Two Hunter seniors are founding a club for founders — students who want to start tech businesses or explore pathways to digital work other than getting a corporate job after college.
Samuel Michnik ’26 and Angst Gregory ’26, both computer science majors, have chartered the Founders @ Hunter club and will hold its first live meeting in November. Professor Arabella Pollack — the director of Hunter’s Certificate in Business Studies program and a distinguished lecturer in the Department of Economics — has signed on as the faculty adviser. So far, 35 students have joined the club through the online platform Discord.
Michnik explained that he saw the need for the club after taking some time away from school last spring to try his technical skills at hackathons, hack nights, and networking events. Collaborating with tech entrepreneurs outside school broadened his perspective about what he was learning in the classroom — and what he could do with it, he said.
“Through Founders @ Hunter, I want to bring that knowledge and energy back to campus,” Michnik said. “My goal is to show students that there are many ways to succeed, and not all of them lead to a corporate position. Whether it's starting a company, launching a product, or just simply learning by building, I want to empower students to explore alternative paths through hands-on, community driven experiences.”
Gregory said that he founded the club because he loves building things and connecting people.
“There’s something electric about introducing two people and seeing them create something neither could have built alone,” he said. “I want Founders to be a launchpad where Hunter students don’t just network, they collide. Where the computer science major can meet the marketing genius and the design obsessive, and suddenly we’re not just students anymore. We’re builders.”
Pollack also sees a need for a club that gives students a path to explore tech outside of traditional internships.
“From teaching Hunter’s Entrepreneurship course during the last five years, I’ve been impressed by how resourceful and innovative our students are,” Pollack said. “Yet Hunter’s size makes it hard for students to connect with other students with complementary skills and ideas. Founders@Hunter solves this problem, and I’m sure these cross-major collaborations will lead to the creation of some exciting businesses.”
