UNL students Dante Dyches-Chandler and Jake Rance spoke from the podium to a crowded auditorium on the Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. The edtech startup co-founders were front and center to pitch the standardized test prep tool they developed over many months through their coursework. 

The duo presented their team’s accomplishments: a presence in five schools across the state, 118 active users on their app and 52 emotional support cats drawn on the whiteboard in their on-campus workspace.

“We learned a lot about running an edtech business,” Rance said. “We learned how to talk to students, talk to schools and build trust — so that we could help them the way that they needed to be helped.”

Dyches-Chandler and Rance participated in the Startup Studio program available in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. They shared their progress at the Raikes School Design Studio Showcase event on April 24 as one of four student-led startups.

Jake Koperski, assistant director of Startup Studio, said the showcase is a launchpad for his students. 

“They’re graduating. They’re moving on to continuing their startup, hopefully, out of college,” Koperski said. “This is an opportunity for them to connect with investors and employers who might be in the area interested in working with them and their startup.”

Students as founders

Startup Studio seeks to give students career-building experiences by solving real-world problems. Only instead of working on a project under an established business or organization, Startup Studio gives students the opportunity to create their own ventures. 

An annual pitch competition determines which startups join Startup Studio and receive $100,000 investments. The funding comes from statewide venture support nonprofit Invest Nebraska as well as co-investors from the community. 

The four 2025-2026 Startup Studio startups:

• Creevo: an AI-powered game development platform built to simplify game design and make the process approachable for developers of varying technical backgrounds. Since the product launched in March, the platform has touted 1,750 users. Led by Amir Tarkian and Mia Siner with Lucas Coelho, Riddhi Munjewar and Cole Welstead as core team members. 

• DineU: a meal delivery platform for colleges that enables students to pick up and deliver food to fellow students. DineU can tap into existing meal plans while giving students an extra source of income if they deliver. A planned pilot at UNL is scheduled for this fall. Led by Landen Fogle and Ryan Flatley with Harith Himdan, Emmett Myers and Tage Zerby as core team members.

• FindU: a college search platform that makes it easier for students to discover and match with higher education opportunities. Offerings have expanded to track deadlines and keep trusted adults and counselors notified of the application process. Led by Kenny Morales and Wilson Overfield with Lance Buscher, Zakaria Rab and Tatum Terwilliger as core team members. 

• Reach: a mobile app that helps students prepare for the ACT through personalized study recommendations and games. Led by Dante Dyches-Chandler and Jake Rance with Delia Holman, Loc Nguyen and Lucy Salyer as core team members. 

Throughout the academic year, students learn in the classroom, workshop ideas and conduct early-stage venture milestones such as customer discovery, product validation and go-to-market planning. 

Koperski said each team receives assistance from mentors in the community. Industry experts and volunteers serve as coaches who provide overall guidance, or advisers who provide strategic business perspectives. 

Brian Zimmer, chief product officer and chief strategy officer for the Lincoln-based software engineering and consulting company Don’t Panic Labs, served as a coach for Creevo. 

An alumnus and former faculty member at Raikes School, Zimmer said his 13th year of coaching reflected his belief in the importance of meaningful learning opportunities like these. He added that it also reflected DPL’s larger mission of fostering the state’s tech talent. 

“It’s almost a little bit like group internships,” Zimmer said. “So, rather than during the school year interning an individual, it’s like you get to intern a team. And I think you could have a much more enriching experience that way.”

The startup teams demonstrated a commitment to their ventures in and out of the classroom by participating in pitch competitions, applying for grants and leading presentations at community meetups. They networked at schools, universities and industry conferences to better understand their respective markets and form key partnerships.

During the showcase event, student-led Reach received the inaugural Startup of the Year award. Nominations came from students, coaches and advisers, then supported by faculty and staff before being narrowed down by an award committee of Raikes School alumni and past winners.

Koperski said Reach winning this recognition honored their journey in overcoming multiple business and technical challenges while balancing college life. 

“Sometimes, it’s hard when you run a startup, and it feels like you’re running in circles,” Dyches-Chandler said. “Like, ‘Am I actually making progress? Are these sacrifices worth it? Am I making a meaningful impact on students?’”

“And to receive this award … me and my team got recognized for all the long hours that we put in, and that just felt really, really good,” he said.

On top of group recognition, freshman Carrie Wong was celebrated at the event as a noted “Rockstar” for her contribution to Reach’s success. Raikes underclassmen can volunteer to intern for Design Studio projects. Wong said she took on the opportunity for the early work and coding experience. She helped lead game creation for the startup.

“I love being able to work with the team,” Wong said. “They are really funny people to be around and they don’t make it stressful just to be able to push my code.”

Finding a path forward

“I think my general hope for (students) is that they’re all able to explore something that helps them discern their past in the future,” Zimmer said. “They’re going to learn some things along the way that are going to help them, but ultimately, I hope it gives them a little bit of clarity to what they want to do or what their next steps are.”

Dyches-Chandler of Reach said he was thankful to his team, his team’s mentors and the wider network he has formed. He said he plans to continue building Reach full time and continue its development in Nebraska due to the state’s strength in public education. He also said that most of his team plans to stay involved part time. 

“I would say college is a perfect opportunity to take chances, take risks and fall flat on your face,” Dyches-Chandler said. “There are few other moments in your life where you get the opportunity to just take a big swing and see if it works to bet on yourself — and Startup Studio really gives you the space to do that.”

Koperski said each of the groups showed a desire to continue working on their respective startups following the program. Wherever their entrepreneurial journeys lead, Koperski said he hoped students tap into the connections they’ve formed so far and “don’t be a stranger” to the Raikes School post graduation. 

“I’m really excited to see what the four companies do,” Koperski said. “Some of them are raising additional funds. Some of them are making improvements to their product. Some of them are looking to expand their operations and their sales force and whatnot.

“I’m just very excited that I get to have been a part of this small sliver of their life.”