Our host companies are led by innovators and industry leaders!

Our Companies & Your Managers

Funded by

Harvard Innovation Labs logo featuring a red square with the word 'Hi' in white text, and the words 'Harvard innovation labs' in black text to the right.
Logo of Bessemer Venture Partners with stylized lines and company name.

Studied at

Harvard University logo with red shield and open books, and the text "Harvard University".
Stanford University logo featuring a pine tree inside a stylized 'S' with the text 'Stanford University' next to it.
Harvard Business School logo with shield and the word 'VERITAS' at the top.
The Wharton School logo of the University of Pennsylvania with a shield featuring books, a chevron, and circles.

Worked at

Google logo with colorful letters in blue, red, yellow, and green.
McKinsey & Company logo in black text on transparent background.
Microsoft logo with colorful squares and the word 'Microsoft' in gray text
Text that reads 'Goldman Sachs' in blue font

Meet A Few of Our Hosts

  • Silhouette of a unicorn's head on a white background.

    Billion Dollar Startup Ideas

    Industry: Tech, Media

    Billion Dollar Startup Ideas is one of the world’s largest generators and aggregators of unicorn-level start-up ideas, with a reach of over 850,000 people.

    Next available cohort: Spring 2024

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  • Cloud icon with the letters 'sm' inside on a blue background.

    Softenmind

    Industry: Mental Health, Tech

    Funded by glocal VC, Antler, SoftenMind aims to bring affordable and professional mental health services to Vietnamese people through using proprietary digital and AI tools.

    Next available cohort: Winter 2023, Spring 2024

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  • Colorful hot air balloon logo with the words 'fair opportunity project' underneath.

    Fair Opportunity Project

    Industry: Tech, Non-profit

    Recognized in Forbes, NYT, and the Harvard Education Review, Fair Opportunity Project sends free college application advice to 63,000 public educators and provides free 1:1 mentorship to hundreds of students.

    Next available cohort: Winter 2023, Spring 2024

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  • A stylized illustration of a brain with interconnected lines and nodes in shades of blue. Below the brain, the text 'JuneBrain' is written in gray.

    JuneBrain

    Industry: Healthcare, Tech

    JuneBrain is focused on improving remote monitoring in ophthalmology & neurology with a patented wearable eye-scanning device and SaaS platform.

    Next available cohort: Winter 2023

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  • Logo of IPMD with white text on a dark blue background.

    IPMD

    Industry: Healthcare, Tech

    IPMD is on a mission to revolutionize patient experiences using AI solutions, and has been a part of many prestigious start-up programs including those by GCP, Nvidia, AWS and IBM.

    Next available cohort: Winter 2023, Spring 2024

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Our Hosts & Your Managers

  • A young man with wavy light brown hair and a beard, wearing a navy suit, white shirt, and patterned tie, smiling in front of a gray background.

    Sean Snyder

    Head of Community & Partnerships,
    Entre
    University of North Florida alum

    “I’ve really enjoyed working with Ladder interns over the past two years! It’s been fun opening their eyes to possibilities beyond the corporate world, and helping them understand the startup ecosystem while discovering these new paths has been such a rewarding experience.”

  • A smiling man with dark hair, glasses, and a beard against a plain white background.

    David R. Winer

    CTO and Co-founder,
    Cerbrec 
    University of Utah alum

    "High school interns bring fresh perspectives that challenge me to better explain complex problems and guide them through hands-on discovery. It's rewarding to see students tackle real challenges and often continue working on meaningful projects beyond their internship."

  • A young man with light skin, brown hair styled back, smiling, wearing a dark t-shirt with a small logo and the year 1887 on the chest, standing indoors against a light gray wall with a blurred background.

    Tomas David Ye

    Founder and CEO,
    Perseuss
    Amazon alum

    "It has been an absolute honor and pleasure working with some of the brightest teenage minds out there. Especially for aspiring software engineers, Perseuss offers a lot of cool technical problems to work on while learning real-world engineering best practices."

  • Close-up portrait of an elderly man with a bald head, light skin with freckles, smiling, wearing a striped shirt, against a plain grey background.

    Mory Bahar

    President and CEO,
    Personal Remedies
    University of Texas–Austin alum

    “The high school and college students we have had as interns have come from all over the world. They are bright, ambitious, with varied areas of interest, and a pleasure to work with. On numerous occasions, the students have requested to continue with us as interns after their cohort, and they make significant contributions to our company.”

  • Headshot of a smiling man with shoulder-length light brown hair, a goatee, wearing a navy blazer and a light pink dress shirt, against a plain grey background.

    Hans Kullberg

    CEO and Co-Founder,
    Avocado Health
    Wharton and Citigroup alum

    "Working with Ladder interns has been a pleasure and a boost to our overall productivity. With a little coaching and weekly guidance, Ladder interns come with a strong set of skills and a can-do mindset that help contribute to the overall success of our company, Avocado Health."

  • A smiling young man with glasses, wearing a gray shirt, standing outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Michael Bervell

    Founder & CEO,
    Billion Dollar Startup Ideas
    HBS MBA & Microsoft alum

    "I've been working with Ladder since the first cohort and since that time have mentored over 50 students. One of my greatest joys is to watch students surprise themselves not only with their projects and outcomes, but also with their results: going onto schools like Cornell, Stanford, Amherst, and more."

  • A smiling woman with long dark hair standing in front of a decorated Christmas tree with colorful ornaments, indoor setting.

    Hanh Ha

    Co-founder & CEO, Softenmind
    Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum

  • A young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a wide smile, wearing a light blue collared shirt and a blue zip-up sweater. He is in an indoor setting with a blurred background.

    Luke Heine

    Founder & CEO,
    Fair Opportunity Project
    Harvard, YC & Microsoft alum

  • Smiling man in a dark blazer and t-shirt standing indoors by windows

    Kevin Junker

    Founder & CEO,
    Fintech Launch (Stealth Mode)
    Cambridge University, Google & Mckinsey alum

  • A man in a dark suit, wearing glasses, standing in front of a washing machine.

    Min Lee

    Founder, CEO & President,
    IPMD
    UC Berkeley alum

    “Working with high school students through Ladder has brought me a new kind of joy. The thought that they might look back and remember having completed my internship, and that I may have played even a small role in their journey toward that bright future, means a great deal to me.”

  • Portrait of a man with short dark hair, light skin, and a slight beard, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, against a light blue background.

    Phiwa Nkambule

    CEO,
    FinanceGPT Labs
    Forbes Africa 30 Under 30, 2018

  • A woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin smiling indoors with a framed red and yellow abstract painting behind her.

    Molly Rizkallah

    DesCo-Founder and CEO,
    Cincy Carbon
    Procter & Gamble alum

    "As a Forbes 30 under 30 candidate, mentoring through Ladder has been an inspiring experience. Guiding the next generation of innovators fuels my optimism for a cleaner, greener future.”

  • A smiling man with short light brown hair, wearing a light gray t-shirt and two silver necklaces, sitting in front of a large window with multiple panes inside a rustic-style cafe.

    Joseph Burrow

    Founder,
    Mattermore
    University of Leeds alum

    “With Ladder, we’re not just teaching, we’re exploring the techniques that will define how we deliver real-world work tomorrow. All our interns work on real-world problems—we question everything, make mistakes, and shape real insights.”

  • A young man with black hair smiles at the camera in an indoor setting with windows and greenery in the background.

    Arick Soo

    Co-Founder & CEO,
    SmartStickies
    Singapore Management University alum 

    “Mentoring Ladder Internship students on real-world projects was a two-way journey. While guiding them to solve tangible problems beyond textbooks, I gained fresh perspectives and sharpened my leadership and communication skills with the next generation of talent.”

Example Projects

  • Computer screen displaying colorful programming code in multiple lines.

    SDG Business Plan

    Interns at Billion Dollar Startup Ideas crafted a synthetic data generation plan, fine-tuning AI to streamline fast-food service data processes, significantly enhancing efficiency and cutting costs.

  • Fast food menu board featuring McDonald's offerings including burgers, sides, desserts, beverages, and coffee options, with prices and calorie counts.

    Synthetic Data Generation

    The interns at Billion Dollar Startup Ideas enhanced menu ordering with AI, creating a system that learns from AI-generated orders and improves accuracy.

  • Two people working on a project with laptops and printed documents on a wooden table.

    Startup Ecosystem Analysis

    Aseem's Propel(x) internship involved assessing automotive startups for investors, identifying key players, and crafting an industry report after engaging with over 60 founders.

  • Smartphone screen displaying a folder labeled 'Social Media' with icons for Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Clubhouse, Twitter, and Facebook.

    Amplifying Digital Engagement

    Amna worked on boosting Vietcetera’s online presence and audience interaction through publishing articles and strategic content creation.