Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

Progress isn’t inevitable. We create it. And entrepreneurs will lead the way. I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship as Executive Director - to help lead the next chapter of entrepreneurship education. 𝐌𝐈𝐓’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 - 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬👇 💥 I am grateful to Professor Bill Aulet for his conviction and friendship, and to Chairman Mark Gorenberg, Dean Richard Locke, Okta Co-Founder and MIT Board member Frederic Kerrest, and MIT Provost Anantha Chandrakasan for their support and motivation. Their collective vision for how education must evolve alongside the trajectory and needs of our world has been deeply energizing. From chemical engineering to AI, MIT has always turned ideas into action. Science, engineering, and entrepreneurship - the three pillars of its mission - together shape what comes next. MIT’s ethos - mens et manus - mind and hand - has never been more urgent. I’m excited to be part of this incredible community - and to building what comes next, together.

What a fantastic week!!! 🚀 Trust Center 4.0 is here. https://lnkd.in/enV3Kmg6 Today we launch a bold new chapter for innovation-driven entrepreneurship at the Trust Center — and I’m thrilled to welcome our new Executive Director, Ana Bakshi. One of my mantras: “Good enough never is if you want to be great.” That’s why talent matters most. I first met Ana 12 years ago, when she built King’s College London’s entrepreneurship center from scratch. Her vision and execution stood out. Oxford soon recruited her to do the same — and she transformed a centuries-old institution into a global leader. So when Paul Cheek decided to return to the private sector earlier this year, my first call was to Ana. The timing was perfect. Over the past 17 years we’ve built: 1️⃣ Trust Center 1.0 – getting off the ground 2️⃣ 2.0 – with Trish Cotter 3️⃣ 3.0 – with Paul Cheek Each version raised the bar. But here’s the truth: you ain’t seen nothing yet. Trust Center 4.0 will take entrepreneurship education to the next level. Welcome aboard, Ana — this ride is going to be extraordinary. 👉 What do you think the future of entrepreneurship education should look like? Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Sloan School of Management #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Leadership #HigherEd #FutureOfWork

proud to share that Ari and I are building Avenir AI (a16z SR05) - backed by a16z speedrun at the very start of this journey, my Asian parents made me tear up on Oct 28, 2023, I decided to leave my six-figure private equity career my research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology made one thing clear: there is so much in benefits and healthcare to fix on that day, as I told my parents, a tiny voice asked: is this too much risk? then their words made me cry: “you’re our smart, hardworking daughter, you now have resources and support to take on a big challenge, if you’re not going to do it, who is?” YES - who is going to do it? soon after, I met one of the smartest brains at MIT: Ariadne D. and more importantly: shared passion for healthcare innovation same mission, turned down big tech offers for impact after projects, hackathons, delta v and 200+ conversations across HR, benefits, and providers... Avenir was born we’re now partnering from SMBs to Fortune 500s to modernize benefits infrastructure with one mission: to make healthcare easier and better we are not building Avenir alone - grateful for our engineering and security team: Ryan and Andres. - our visionary investors/early believers from a16z speedrun: Jonathan Lai, Andrew Chen, Marcus Segal, Troy Kirwin, Tom Hammer, Macy Mills - our day-0 supporters: Francesca Lazzeri, Ph.D., Alex Norton, Mim Minichiello, Tracy Burns (she/her), Kevin March this is just the beginning. stay tuned. Avenir AI (a16z SR05) (Interest form below)

🌍 Today, I started teaching part of the Google Data Center Community AI Fellowship! This fellowship equips impact-driven local leaders with the skills and resources to apply AI and technology in resolving their communities’ most pressing challenges. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gxcFTXTw As part of today's session, I introduced some of the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Orbit AI tools from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Fellows were very excited to use them for their ventures. 👉 I’d love to bring your wisdom into the room: What’s one resource or piece of advice you’d share with an entrepreneur or community leader? I’ll be passing along your insights to Fellows. #AI #Entrepreneurship #WatsonInstitute #GoogleFellowship #Impact #Google #DataCenters #ClimateTech #Entrepreneurship #DisciplinedEntrepreneurship #Google Watson Institute Utaukwa Allen Dwayne Patrick Griffith Tyler Tornaben Guiliano, MA James Okina Doug Williams Tod Hynes