While each venture varies widely in product and scope, they’re all united by founders who became deeply invested in solving problems they witness firsthand, Alston said.

“A great entrepreneur is obsessed with the problem they’re solving,” Alston said. “It’s the only way it works. They can’t be obsessed with the solution, because that’s inevitably going to change.” 

The path from problem to product

One of the first lessons students encounter is what Alston calls “the first day pivot,” which encourages founders to let go of the assumption that the first version of their product will be the one brought to market. 

“Every student has a moment when they learn — generally, early on through customer conversations — that their perfect baby might be a little ugly,” she said. “They now have the data and experiences and testimonials that can guide the change in their company. It’s a moment of, ‘Aha! Now we’re actually building something that people really want and need.” 

Francis Parserio, a Class of 2026 graduate and B-Lab cohort member, is no stranger to pivoting. 

After attending two years of medical school in Kenya, Parsario realized he wanted to be involved in medicine, but not as a physician. He transferred to Brown as an undergraduate in 2022, but the process hit a snag when he couldn’t access his childhood immunization records — a requirement for college admission in the United States. 

It’s a common issue in Kenya, where immunization records are maintained only in physical paper booklets. Many of those records are lost within the first few years of a child’s life, Parserio said. 

To resolve the issue, Parserio underwent blood testing that identified what he was and was not vaccinated against. He knew there had to be an easier way. 

Through that experience, and inspired by a market-research course at Brown, Parserio founded Lindatoto, a localized digital healthcare infrastructure platform designed to provide electronic health records and telemedicine services in low-resource settings. 

Initially, Parserio envisioned patients as his primary customers. But through extensive customer discovery spurred by feedback from B-Lab mentors, Parserio realized that it would be hospitals, not individual families, purchasing and implementing the platform. 

“At B-Lab, there’s always someone who has worked in your industry, whether internationally or in the U.S.,” Parserio said. “It’s really good to talk to people who have gone ahead of you in areas that you are interested in and to get feedback, and have that experience before you decide to go to market and sell your product.” 

Alston and Nelson Center Academic Program Coordinator Katie Calabro continuously cultivate relationships with Brown alumni volunteers whose careers involve entrepreneurship to develop a network of mentors whose professional expertise aligns with the specific focus of each venture.

“Everything about B-Lab is explicitly built for each cohort,” Alston said. 

That philosophy extends within the cohort itself, and it’s what connected Class of 2026 graduates Drew Clearie and Vijay Ramakrishnan. 

The two are the only members developing consumer packaged-goods companies, both focused on clean-label nutrition. Clearie’s venture, Goldvi, targets adults age 65 and older, while Ramakrishnan’s venture, Subsix Nutrition, is built for athletes. Working side by side throughout the summer has given them an informal sounding board for everything from packaging decisions to manufacturing logistics. 

“You’re making connections with people you maybe wouldn’t have access to prior to joining B-Lab, and everybody is always an email or phone call away,” Clearie said. “We’re a group of individuals that are all chasing the same thing.” 

The months of conversations, prototypes and pivots will culminate on July 28 at “Sushi Pitch Night,” where founders pitch their products to investors, alumni and members of Rhode Island’s startup community. In the fall, they’ll return to campus Sept. 24 for the B-Lab Expo, showcasing how far their ideas have come in just one season.

Since its launch in 2015, B-Lab has supported 167 ventures — many of which are still active — and more than 400 Brown alumni have lent their expertise and insights to student founders. For Alston, who is in her third year directing B-Lab, helping students launch companies is only part of its mission. Another key goal is to continue to strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship at Brown. 

“I want Brown to be the first school anyone thinks of when they think of what school is cranking out the best entrepreneurs,” she said. “I want people to immediately go, ‘They must be a Brown grad.’ I want us to be known as a school where you go to solve big things.”