aims to use his Fellowship experience to gain insight into investing and advising in early-stage companies. Sekou’s long-term goal is to fund a Fintech company to develop financial inclusion in underdeveloped countries. Sekou is passionate about sports, cinema, and art. He also enjoys traveling and discovering new places.

Ross Fly

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Ross is an MBA and Master of Environmental Management candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Nicholas School of the Environment. Receiving a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, Ross worked in the energy industry for ExxonMobil and later in the leadership consulting industry for Development Dimensions International. He is passionate about protecting and restoring the natural environment and is concentrating his dual degree program at Duke on finance and strategy related to climate tech. In his free-time, Ross and his wife, Cassie, enjoy rock and ice climbing, mountain biking, and hiking with their Boykin Spaniel.

Neriah Friday

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

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

Linkedin

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.

Tegus Fu

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Tegus Fu is a second-year undergraduate at NC State, pursuing a degree in marketing and entrepreneurship. He actively participates in the American Marketing Association and Vietnamese Student Association clubs on campus. With a passion for business since childhood, Tegus has honed his entrepreneurial skills by selling various products and services to friends.

His volunteer work with a social justice activist ignited a fervent interest in promoting economic opportunities for underrepresented minorities in North Carolina, inspiring him to delve deeper into this field. He eagerly looks forward to assisting small businesses and startups during the summer while continuing to broaden his knowledge in this area.

Alex Galvez

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Alex is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to business school, Alex worked for Navigant Consulting in healthcare strategy, where he specialized in provider operations and technology implementation. At Fuqua, Alex is pursuing a certificate in Healthcare Sector Management and a concentration in Entrepreneurship & Innovation as he pivots to a career in healthcare venture capital. Also an undergraduate alumnus of Duke, Alex has grown to love North Carolina and is passionate about advancing the entrepreneurial community as an NC IDEA Fellow.

Lance Gloss

2022 Summer Fellow

Linkedin

Lance hails from sunny Colorado, earned his BA at Brown University, and served as Senior City Planner for the City of Grand Junction. He came to the state in 2021 to pursue his Masters in City and Regional Planning at UNC – Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Lance works as an economic development analyst with NCGrowth to help communities create sustainable and equitable opportunities for their people. He works with NC IDEA to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in North Carolina. Lance plans to engage in regional development strategy throughout his life – with plenty of hiking and rugby mixed in.

Sarah Grace Tucker

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Sarah Grace is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to business school, she spent five years in consulting, most recently in Washington, D.C. with Mastercard Advisors. At Fuqua, Sarah Grace is pursuing careers in impact investing and climate tech venture capital. From growing up in Alabama, she is passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship across the southeast and looks forward to learning more about the startup community in North Carolina. Sarah Grace has a degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Princeton University. In her free time, she loves traveling and trying new recipes.

Andrew Granatstein

2022 Summer Fellow

Linkedin

Andrew has spent the past six years working in venture capital, at growth-stage technology companies, and consulting on emerging technology projects, with a specific passion for developing the in-space economy. As a full-time MBA student at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Andrew is concentrating in sustainable business and entrepreneurship, while interning at Carolina Angel Network and continuing to work part-time for SpaceFund. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering

from the University of Arizona where he gained entrepreneurial experience as a student founder. This summer at NC IDEA, he is excited to work closely with North Carolina-based founders and to help grow the startup ecosystem across the state. Andrew lives in Durham with his partner, Melissa, and their German Shepherd, Pepper.

Hans Grohs

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow

Linkedin

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.

Katie Haynes

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Katie is a first-year MBA candidate and Forté Fellow at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to business school, Katie spent six years in both the US and UK as a Sales and Marketing Project Manager for Artisan Partners, a global asset manager. At Fuqua, Katie is pursuing a concentration in marketing and after graduation hopes to work in product marketing management within the health and wellness industry. Katie has a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Human and Organizational Development. In her free time, she enjoys

yoga, running and traveling and is looking forward to getting more involved in the North Carolina economic landscape.

Jolie Helton

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Jolie Helton is a second-year MBA candidate at UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business. She is also the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Division of Student Affairs at UNCG. Prior to UNCG, Jolie worked in marketing in both local government and NCAA Division I athletics. She has a love for North Carolina and saw the NC IDEA Fellowship as an opportunity to support our state’s economy and entrepreneurs while also learning more about innovation and the startup community. Jolie graduated from the University of Georgia with a marketing degree and enjoys running and being outdoors.

Jenna Houchins

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow

Linkedin

Jenna is a dual-degree candidate (MBA and Master of Public Policy) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Sanford School of Public Policy. Her passion for entrepreneurship stems from her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru (2016-2018), where she focused on co-teaching business courses and implementing entrepreneurship programs in rural high schools. She also served as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (2018-2020) for an international non-profit, Minga Peru, where she focused on institutional development.

Originally from Chicago, Jenna has lived in North Carolina for three years and is passionate about positively contributing to the equitable growth of the community she calls home. Jenna holds a degree in Global Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In her free time, she enjoys live music, paddle boarding, and traveling.

Joe Janey

2023 Summer Graduate Fellow

Linkedin

Joe is a dual MBA-MPP candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Sanford School of Public Policy. As an aspiring entrepreneur, Joe is passionate about harnessing the power of education technology to augment the education ecosystem and create new pathways for student success and mobility. Joe is pursuing a concentration in entrepreneurship and innovation at Fuqua, and his policy focus is on the intersection of education and technology.

Before graduate school, Joe matriculated from the University of St. Thomas with an economics degree. Following graduation, Joe worked for three years at Hennepin Partners, a Minneapolis-based investment bank focused on providing sell-side M&A advisory services. Additionally, Joe has experience in the investment management sector from his time at Broadwater Capital.

In his free time, Joe enjoys being on the water, watching college sports, golfing, and road biking

Daria Jordan

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Daria is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to starting her MBA, she studied computer science at Spelman College and then transitioned into her full-time career at Deloitte Consulting as a technology consultant. At Fuqua, Daria focuses on technology and social entrepreneurship and will spend her summer at Microsoft as a Program (Product) Manager. The NC IDEA Fellowship is providing Daria the opportunity to gain insight into investing and advising in early-stage tech companies, which she hopes to continue throughout her career.

Suman Kasoji

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

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.

Dechen Lama

2021 Summer Fellow

Linkedin

Dechen is an MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Before Fuqua, she graduated from Duke undergrad with a double major in public policy and global health. She then moved to New York City, where she worked for a young healthcare technology company, Phreesia, for nearly five years, helping the company grow and scale and ultimately go public her last year there. While at Phreesia, she worked primarily in market development, overseeing the launch and go-to-market strategy of new product lines. Dechen is passionate about healthcare technology and is excited to be back in her home state of North Carolina. As an NC IDEA fellow, Dechen looks forward to getting involved in North Carolina’s startup and healthcare ecosystem.

Daniel Lee

2024 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

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.

Morgan Maccherone

2020 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Morgan graduated from Columbia University in 2018 with a degree in Industrial Engineering, and is currently a third-year law student at UNC. While at Columbia, Morgan founded a cybersecurity change management startup with her father, which sparked her interest in entrepreneurship. While in law school, Morgan’s studies have focused on corporate law with an emphasis on counseling entrepreneurs and guiding startups through the processes of formation, growth, and fundraising. After graduating in May 2021, Morgan will begin her full time career at Hutchison, PLLC, which is a local, boutique law firm that focuses on advising startups.

Jeff Mainwaring

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow and Summer Fellow

Linkedin

Jeff Mainwaring graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2010 with a mechanical engineering degree and commissioned as an Army Aviation Officer. Following graduation, Jeff spent eight years as a helicopter pilot, progressively leading teams ranging from 12 to 90 Soldiers in numerous theaters of operations. He culminated his Aviation experience with two company commands before transitioning roles to a Program Manager position in the Army Acquisition Corps in 2018. Jeff is currently pursuing his MBA with Duke’s Fuqua School of Business class of 2022. He will return to the military post-MBA with his wife and three children.

Austin McIlwain

2020 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Austin Mcilwain graduated from Clemson University in 2015 with a biology degree and commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer in the Army National Guard. Following graduation, Austin moved to Durham where he split his time as an officer for an aviation unit as well as an investment associate for CAPTRUST Financial Advisors. From 2017 to 2018, Austin deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Upon returning from deployment, he started his MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business as a member of the class of 2021. Austin plans to stay in Durham post-MBA with his wife and two dogs.

Nikhil Mittal

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

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.

Sean Moore II

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Sean is an MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to attending business school, Sean was an entrepreneur and supply chain strategy consultant. Based on his family’s roots in Salisbury and Greensboro, Sean is deeply devoted to advancing the entrepreneurial community in North Carolina. As an NC IDEA Startup Analyst, he hopes to give back to the North Carolina startup community while gaining hands-on experience within the investment transaction cycle. Sean enjoys playing soccer, cooking new cuisines, and testing new wearable technology.

Kirti Nimmala

2022 Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

Kirti is a third-year undergraduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Data Science. She is passionate about making innovative healthcare technology more accessible to patients. Kirti is actively involved in scientific research and has raised funding for investigating her novel treatment for Alzheimer’s through a biomedical innovation competition. As a budding entrepreneur, she hopes to better understand the startup ecosystem in North Carolina and the markers for success in early-stage startup companies through the NC IDEA fellowship. In her free time, she is a Bollywood dance choreographer and enjoys watching movies and trying local restaurants.

Nya Patton

2022 Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

Nya Patton is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in International Studies and double minoring in Entrepreneurship and Business. Before attending UNC-CH Nya embarked on a Global Gap Year Fellowship where she lived in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland working with NGOs in her areas of interest. Nya enjoys the innovative and creative aspects of working at startups, and has worked as a Blockchain Technology specialist and Marketing Intern at two community focused enterprises.

Arya Ranjan

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

Arya Ranjan is a first-year undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Business Administration with minors in Data Science and Entrepreneurship.

Through significant involvement with a local business, Cottage Lane Kitchen, she has developed a deeper understanding of the technicalities behind running a start-up. As an aspiring entrepreneur, during the NC IDEA internship, she hopes to familiarize herself with the journey that the larger community of entrepreneurs in North Carolina embark on to fulfill their passions for their ventures, and also understand the usage of analytics in their decision making

Emilie Riggs

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Emilie is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to business school, Emilie worked as a proposal writer for small technology companies and then as a project manager for GEICO, where she earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Emilie is passionate about supporting local communities and economies, which is why she is working with NC Idea in addition to a Durham non-profit organization. Over the summer, Emilie will intern with Vanguard’s leadership development program.

Reece Rios-Starks

2021 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Reece is a first-year MBA/MPP candidate at Duke University. Prior to business school, he worked as a product manager for the surveillance sector in Washington, DC. While in graduate school he is concentrating on Strategy and Tech Policy. He is passionate about startups and plans to spend his summer interning for a semiconductor startup based in Toronto. Reece is devoted to expanding the startup community in North Carolina and saw the NC IDEA Fellowship as a great way to give back to this community.

Kyle Ritter

2022 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Kyle is a first-year MBA candidate at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business pursuing a career in venture capital. Prior to business school, Kyle graduated with a triple-major from the University of South Carolina and worked 8 years with a Fortune 500 financial services provider where he held leadership roles in fields such as sales management, strategy and expansion, client services, and audit. Most recently, he led a $140M B2B sales region in the southwest US, where he worked with 120+ entrepreneurs to build scalable SMB sales processes. Kyle also volunteers with and has served on the board of Junior Achievement, where he teaches financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to underserved schools. He is married to wife Taylor, who is a biologist, conservationist, and educator.

Michele Riva

2024 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

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.

Isabella Spruill

2023 Summer Undergraduate Intern

Linkedin

Isabella Spruill is a second-year undergraduate Honors student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is majoring in Business Administration, concentrating in Entrepreneurship, and minoring in Public Policy. During her time at Carolina, she will study abroad for two semesters as a GLOBE® 18 Scholar.

She is passionate about creating positive social and economic impacts in developing communities. Isabella is involved on campus with Build the Hill, a UNC student organization that promotes sustainable small business growth in the Triangle area.

As a member of UNC’s Impact Investing Fund team, she recommends investments that create positive social and environmental impacts. In her free time, she enjoys attending UNC sports games and spending time outdoors.

Jared Vallner

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Jared is a first-year MBA candidate at the North Carolina State Jenkins MBA program concentrating on finance and entrepreneurship and pursuing a career in venture capital. Prior to business school, Jared graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2017 and served five years as an explosive ordnance disposal officer conducting deployments in support of special operations forces. Most recently, as he transitioned out of the Army and into business school, Jared spent time working with SoBet, a sports betting startup, and played a key role in the pivot from a peer to peer betting model to an influencer content model. In his free time, Jared enjoys sports, personal investing, and spending time with friends and family.

Olivia Watkins

2020 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Olivia Watkins is a second-year MBA Candidate at North Carolina State University Poole College of Management concentrating in Financial Management. Prior to beginning her MBA program, Olivia was a farmer on small-scale agriculture farms with Kahumana Organic Farms and Soul Fire Farm, and a research analyst with Aloha Green Apothecary and Croatan Institute. In the future, Olivia looks forward to using the Fellowship experience to bringing her social impact leadership skills into the finance world and create opportunities for organizations to make sustainable financial investments and decisions.

Matt Wofford

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

Matt is a first-year dual-degree candidate at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business. While at the Nicholas School, Matt is concentrating on energy and the environment with the goal of pursuing a career in cleantech investing. Prior to graduate school, Matt matriculated from the University of Southern California with a Business Administration degree. Following graduation, Matt worked for 5 years at UBS Financial Services for a wealth management team with over $600 million AUM where he serviced high net worth individuals and businesses by constructing client portfolios, proposing trading strategies, and formulating financial plans. 

In his free time, Matt enjoys skiing, surfing, golfing, fishing, hiking, and camping.Matt is a first-year dual-degree candidate at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business. While at the Nicholas School, Matt is concentrating on energy and the environment with the goal of pursuing a career in cleantech investing. Prior to graduate school, Matt matriculated from the University of Southern California with a Business Administration degree. Following graduation, Matt worked for 5 years at UBS Financial Services for a wealth management team with over $600 million AUM where he serviced high net worth individuals and businesses by constructing client portfolios, proposing trading strategies, and formulating financial plans. In his free time, Matt enjoys skiing, surfing, golfing, fishing, hiking, and camping.

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.

Kelsey Worsham

2024 Summer Graduate Fellow

Linkedin

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.

Helen Zhang

2023 Startup Analyst Fellow

Linkedin

An immigrant from China, a first-generation college grad, Helen never stops pushing herself and is now a first-year MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Before attending business school, Helen took roles in general management, accounting, and sales in a variety of industries including restaurant, manufacturing, and financial services. Inspired by her entrepreneurial late father, Helen has a dream to become an entrepreneur herself someday. She is excited to have the opportunities at NC IDEA to work closely with North Carolina-based founders and to help grow the startup ecosystem across the state. Outside of school, Helen enjoys being the mother of her two sons, Marcus and Travis, who love school and challenges.