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2008

Jonathan Swanson '06 and Sander Daniels '05 — Thumbtack

Thumbtack Founders

Jonathan Swanson and Sander Daniels, both Yale College graduates, are co-founders of Thumbtack. The company operates a home services platform featuring an online directory that enables users to seamlessly search, rate, and connect with local service providers, catering to a wide spectrum of personal projects.

2011

Justin Kan '05 and Emmett Shear '05 — Twitch

Twitch Logo

Justin Kan and Emmett Shear graduated from Yale College in 2005 before they co-founded Justin.tv, the precursor to Twitch. Twitch is an American live streaming service, and the company was purchased by Amazon in 2014 for almost $1 billion.

1999

Joseph Tsai '86 LAW '90 – Alibaba Group

Joe Tsai

Holding two degrees from Yale — an undergraduate degree in economics and East Asian studies and a law degree — Joseph Tsai is the executive vice chairman and co-founder of the Alibaba Group, a multinational company that specializes in e-commerce, retail, Internet, technology. The Alibaba Group is one of the world’s largest retailers and e-commerce companies. 

2013

Vladimir Coric — BioHaven

vla

Dr. Vladimir Coric is the founder, chairman and CEO of BioHaven, a modern pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes life-changing new therapies for people with debilitating diseases. Between the Yale School of Medicine and Bristol-Myers Squibb, he has more than 15 years of drug discovery and clinical development experience. Dr. Coric also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. 

2013

Craig Crews – Arvinas

Arvinas logo

Dr. Craig Crews is a professor at Yale and holds joint appointments in the departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology. In 2013, he founded Arvinas, a New Haven-based biotechnology company leading the way in targeted protein degradation therapeutics. Dr. Crews serves on several editorial boards and was the Editor of Cell Chemical Biology for a decade-long tenure.  

2014

Yale School of Management — Program on Entrepreneurship

Yale SOM Entrepreneurship

The Yale School of Management launched its Program on Entrepreneurship to further develop the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation at the school, as well as across the University. This program provides an extensive array of electives alongside specialized assistance tailored for aspiring founders. 
 

2009

Jennifer Fleiss '05 – Rent the Runway

Jennifer Fleiss

A Yale College graduate, Jennifer Fleiss co-founded Rent the Runway, an e-commerce platform that allows users to rent, subscribe or buy designer clothing and accessories. Fleiss is also a Venture Partner at Volition Capital in Boston, MA.

2014

Chen Chen SOM ' 16 — Saphlux

Chen Chen, Saphlux

Saphlux was founded at Yale University in 2014 by School of Management graduate Chen Chen to commercialize the next-generation light engines. Saphlux is mass-producing NPQD® micro-LED products for public information display and TV applications utilizing a dedicated fabrication line. 

2016

April Koh '16 and Adam Chekroud GSAS '18 — SpringHealth

Spring Health

Spring Health aims to improve the delivery of mental healthcare services through its digital platform that connects employees and organizations to personalized mental healthcare plans. The platform offers access to confidential plans and ways to get in touch with a therapist or psychiatrist as quickly as possible. 

2018

Ronghui Gu GSAS '14, '17 — CertiK

Ronghui Gu

After earning his doctorate at the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Ronghui Gu co-founded CertiK, a Web3 cybersecurity unicorn startup. With a valuation of $2 billion, CertiK is the foremost security-focused ranking platform, analyzing and monitoring blockchain protocols and DeFi projects. 

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