Harvard University Announces New Executive Director For Harvard Innovation Labs

Harvard University announced yesterday, i.e. on January 28, 2020, that Matt Segneri will become the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Executive Director of the Harvard Innovation Labs (i-Lab). Segneri will be taking over the role from Jodi Goldstein, who has held the position since January 2018. The Harvard Innovation Lab is Harvard’s own innovation ecosystem that supports the university’s students and select alumni in their quest to explore the world of entrepreneurship. 

Matt Segneri: i-Lab’s New Executive Director

A graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Business School (HBS), Matt Segneri has previously worked as the director of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI) since July 2014. During his time as the Director of SEI, Segneri served as the co-lead of Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition, as well as a judge and advisor for the President’s Innovation Challenge and the MIT $100k competition. He has also played a vital role in bringing together a collaboration between Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School for the Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Beyond Harvard, Segneri’s other professional experience includes working in Government Innovation for Bloomberg Philanthropies from 2012 to 2014, as well as working as an advisor to the Mayor of Boston from 2010 to 2012. Segneri has also received the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce “Ten Outstanding Young Leaders” awards. 

Speaking about the decision behind hiring Matt Segneri as the Executive Director at i-labs, Dean Nitin Nohria said: 

“Matt’s passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, his strong ties to the student and alumni communities, and his proven record of excellence make him an outstanding choice for this role. The i-lab has been an extraordinary success, and as we gain new neighbors in Allston—beginning with the Science and Engineering Complex next fall—it’s thrilling to imagine an even greater future.”

Speaking about his new role at Harvard University, Segneri said:

“I believe that problems are solved at the intersection of ideas and disciplines. It is pure magic when you bring together people from across the University to think differently and build new things. The i-lab truly is One Harvard at its best. This is a very exciting moment in time and a way to be in service to these student entrepreneurs, the University, and the city that I love.”

Harvard Innovation Labs

Established in 2011, the Harvard Innovation Lab has been consistently promoting team-based and entrepreneurial activities among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and select alumni. 

The i-lab has opened its doors to more than 38,000 students from different Harvard University schools, incubating nearly 1,600 ventures and distributing $2.7 million in non-dilutive funding.

The Harvard Innovation Labs ecosystem encompasses a number of different programs, including: 

• The i-lab –  The i-lab is a dynamic, full-service space for current Harvard students interested in actively pursuing innovation and entrepreneurship. The i-lab offers several benefits for students, including hosting workshops on a range of topics that are open to any current Harvard student, a Venture Innovation Program, which brings together a community of innovators, experts, and support systems and the President’s Innovation Challenge – a competition and an opportunity for entrants to win funding for their venture. Venture proposals are evaluated by a panel of professional judges, with more than $400,000 in seed funding awarded to winning teams at the end of the Spring semester. 
  
• Launch Lab X – An accelerator inside the i-lab for eligible Harvard alumni leading promising early-stage startup ventures. Launch Lab X supports the development of alumni-led ventures from seed-stage startup to sustainable, disruptive business.
  
• The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab – Reserved exclusively for Harvard students, faculty, and alumni working on high-potential life sciences and biotech startups, the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab has access to robust programming and resources, allowing budding entrepreneurs to make the best use of the diverse resources available —from business-building and industry-specific programming to expert advisors and mentors.

HBS Ventures From Past i-Lab Participants

i-Lab has also overseen the growth of two fairly popular startups, Love Pop and HourlyNerd (now known as Catalant). Love Pop was founded in 2014 by John Wise and Wombi Rose while they were studying at Harvard Business School and is a brand of 3D paper pop up greeting cards. The company was able to raise $10 million on popular American TV show, Shark Tank.

Catalant Technologies Inc. was founded in 2013 as HourlyNerd by Rob Biederman, Patrick Petitti, Peter Maglathlin, and Joe Miller while they were studying at Harvard Business School. HourlyNerd was then a part of the i-Lab, and did raise $750,000 in seed money from Mark Cuban.  The company recently raised $35 million in its Series E equity round on 22nd January, 2020.