Bellwether delivers predictive maintenance for electrical grid infrastructure using proprietary acoustic analytics and machine learning to detect faults early, reduce maintenance costs, and improve reliability. Bellwether’s solutions include a mobile app that helps distributed solar developers assess transformer loading to avoid costly infrastructure surprises, and a passive, persistent monitoring device that enables utilities to identify transformer issues before they cause outages—unlocking significant economic value across an aging and increasingly stressed electric grid.

Chad Williams (G27, WG27) is an MA/MBA student in Lauder’s Europe-French Program. Chad was formerly a Deputy Director for AI Experimentation at the US Department of Defense and an engineering officer at the Pentagon. He co-founded Bellwether with Ari Brown, a submarine officer, acoustician, and nuclear engineer.

Bellwether will use the Jacobson prize money to rapidly scale its data collection and training set, as well as to purchase microphones, travel to development sites, and build its technical cloud infrastructure.

EruBase is a multilingual SaaS community platform that helps global universities effectively recruit students from emerging markets by connecting applicants with verified university ambassadors through free Q&A sessions. The platform will first focus on Southeast Asian and wider APAC markets, providing applicants who lack access to private admissions consultants with reliable, personalized guidance. Simultaneously, universities can subscribe to the platform for aggregated student insights that improve their marketing efficiency and international recruitment efforts.

Long Pham (G26, WG26) is an MA/MBA student in Lauder’s Global program. Pham was previously a brand manager at Unilever Vietnam and early-stage startup operator. He also led the launch of a private school chain that brings affordable bilingual education to Vietnam’s rural students. Co-founder, Long Phung, is completing an EdD at NYU. He has a professional background in consulting and technology.

EruBase will use the Jacobson prize money to support three core priorities: first, building and launching a functional MVP; second, onboarding an initial cohort of student ambassadors to ensure high-quality, trusted content on the platform; and third, establishing pilot partnerships with a small number of universities to test the path to paid subscriptions.

Kala is a music royalty management platform for African artists and rights holders. Kala is designed to capture music credits once, track usage across broadcasting platforms, and automatically distribute accurate, auditable payouts to every contributor. The platform reduces administrative burden and compliance risk, shortens payout cycles, and eliminates disputes driven by complex revenue flows. Launching with a B2B SaaS focus in Nigeria’s fast-growing Afrobeats market, Kala earns revenue through tiered subscriptions and a small processing fee on royalties distributed through its system.

Rowa El-Tohami (G26, WG26) is an MA/MBA student in Lauder’s Africa-General program. She co‑founded Sudan’s leading record label (Zain Records) as well as an ed‑tech startup operating in Nigeria and Egypt. Maitreyi Menon (G26, WG26) is an MA/MBA student in Lauder’s SAMENA-Hindi program. She has a background consulting with expertise in music copyright and royalty management.

Kala will use the Jacobson prize money to build an insights tool for a music rights management platform, and to run a pilot with key partners and industry leaders.

Élan designs heels that integrate principles from professional dance shoes to deliver all-day comfort without compromising aesthetics. Named after the French word for momentum and flair, Élan transforms each step into an expression of power, elegance, and femininity. Each pair of shoes is crafted exclusively from carefully selected premium materials and assembled to provide lasting comfort not found in traditional stilettos. Guided by a slow-fashion philosophy, production is driven by pre-orders—prioritizing purpose over excess, customization over volume, and intention over disposability. Élan aims to become the reference brand for comfortable stilettos, redefining the category so that allure and comfort are no longer a tradeoff.

Sonia Alb (G26, WG26) is an MA/MBA student in Lauder’s Global Program. Prior to Lauder, she worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company Montreal, as a Senior Manager of Strategy and Corporate Development at Gildan, a global apparel manufacturer, and in pricing and analytics at Tiffany & Co.

Élan will use the Jacobson prize money to cover manufacturing costs associated with developing, testing, and refining its first stiletto prototypes. The funds will also support the build and launch of the e-commerce platform.