The Office of Research and Innovation helps select, support, and connect the eight companies participating in the 2026 USC Techstars Accelerator.
Author – Ethan Bochicchio
Eight startup founders took the stage at the 2026 USC Techstars Demo Day, presenting the companies they had spent months building and refining before an audience of investors, industry leaders, and members of the USC innovation community. While Demo Day showcased their progress and vision for growth, the event marked more than a series of startup pitches. It was the culmination of an intensive accelerator experience defined by mentorship, customer discovery, product development, and market validation. Each presentation reflected the work of an intensive three-month venture development program, made possible through the USC Office of Research and Innovation’s (OORI) partnership with Techstars.
The eight startups displayed the breadth of innovation emerging from the USC and Techstars Accelerator, spanning healthcare, artificial intelligence, robotics, consumer technology, and enterprise software. The cohort included Avarie Femcare, a subscription-based period-care company; Blue Navy Recovery, which helps individuals recover unclaimed state property; Drafted, an AI-powered recruiting platform for startups and early-career talent; FlexTogether, a respiratory therapy and adaptive exercise platform; Jam, an AI-powered family logistics platform; Nowfluence, an AI-driven influencer marketing platform; Sensate Robotics, which uses touch sensing and computer vision to automate delicate produce handling; and VascAI, a healthcare AI company developing tools to support care delivery and patient management.
As USC’s lead for the Techstars partnership, OORI helps identify and select the accelerator cohort, provides ongoing support to founders throughout the program, and connects them with USC’s broader innovation network. In this role, the office has been on the forefront of maintaining the Techstars institutional partnership with USC, supporting the selected teams, helping founders navigate USC and connect with relevant university resources, expertise, and networks. The accelerator is part of OORI’s broader strategy to help high-potential startups progress from early-stage concepts to scalable ventures with real-world impact.
Through the partnership, Techstars brings its proven accelerator program, mentorship network, and investor connections, while OORI strengthens the experience, connecting founders with USC’s research, entrepreneurial ecosystem, and institutional resources. OORI oversees USC’s partnership with Techstars and integrates the accelerator into the university’s broader innovation ecosystem. Throughout the program, the office has connected founders with USC faculty, alumni, mentors, investors, student talent, and other campus resources while creating opportunities to engage with the university’s entrepreneurial community. The cohort is based at Hub@CUB, OORI’s innovation headquarters, where founders collaborate with one another.
Throughout the accelerator, companies achieve meaningful milestones across product development, customer acquisition, and commercial strategy. Averie Femcare, for example, launched a manufacturer pilot, received its first production run, acquired its first paying customers, sold out its pilot inventory without paid advertising, and built a B2B pipeline. As Charlyn Bender, Founder and CEO of Averie Femcare, noted, “What might have taken two or three years of trial and error happened in months.”
Bender, added, the USC & Techstars Accelerator fundamentally changed the company’s direction: “When I entered the program, Avarie Femcare was a consumer brand. When I left, Avarie had become a B2B company that also sells direct-to-consumer…The accelerator didn’t just help me grow faster. It helped me see the business I was actually building.” Bender also credited USC and OORI’s Tariq Warsi for his support throughout the program, adding, “That kind of sponsorship, where someone actively puts your name in rooms you haven’t even thought to enter yet, is the Trojan network working exactly as it should. I’m deeply grateful.”
OORI is continuing to build a connected pathway that supports USC founders and innovators at different stages of development. While early-stage ventures may start small, more advanced startups can leverage the accelerator for mentorship, market testing, and investment preparation. While Demo Day is an important milestone, the growth continues as companies pursue customers, funding, partnerships, and new opportunities. Through its work with Techstars and other entrepreneurship initiatives, OORI is helping establish the resources, relationships, and infrastructure needed to move promising ventures forward within the USC innovation ecosystem.
“Demo Day is the visible culmination of a much larger process,” Robyn Hejmej said, executive director of Research & Innovation Strategy at USC. She added noting the importance of the USC/Techstars partnership: “Techstars brings an intensive accelerator model, and our role is to connect that experience to USC’s faculty expertise, alumni network, student talent, and innovation infrastructure. We help create an environment where founders can tap into the people and opportunities that will help them advance.”
The success of Demo Day is indicative of the exciting collaboration between Techstars and USC, mediated by OORI. Through this partnership, OORI is helping build a stronger innovation ecosystem by connecting promising ventures with the guidance, relationships, and support needed to advance, scale, and create lasting impact.