Harold Newman and David Galas Entrepreneurial Initiative

Since 2012, the Harold Newman and David Galas Entrepreneurial Initiative has supported collaborative entrepreneurial projects led by Hertz Fellows.

The initiative provides financial and professional support to Hertz Fellows who propose the most innovative entrepreneurial projects, with particular emphasis on collaboration among fellows.

Awardees receive individual investments up to $25,000 to fund their work for six to 12 months. To improve the chance of commercial success, awardees also receive mentoring and feedback from successful entrepreneurs within the fellows community.

The initiative was established by honorary Hertz Fellow Harold Newman, a former member of our board of directors and a long-time supporter of and generous donor to the foundation. Newman changed the name to the Harold Newman and David Galas Entrepreneurial Initiative in honor of David Galas, a Hertz Fellow and chairman of the board. Through Newman’s substantial endowment, this award has helped enterprising fellows co-found 11 companies and develop new technologies with real-world impact.

How to Apply

Proposals are to be no longer than 10 pages and may attach supplemental supportive material but must be complete of themselves in all technical and business details.

All fellows are eligible to submit a proposal for funding, but the selection committee will give preference to in-school or early-career fellows when making awards. While the project team may include non-fellows, the proposing fellow(s) are responsible for the stewardship of funds, leadership and execution of the project, and submitting progress reports. The funds are provided with no strings attached, only the expectation that project leaders will be motivated to share their success with the foundation.

Please contact us to apply or learn more about the initiative.


Past Winners

2021
Co-founded Axle Mobility.
2020
Co-founded Concerto Biosciences, Inc.
2019
Co-founded Saturn5 with Joe Betts-Lacroix and David Segar to develop new medical device solutions for neurosurgery.
2018
Co-founded Indicator with John Cannon and Justin Norden.
Founded Berkeley Materials Solutions.
Hibiskus is developing a new drug class to target existing tumors.
Halo Solutions is a client-tracking platform innovating medical record-keeping.
2016
Co-founded Cyclops with Waikit Lau.
Co-founded TinyHerds.
2013
Co-founded Agile Devices with Leo Tsai MD/PhD, Harvard Medical School, and Ben Merewitz, MIT Sloan School of Management.
2012
School Yourself is recreating education from the ground up by reformatting textbooks to take advantage of the interactive features on a computer or mobile device.