Making a (Right)Run for the Money

It was supposed to be a routine run. 

But with the sun sinking fast, his phone at 3% and the street ahead blocked by a gate he hadn’t anticipated, first-year Bentley student Kyle Martin ’27 realized the Apple Maps app he’d used to plan his route wasn’t the most reliable running companion.

What started as a four-mile loop turned into a navigational nightmare — but Martin’s mapping mishap would become the spark for a promising business venture. Today, he and three close friends — fellow Falcons Ryan Ogren ’27, Zoey Sandberg ’27 and Paige Trager ’27 — are the founders of RightRun, an AI-powered app that generates safe, accurate and personalized running routes for its users. And thanks to Bentley’s Entrepreneurship Hub (E-Hub), the budding business owners are also the recipients of $14,000 in seed funding to make their dreams for RightRun a reality. 

The Starting Line

Soon, the four Bentley friends found themselves in a Falcon Discovery Seminar (FDS) seminar led by Sandeep Purao, E-Hub director and professor of Computer Information Systems (CIS). “Professor Purao prompted us to come up with a business idea by thinking about a recent problem we’d encountered and ways to solve it,” Sandberg explains. “I remembered Kyle’s experience, so suggested a running app that would prioritize route generation and safety.”

Her fellow Falcons embraced the idea and began brainstorming additional features, such as the ability to customize runs based on time, distance and elevation. “We drew inspiration from our own running habits,” Ogren explains. “For example, since we didn’t know Waltham very well, our parents would often ask us to text them when we left for and returned from our runs.” This sparked an idea for push notifications that can alert designated contacts to atypical deviations or abnormal pauses — possible signs of a medical or personal emergency — in the user’s planned route. 

By the end of the session, the group was convinced they’d identified a viable new venture. They sought advice from Purao, who agreed — and encouraged them to participate in Bentley’s E-Hub Incubator Program. A new initiative designed specifically to nurture high-potential student start-ups, the Incubator provides comprehensive resources — including faculty and alumni mentors, peer consultants offering specialized expertise and, for the first time ever, seed funding to grow their businesses — to help students navigate their entrepreneurial journeys.  

The team decided to join, Martin says, noting that Purao’s support made all the difference: “For four freshmen so new to Bentley, having the E-Hub director believe in us and our business idea was really inspiring.”

Off and Running

Ogren, a Corporate Finance and Accounting major and president of Bentley’s Class of 2027, is the only team member with prior entrepreneurial experience. In elementary school, he started a pillowcase business, creating custom designs and donating a portion of his proceeds to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. But his peers — Martin and Sandberg, also Corporate Finance and Accounting majors, and Trager, a Marketing major, all members of Bentley’s Honors Program — had never considered starting their own business. If not for that fateful FDS seminar, the students say, they likely never would have come up with the idea for RightRun.  

According to Purao, Bentley established the E-Hub in 2023 precisely to facilitate moments like these. “Our goal is two-fold: To help students cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset, and to introduce them to the many pathways and possibilities that exist in this space,” he explains. “Whether or not they decide to start their own businesses, the knowledge and skills they’ve gained through their E-Hub experiences will set them up for success in their chosen careers.”

Mapping a Route to Startup Success

The E-Hub Incubator Program helped students develop a particularly valuable entrepreneurial skill: the ability to clearly articulate their business ideas and inspire others to support their ventures. Over a six-month period, 30 student teams participated in three rounds of pitch competitions, with the most promising groups advancing to the next phase and receiving incremental seed funding: 17 teams received $1,000 each in Phase I, seven teams received $3,000 each in Phase II and two teams — RightRun and Klonos, a company co-founded by Joseph Rizzo ’27 that offers AI-generated, personalized digital avatars — received $10,000 in Phase III.  

The student teams also received something arguably more valuable: feedback from the program’s judges, all of whom are Bentley alumni with entrepreneurial expertise. “Serving as a judge for the Incubator was a fantastic experience,” says Debbie Millin ’92, founder and president of UpperLevel Solutions, a provider of rapid growth scaling strategies for tech-focused companies. “The caliber of the business ideas pitched was impressive. The teams weren’t just presenting ideas — they were articulating clear value propositions, identifying target markets and outlining financial strategies. That level of preparation is remarkable for college students, some of whom are only in their first or second year.

“I was also struck by their openness to feedback,” Millin continues. “As judges, we pointed out potential challenges and areas for improvement, and the students embraced those critiques with a genuine desire to learn. They displayed a true growth mindset, which is absolutely essential for any entrepreneur. That willingness to adapt and iterate is a powerful indicator of future success.”  

Going the Distance

The RightRun team agrees. “It’s amazing to consider how our ideas for the app have evolved over the past two years,” says Trager. “The process of starting a business is new to us, and there’s definitely a learning curve. We’ve taken full advantage of all the resources the E-Hub offers and are especially grateful for the advice and support we’ve received from the judges and peer consultants.”

She notes that experience designer Pooja Suresh, MSHFID ’26 was “instrumental in helping us develop the visual interface for the app” while marketing consultant Neha Bhootra, MSBA ’25 “helped us understand how to use social media platforms effectively to gain traction online.” The team is also working with a London-based machine learning engineer to develop their proprietary AI model, which incorporates real-time updates to Google Maps and government statistics regarding geographical safety, among other data.

In Ogren’s view, remaining open to outside perspectives is essential for business success. “I think a lot of students come to Bentley with a fixed mindset — if I take this class, and do this internship, then I'll graduate with a full-time job offer,” he says. “But it’s important to remain open to other possibilities and be willing to explore new or different opportunities that come your way.” This sentiment applies to how the founders approach business decisions, he adds. “We’re constantly asking for feedback and believe it’s important to challenge each other. Because when we grow as individuals that leads to growth in the business, too.” 

Currently, the RightRun app is in alpha testing. Once this stage is complete, the team will enlist a small group of runners, primarily from the Bentley community, for beta testing. While they hope to bring their product to market soon, their focus is quality, not speed. “We know there are going to be AI kinks we need to figure out, so we want to be strategic about the launch,” Trager explains. “We don’t want to release an app that’s only halfway there.” Seasonality is also a factor. The founders believe the app’s initial users will be based primarily in New England, so they want to launch when the weather is ideal for running outdoors.  

While their timeline may not be set in stone, the students firmly believe in the long-term viability of their venture. “Our vision for RightRun goes far beyond our college years,” Sandberg says. “In the future, we plan to partner with athletes, running groups and fitness clubs to promote the importance of safety while running. Our goal is to create a smarter, safer and more connected running experience for everyone.” 

Blazing a Trail for Future Founders

In September, RightRun’s founders will share an update on their progress as they help launch the E-Hub Incubator Program’s second cycle. All four agree their entrepreneurial journey has been transformative — and they strongly encourage other Falcons to take advantage of all the E-Hub offers.  

“We’re really fortunate at Bentley to have opportunities like these,” says Martin. For him, the E-Hub Incubator “has changed how I think about my future. I came to Bentley to study accounting and finance, and while I’m committed to my major, I’ve realized that I ultimately want to work in a start-up environment. I’m interested in being part of a company from its beginning stages, where I’ll have an opportunity to provide more input.”  

Incubator judge Jim Burham ’80, founder and CEO of Go Accountants, Inc., also advises Bentley students to explore the E-Hub’s offerings. “Anyone who goes to business school needs a fundamental understanding of how businesses operate,” he notes. “Even if you’re not interested in starting your own business, there’s so much value in the room, particularly the pitch competitions. You’ll benefit greatly from watching your peers present their ideas, hearing feedback from the judges and tapping into the power of Bentley’s incredible alumni network.”  

Sandberg, however, may have the most compelling pitch for joining the E-Hub Incubator Program: “At the very least, you’ll gain skills and connections that last a lifetime. At the very best, you could launch a successful company before you complete your college degree.”