Thomas Collins Sr. WG69

Overplay

Co-founder Caroline Strzalka C00 WG05 went swimming in the Shark Tank and walked away with a $500,000 deal from celebrity investor Mark Cuban. Since her appearance on the reality show aired in March, Strzalka has continued to disrupt social gaming with the DIY app, which boasts more than 200,000 downloads. Overplay allows users to turn videos —  anything from cooking tutorials to extreme sports — into interactive games easily, without coding, and has totaled more than 1.3 million games played and counting. The app’s licensable technology generates its own revenue while simultaneously allowing content creators to access new audiences. As of August, Overplay had raised over $1 million from nearly 900 investors on Wefunder.

Nirby

Re.Statement

“It doesn’t take a saint to be sustainable” is the motto behind Re.Statement, a one-stop shop for upcycled clothing. The online marketplace, founded by Hannah M. Le W20, lets designers sell fashion made from existing or used materials while offering customers unique clothing options. Designers apply to join Re.Statement, and a select few have their products featured on the platform. Customers can then shop and directly order any of the fashion items, from tie-dye sweatshirts to cigar-box purses. Le has a background in fashion design herself, along with a lifelong passion for upcycling.

Seadrop Skincare

Serena Advani C17 W17 WG22 is taking on single-use plastic with Seadrop Skincare. Her startup’s first product, a “just add water” facial-cleanser tablet, eliminates the need for beauty bottles and the synthetic preservatives that keep bacteria out of them. Instead, Seadrop Skincare’s powder-based concentrates are packaged in biodegradable paper tubes, for a zero-waste experience. The company, a member of Venture Lab’s VIP-X Philadelphia Spring 2024 cohort, has been recognized by publications such as Elle and hailed as “my new favorite skincare investment” by Harper’s Bazaar.