Keynote: Alumni Panel

​To commemorate a decade of Startup Yale, this year’s event will feature a first-of-its-kind alumni panel in place of a traditional keynote. This dynamic discussion will bring together three trailblazing founders who launched their ventures at Yale and went on to make a lasting impact in their industries.

​Panelists: 

• ​Erika Hairston (YC ’18), Co-founder of EdLyft – Hairston co-founded EdLyft, an AI-powered tutoring platform that helped thousands of underrepresented students break into tech and was later acquired by Google.

• ​Ben Young (SOM ’16), Co-founder of Hugo & Hoby – Young turned his startup, Hugo & Hoby, into a Certified B Corp and sustainability-driven furniture company, responsible for planting over 100,000 trees in at-risk forests.

• ​Rachel Laryea (GRD ’22), Founder of Kelewele – Laryea built Kelewele, a Brooklyn-based brand blending food, culture, and business, which has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and BET.