Lawrence duo finds traction with their business startup, nets $100K investment

In April, Alec Nguyen ’23 and Hung Nguyen ’23 pitched a business startup idea at Lawrence University’s annual Launch LU competition—an idea centered on an AI tool that would help people summarize research findings on any topic, from any discipline, in any language.

Four months later, the two recent graduates have taken that startup concept—Afforai—to a new level, securing an investment of $100,000 from Sputnik ATX, an Austin, Texas-based venture capital fund.

Afforai is one of four companies selected to be part of Sputnik ATX’s newest cohort. The venture capital fund, which backs early-stage, high-growth startups, announced earlier in August that Afforai would join its portfolio of more than 60 investments.

“Being chosen as one of four companies out of the thousands that applied to join this summer '23 cohort is an amazing honor,” Alec said. “Knowing we're now part of Sputnik ATX’s family, alongside their 63 other portfolio companies, makes this all the more special.”

“I’m deeply grateful to Lawrence”

Alec was born in Vietnam and spent much of his life in Japan before coming to the United States to study economics and data science at Lawrence. He and Hung, a student from Vietnam who was studying economics and computer science, met during their first year on campus.

“We both have backgrounds in economics, data science, and software engineering,” Alec said.

Alec and Hung were both involved in Lawrence's Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, which now features a business and entrepreneurship major. They began developing Afforai during their senior years in advance of the annual Launch LU competition. Alec would place first in Launch LU but for a different startup, one focused on creating a better food container for college food services. The Afforai pitch, meanwhile, was chosen as a wild card selection to advance to The Pitch, a regional competition featuring startup pitches from students at multiple universities in northeast Wisconsin.

They didn’t win The Pitch, but the idea was planted. Alec and Hung then set out to pursue the startup following graduation in June.

"We started with a dream, a vision to make a difference, and this investment symbolizes belief in that vision,” Alec said of the Sputnik ATX investment. “It's a partnership that extends beyond dollars; it's about shared goals, collaboration, and the drive to innovate.”

His experiences as an undergraduate at Lawrence played a big role in building the confidence to take that next step, Alec said. In addition to his studies, he worked for four years as an international admissions ambassador and served as a tutor in both economics and data science.

"Having the opportunity to present my startup at the Launch LU pitch competition, and then advancing to the regional The Pitch competition, has been an invaluable experience,” Alec said. “I've learned so much about business, networking, and finance. I'm deeply grateful to Lawrence for providing me the stage to hone my skills and work toward success.”

Hung served as a tutor in economics and computer science and worked for three years as a community advisor in Student Life. He called his journey through Lawrence empowering.

“If I have to choose one thing to highlight, it would be that Lawrence University created an environment that encouraged independent thinking and learning autonomy,” Hung said. “The professors at Lawrence, in various ways, encouraged me to pursue my passion and apply myself in many independent projects." 

In its announcement of the new investments, Sputnik ATX said of Afforai: “Alec and Hung saw the need for this omniscient learning tool while studying as international students and seeing a massive increase in signal to noise ratios in virtually any knowledge work, compounded by language and culture barriers between Asian and Western organizations.”

As part of the initial investment, Afforai and the other startups will now go through a 13-week training program that focuses on sales, marketing, and scaling their companies and products.