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Sam Kurland ’26 spent more than five years in and out of hospitals to treat chronic brain inflammation when she was 10 years old. Kurland’s doctors eventually diagnosed her with autoimmune encephalopathy, caused by an infection.

The PET scan that displayed widespread inflammation in her brain became the inspiration for Kurland’s business venture: a line of high-end fashion garments featuring blown-up imagery of brain scans, cancer cell slides and histology printed onto clothing and accessories.

“I want to turn something scary into something beautiful,” says Kurland, who earned a graphic design major from the and a minor in fashion design from the . “You wouldn’t even know you were looking at medical imagery when you’re looking at the pieces.”

Kurland arrived at the without a business plan, a legal entity or a clear sense of what came next.

On her first visit, Sarah Schreiber ’26 sat down and produced a document highlighting Kurland’s business goals—including her dream of one day dressing celebrities for the Met Gala—that served as the foundation for a business plan.

“She got the ideas in my head and turned them into something concrete,” Kurland says. “That was the moment when I thought, okay, I can actually do this. We’re all going through this totally new experience of starting our businesses together.”

Turning a Concept Into a Product

Kurland hopes to launch her clothing line—featuring dresses, blouses, handbags, ties and pocket squares—for presale by the end of the month.

A scan of Kurland’s brain tumor adorns the front of a tank top, while imagery of her sister’s rare thoracic injury inspired another of Kurland’s fashion pieces.

Twenty percent of proceeds will go directly to the specific medical research initiatives depicted in each piece. Kurland has been in contact with medical research facilities to secure additional imaging.

“What we wear matters. I’m trying to bring meaning back to clothing. There is emotional resonance and value that goes beyond something looking cute,” Kurland says.

Kurland plans to launch on Coveted, a mobile fashion marketplace founded by fellow LaunchPad member Naheem Cadiz III ’28.

That kind of peer-driven support defines the LaunchPad experience for many student entrepreneurs.

Finding His Place, Then Paying It Forward

Shahaan Khan had just started working at the LaunchPad when he overheard a student entrepreneur, Haley Greene, discussing the difficulty of finding a reliable backend developer for her mental health app, Miirror.

Khan, who recently earned a master’s degree in applied human-centered AI from the , helped Greene better understand behavioral patterns of Miirror’s app users, including how and where users were engaging with the platform. Just as important, Khan showed where users were abandoning the app.

Last semester, Khan held weekly AI office hours at the LaunchPad for students seeking guidance on AI tools to advance their ideas.

“When I’m in the LaunchPad, I just think of it as all my friends,” Khan says. “It’s a warm environment, an open-concept space where everybody cares about helping solve the problems we’re all working on.”

Competitors Who Coach Each Other

After Kurland and Greene competed for Hult Prize funding, Greene approached Kurland with a suggestion for improving her pitch.

As she listened to Kurland’s pitch, Greene noticed that Kurland’s personal story—her years spent in the hospital and the medical journey that inspired the brand—wasn’t featured prominently enough in the presentation. Greene pulled up Kurland’s slide deck and started rearranging it.

“Haley said, ‘Your story is your product,’” Kurland says. “‘That’s so much more powerful.’ And she’s right. It’s not like anyone can just make this. It’s because of my passion for helping fund medical research that makes it what it is.”

Kurland incorporated the feedback, restructuring her pitch deck to lead with the more personal narrative rather than the product itself.

“That’s just the kind of supportive environment we have among entrepreneurs on campus,” Kurland says. “Students don’t view each other as competitors. Everyone is willing to offer advice and feedback to help you improve your idea.”

Learning Together, Growing Together

When entrepreneur Jacob Kaplan ’27 expressed interest in wearing one of Kurland’s pieces at a LaunchPad pitch event, she decided to branch out into menswear.

“I almost turned a blind eye to that possibility, but thankfully, I was able to connect with the right people who opened my eyes to a whole new audience,” Kurland says.

For Kurland and countless student entrepreneurs, the LaunchPad doesn’t simply offer access to resources; it provides a community where students can bounce ideas off each other.

“I don’t have a team,” Kurland says. “But it feels like I’m not doing it alone. If I’m stressed or I don’t know what the next move is, I can go, and there are people there who are willing to help. That collaborative space is truly special.”