We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding performance of our students at the Babson Build Graduate Program, held from July 13–18, 2025, at Babson College, the first school for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Babson Build is a high-impact, one-week residential program where graduate students from top institutions around the world come together to develop entrepreneurial thinking, build innovative business models, and pitch bold ideas. This year, alongside our students, participants also came from institutions such as EAE Business School, UBI Business School, Universidad de Palermo, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM), and EGADE Business School, creating a truly global, dynamic learning environment.
The program kicked off with a Welcome Session and an engaging Networking activity to foster cross-cultural connections. Students were then grouped into diverse teams, each led by a designated team leader, laying the groundwork for collaborative work. Using SCAMPER and ROCI methodologies, teams began tackling real-world problems through structured innovation exercises. During this week Professor Jay Rao offered valuable insights on transforming ideas into viable opportunities, preparing students to articulate and pitch entrepreneurial projects with clarity and impact.
The second day dove into customer discovery. Through tools like buyer personas and the Buyer’s Journey, students analyzed customer behavior to refine their value propositions.
Hands-on exercises and mini-cases helped teams understand the decision-making process of their target audience, a crucial step ahead of their final pitch.
The week culminated in an exciting Shark Tank-style pitch session, where students presented their innovative projects to a panel of experts. It was a moment to showcase creativity, teamwork, and business acumen — and our students rose to the challenge brilliantly.
Andrea and his team tackled the pressing issue of postpartum depression with CORA, an AI-powered platform offering mental health support through self-help tools, professional access, and anonymous community forums. Focusing on the Colombian market, CORA addresses a systemic gap in psychological care by providing affordable, accessible solutions.
Luca’s project, InnoQuarry, aims to unlock the hidden potential of dormant patents by connecting them with companies seeking innovation. The platform scouts underutilized IP, develops MVPs, and licenses validated concepts to industry players, accelerating real-world application.
JAC Ltd, addresses food insecurity in Africa by protecting both farmers and consumers. Using AI and blockchain, the platform offers weather-indexed insurance to farmers and food price-lock guarantees to consumers, creating stability in an uncertain climate landscape.
Congratulations to Yesim Tumba for earning second place with her team in Group B.
Lorenzo’s initiative expands a successful Chinese language learning company into the B2B space, offering entrepreneurs in Ecuador a tailored program to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers in trading with China. The course combines Mandarin language, business culture, and personalized coaching, a powerful toolkit for international trade.
The Babson Build Program wasn’t just about pitching ideas it was about building them.
It challenged our students to think entrepreneurially, collaborate globally, and turn empathy into action. We are proud of every participant and especially inspired by those who brought home awards and new visions for impact.
Congratulations to all our brilliant minds for making the most of this opportunity and for showing the world what our students are capable of. The future of entrepreneurship is in good hands!
