Meet the 2025 cohort of VHNYC
Visible Hands — a venture capital firm that funds and empowers underrepresented founders launching high-growth startups — announces its third cohort of 15 entrepreneurs for VHNYC, a hybrid, 13-week Fellowship for NYC-based founders. The Fellowship program, created in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is targeted at early-stage entrepreneurs who are working on scalable tech-enabled solutions and/or venture-backed ideas reshaping leading industries.
Visible Hands and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) have officially launched their third cohort for VHNYC, a now 13-week hybrid Founder Fellowship for 15 underrepresented founders building high-growth, tech, and tech-enabled businesses based in NYC. This group of 15 diverse founders from the five NYC boroughs will work over the next few months to take their startups to the next level in a hybrid-model program.
The founders who were accepted into VHNYC will get the guidance and support needed from the Visible Hands and NYCEDC teams to hit their next major startup milestone. The NYCEDC has granted each of the cohort’s entrepreneurs $10K in non-dilutive funding to financially empower them to work on their startups, and Visible Hands will be providing company-building services throughout the fellowship, as well as the opportunity for additional venture capital funding from the firm after successful completion of the program.
The fellowship was created to help underrepresented tech founders across NYC gain more traction in the early stages of their startup, with NYCEDC and Visible Hands hoping to be a strong foundation of support to fill the funding gap for overlooked entrepreneurs. The partners hope VHNYC will reflect the same amount of inspiring opportunity for the cohort as the city of New York does for entrepreneurship as a whole.
VHNYC is an extension of the Visible Hands mission to support overlooked talent, in partnership with NYCEDC’s efforts to create more inclusion in the startup ecosystem.
Here are the amazing 15 founders and startups who make up the inaugural VHNYC cohort:
Advait Raykar (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Elm AI
Elm AI helps companies radically improve the sustainability and operational performance of their supply chains. They are building a system of record for supplier performance, sustainability, and risk data, using AI agents to automate manual workflows and streamline data generation.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raykar/
Akashdeep Randhawa (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Symmetric
Symmetric is a healthcare technology company revolutionizing physical therapy by providing real-time biofeedback through surface EMG. Its device seamlessly integrates into clinical workflows, enhancing patient engagement, optimizing rehabilitation, and ensuring prescribed exercises are performed correctly. By bringing clear objective data to the subjective patient metrics, Symmetric empowers providers with actionable data to improve patient outcomes.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randhawa-akash/
Alexandra Bono (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Pelican
Pelican empowers families to save and plan for education with a user-friendly platform that simplifies financial goal-setting, delivers tailored savings strategies, and offers access to funding resources and financial education.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrabono/
Anna Morales (she/her/hers) & Lindsey Snyder (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Brooklyn, NY
🏔️ Company: Mila Support
Mila Support is on a mission is to scale doula expertise to the 94% of birthing parents without a doula during pregnancy and postpartum, improving maternal health outcomes and experiences. They’re building a suite of doula services and digital tools, starting with a birth planning tool.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moralesanna/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseypsnyder/
Antonia Walters (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan and Brooklyn
🏔️ Company: Jayla Health
Jayla Health is a virtual care platform for menopausal women. They offer comprehensive support, including multi-day hormone testing, telehealth consultations with specialists, personalized treatment plans, and seamless access to medications and supplements through its digital pharmacy.
👋 Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/antoniawalters/
Cherie Chung (she/her/hers) & Brendan Hellweg (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Brooklyn, NY
🏔️ Company: Holly
Holly is on a mission to bring millions of Americans into public service through software that treats them with hospitality and care. They are building the first AI-native HRIS driving performance and collaboration for 24 million public sector workers, starting with a job design product that helps governments design manage their workforce using cross-agency benchmarking and automated position descriptions. Holly was founded in 2023 based on the founders’ experiences in local government and building for users of government services.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriechung/ & https://linkedin.com/in/brendanhellweg
Danyer Paulino (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Queens, NY
🏔️ Company: Klen AI
Klen AI is a leading provider of AI-powered voice solutions designed to revolutionize business communications. Their platform enables companies to create custom AI voice agents, automate calls, and streamline interactions, ensuring seamless and efficient customer engagement. Serving a diverse range of industries — including real estate, hospitality, professional services, and collections — Klen AI’s advanced voice technology adapts to various use cases, enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. By integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence with user-friendly interfaces, Klen AI empowers businesses to transform their communication strategies and stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-paulino
Makenzie George (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Tian Inc
Tian is a cancer platform for LEP (Limited English Proficiey) patients to feel empowered throughout their cancer journey. Tian allows users to find a community, share insights, information and resources with other members. In addition, by providing language access, members can get connected to an interpreter in over 300 languages in under 15 seconds or less. This allows patients to have cheap access to their own interpreters if a hospital does not provide one. Finally, Tian has a custom library of meditations and yoga exercises created with doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering on how to recover after cancer and build back strength.
👋 Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/makenziegeorge
Michael Aiken (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Brooklyn, NY
🏔️ Company: Bohamo
Bohamo makes boutique and independent hotels 56% more money by automating sales, discovery, and guest management.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-aiken-gu/
Natalie Park (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Pharmesol
Pharmesol is an agentic AI developed specifically for pharmacy teams and that automates workflows such as phone calls, messages, and documentation and brings reliable and consistent capacity 24/7.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snataliepark
Oluwadamilola Soladoye (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Queens, NY
🏔️ Company: Bunce Inc
Bunce is an AI-powered customer engagement platform designed to help B2C companies (especially financial services and transportation) grow revenue and customer retention. By leveraging first-party data, Bunce enables businesses to send the right message, to the right user, at the right time, through the best-performing channel — email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications, and social media. With a growing network of 300+ businesses, Bunce empowers companies to enhance customer relationships, boost conversions, and drive sustainable growth.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilolasoladoye/
Shawn Lee (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Roxxem
Roxxem is an AI-powered app that empowers language teachers to create engaging, tailored curriculums with popular music. Teachers can turn any song into a fun lesson or live classroom activity. Roxxem’s vision is to transform the $28.4 billion language teaching market with immersive, real-world, and personalized content.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slee36/
Shen Qiu (he/him/his)
🌎 Based In: Brooklyn, NY
🏔️ Company: Care Comply
CareComply uses AI to help nursing homes audit medical documentation so they can stay compliant and avoid expensive mistakes (e.g. fines, lawsuits, loss of revenue).
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qiushen/
Sophy Li
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: PlatePost
PlatePost is building the next Yelp, starting with video menus.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisophy/
Valerie Trent (she/her/hers)
🌎 Based In: Manhattan, NY
🏔️ Company: Thizo
Thizo is redefining architecture, design, and engineering with AI-driven automation, transforming how firms design and build. By generating 3D models, drawing sets, and material estimates in minutes, Thizo cuts project timelines by up to 80%, giving architects, designers, and engineers time to focus on creativity and strategy. Seamlessly integrating with AutoDesk, Thizo eliminates inefficiencies in commercial workplace, multi-family, healthcare, and retail sectors. With industry-native leadership and a growing waitlist of firms, Thizo is pioneering a smarter, faster future for AEC professionals.
👋 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-trent
