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Students, Faculty + Alumni

YSM students receive grant from Yale Entrepreneurial Institute's Venture Creation Program

A group of five Yale School of Music students have received a grant from the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute's Venture Creation Program to create a Practice Portal designed to foster dialogue about effective approaches to practicing. The grant includes a $1,000 cash investment and enrollment in YEI's five-week series of lean-startup workshops. Grantees are also connected with YEI's network of mentors and a dedicated student Venture Creation Advisor from the Yale School of Management.

The YSM students -- oboist Lydia Consilvio '17MM, flutist Felice Doynov '17MM, guitarists Chris Garwood '17MM and Igor Lichtmann '18MM, and violinist Jiwon Sun '17MM -- developed their project idea after having related discussions during a course taught by YSM's coordinator of career strategies, Astrid Baumgardner.

“A huge part of our daily life consists of practicing, three to eight hours a day for most people," Doynov said. "And if we’re not practicing as effectively as possible, we’re not getting better as quickly as possible. What we want to do is use modern technology and the resources we have at Yale to bring musicians valuable information in an online community that focuses on practicing.”

Doynov and her colleagues are in the process of launching a website and have been uploading content to Practice Portal Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Doynov said they hope to launch a Practice Portal app, as well.

"The Venture Creation Program," according to the YEI website, "was created to catalyze and support the growth of new, early-stage ventures at Yale. It is dedicated to providing resources for entrepreneurial teams to commercialize promising, unique products or services."

Kassie Tucker, YEI's program director, said the students who conceived Practice Portal are "trying to be innovative in a not-always-innovative space" and are trying to improve on an area that's a "pain point" for many musicians.

YALE ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE