Swarnav Pujari, a sophomore majoring in materials science and engineering, and Rohan Gupta, a junior majoring in finance, were among 17 from across the nation selected to participate in the 2017 Future Founders Fellowship as part of the Future Founders Startup program.
Written by Mike Koon, Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Illinois students selected into the Future Founders Startup Fellowship program are Swarnav Pujari (top), founder of TouchLight Innovations, and Rohan Gupta, CEO of Bilder.Swarnav Pujari, a sophomore majoring in materials science and engineering, and Rohan Gupta, a junior majoring in finance, were among 17 from across the nation selected to participate in the 2017 Future Founders Fellowship as part of the Future Founders Startup program.
Pujari founded TouchLight Innovations, a company seeking to pioneer the way the world harvests ambient energy to power daily tools and create a green environment. Its first product, Power Pad, converts motion from foot traffic to produce energy.
The fellowship, now in its third year, is a selective yearlong cohort that accelerates the development of the top student entrepreneurs in the nation. Fellows benefit from mentoring, entrepreneurship retreats, a peer community, and volunteer opportunities through Future Founders programs. Future Founders is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage, equip and empower collegiate entrepreneurs. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was the only institution to place multiple students into this year's cohort.