Rora

Given the space to explore, the proper resources and supports, and the encouragement to take action, students never cease to inspire... I was reminded of this regularly during my time working at the University of Minnesota and had the pleasure of tapping back into this energy over the course of the summer - coordinating the Business Accelerator for Student Entrepreneurs (BASE) Program via the Technological Leadership Institute, University of Minnesota. Read on to see how they're taking novel approaches to solving complex problems - big and small, new and old: https://lnkd.in/g-kKCZUp Cheers to Ashley Lauren, Avery Lash, Evan Gill, Faisa Belel, Ilana Andrev, James Duquette, Lalitaditya Divakarla, Rana Abdelshahed, Shesha Sai Kumar Reddy Sadu for all you've done and what is to come! Shouts to Mark Sanders and Allison Hubel, PhD for the opportunity and a special thanks to all of our facilitators, guest speakers, coaches, and supporters - Caroline Lilyard, Carlye Lauff, PhD, Julie Kucinski, Connie Rutledge, Deb Miedema, Morgan Kerfeld, Dane Stimart, Brianna Garcia-Meyers, Steven Bleau, Zeke Jackson, Brittany C., Haggai S., David H Nguyen Kimberlie Moock... who'd I forget?!

We are incredibly proud to announce that Rora has made it to the finalist round of the 2024 MN Cup student division! As one of the 3 finalist teams in this division, Rora will be competing for an opportunity to further fund our product development and initial small batch manufacturing of our flagship product. A disruptor in the intimacy products / sexual wellness space, Rora is developing products for the broader queer community whose needs have historically been an afterthought within this industry - despite making up a large percentage of its sales. To learn more about what we're doing, check out our website at https://www.loverora.co/ Here, you can view our fellow student division finalists: https://lnkd.in/gCM8ydNx

Sonja Kleven recognized a need in the queer community, identifying that women did not have sufficient intimacy products in the market to experience pleasure with their partners. Existing products are also built to look like human anatomy, which does not translate to an enhanced experience, and have a narrowed focus on internal stimulation. This led to Rora . Rora revolutionizes the sex product industry for the queer community with high-quality products designed by women to enhance intimacy and satisfaction. When pitching this idea in her entrepreneurship class to solve this problem, Sonja was fortunate to find a few students who also wanted to address this need. During my interview with Sonja Kleven, I was joined by Avery Lash, COO of Rora. We discuss their accomplishments, challenges, and how they navigate their lives as early-stage founders. Click to read our interview in full detail. Insta: love.withrora, Tiktok: lovewithrora, Website: loverora https://lnkd.in/gQq-uyBD

Our team is incredibly excited to announce that Rora is a semifinalist in the 2024 Minnesota Cup student division! Rora will compete alongside 10 semifinalist teams for the opportunity to gain funding for our venture. The Minnesota Cup is an annual competition that reaches emerging entrepreneurs throughout the state and connects them with mentorship and resources to accelerate the development of their ventures. Since 2005, MN Cup has given away $5.4 Million in seed capital, taking no equity in exchange. Alumni companies have gone on to raise over $1.1 Billion. We are so inspired and grateful to compete this summer!

Yesterday, our CEO and Founder Sonja Kleven competed in the University of Minnesota Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship Biz Pitch competition and was awarded both the grand prize and people's choice awards! It was incredibly inspiring to hear pitches from our fellow finalists, and we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to expand our efforts in testing, prototyping, and small batch manufacturing. Thank you John Stavig and our panel judges: Sophia Y., Megan Baniecke, Adam Choe, Ron Reimann, and Mark Sanders for supporting our business. We are very excited for what the future holds!