Spotlighting the Mentors of the Impact Studio

by Navya Singh

Even the brightest of diamonds require some polishing and fine-cutting before displaying their full potential. The Impact Studio is home to many brilliantly-minded founders driven to address today’s biggest, or most overlooked, problems, but a key part of the successful ecosystem are the experts responsible for supporting those founders and their startups with powerful advice and hands-on guidance–the Applebaum Impact Design Fellows and Impact Studio Coaches. Acting as mentors, advisors, and even as friends, these skilled individuals help founders become the very best they can be.

“The thing I like to see is when the light goes on and [founders say], “Oh yeah, I can finish. I was looking at this the wrong way. I should look at it this way,” Coach David Tarver says. “That’s particularly, I would say, rewarding.”

Tarver has known Moses Lee, Innovator-in-Residence at the Impact Studio, since 2013, when the two taught a course together over at the Center for Entrepreneurship. Since the day Lee asked Tarver to get involved at the Impact Studio, Tarver has been utilizing his wealth of experience as a founder himself to counsel Founders in their startup journeys today.

“I mainly just try to respond to people and help guide them in the direction that they will recognize they need to go,” Tarver explains. “It’s a balance between… being too prescriptive versus… following and supporting what our students want to do.” Standard, reliable advice from an expert is always helpful, but the Impact Studio is home to so many different kinds of businesses and people that it is essential that mentors are able to navigate that wide scope and refine their expertise in the context of their cohort.

Applebaum Impact Design Fellow Felipe Sahb Furtado has a similar approach. “The key to support founders is to know each person will be at a different stage of their journey, and empower them to move forward regardless of where they start,” he says. Furtado joined the studio back in Fall 2025, and continues to be excited to come back to every Friday Coworking for “the diverse community of founders, fellows and coaches.”

That diversity is core to the Impact Studio’s ability to uplift founders so effectively. For example, the students in Coach Michael Brodsky’s cohort all attest as to how his particular background in product management and in San Francisco means that he is someone who is experienced in the startup space, but can ultimately offer a corporate perspective many early-stage businesses may miss out on. Furtado mentions that there are often even “founders in different stages that can help each other–all [Coaches and Fellows] have to do is facilitate those connections.”

Coaches and Applebaum Impact Design Fellows wear a lot of different hats in the Studio, whether promoting strong relationships in and outside of the studio, offering tangible advice and feedback, and directly contributing to the building of businesses themselves (anything from UI/UX support to business infrastructure design). No single Coworking is the same, and the ever-evolving nature of the Studio itself also keeps the ecosystem lively. The Studio has grown to support almost 20 founders, and even offers drop-in coaching during the semester to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

“It was also great to see some partnerships growing even further, such as the support we receive from BCG, which this year allocated one consultant to each of the ventures we incubate. This level of mentorship is unmatched and I am thankful we can offer that to our founders,” Furtado further explains. The meaningfulness of the incubator only continues to improve, as well as the rigor and constructiveness of the program, according to Tarver.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Coaches like Tarver, Furtado, Brodsky, as well as several student fellows, the founders and their businesses truly become the most brilliant versions of themselves. With the uniquely powerful mentorship and community aspect of the Studio, it’s impossible to not leave the semester-long cohort experience without being transformed in one way or another. The future has only more exciting developments and opportunities in store, and the Impact Studio’s Fellows and Coaches will be there the whole time to ensure that founders are more than capable of navigating and forging that future, polishing them to shine as bright as possible.