LaunchPad Awards Wavelength Start-Up Fund Grant for Fall 2025
Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad has awarded a $1,000 Student Start-Up Fund grant for the Fall 2025 semester to Wavelength. Wavelength is a New York State–registered athlete-representation agency focused on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and co-founded by Zachary Richter ’26 (College of Arts and Sciences) and Taran Krishnan ’26 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management). The company helps collegiate athletes grow authentic, long-term brands while remaining fully compliant with NCAA and state regulations. Their model blends creative storytelling, elite media connections and advanced analytics to maximize both athlete reach and brand return on investment. The grant will support the company’s legal expenses.
Grants are awarded on a rolling basis to undergraduate and graduate students who need help moving an idea from concept to commercialization. Applications must specifically define the need with identified outcomes to be achieved within a set time. The fund is possible because of generous donors like Library Advisory Board members Jeffrey Rich ’67 and Yvonne Hyland.