Santa Monica Native & Emerson College Entrepreneurial Student Chosen For MassChallenge Start-Up Program

BOSTON, MA (May 25, 2017) – Lea LeBlanc, an Emerson College 2017 graduate, has been accepted into the 2017 MassChallenge Boston accelerator program. Lea will continue her work on her venture, Wunder, created during the Emerson E3 Program, for which she won first prize at Emerson’s Expo Pitch Competition in April 2017. Lea and her venture were chosen to join the MassChallenge cohort that represents the top 8% of applications from around the world in 12 countries and 16 U.S. states.

Lea’s venture, Wunder, is a reusable underwear for women with urinary incontinence, an issue impacting quality of life of women of all ages, but especially the 65+ population. Sales of adult incontinence products are forecasted to increase to $2.7 billion by 2020, but current solutions are unreliable and wasteful. With a multilayered, moisture-wicking design, Wunder will absorb up to 20 ounces of liquid while looking and feeling like regular underwear – allowing women to live active lives without disruption.

Upon the announcement that she is now a MassChallenge start-up, Lea said “MassChallenge has been my dream since I toured the Boston site last fall with classmates in the Emerson E3 Program. It's an honor to be included in the 2017 cohort, and to have so much support behind Wunder and its mission to improve the day to day experience of woman living with incontinence,” she continued.

The E3 Entrepreneurship Program is a minor at Emerson College where students spend a year developing ideas to launch as sustainable ventures. At the end of the year, students compete for cash awards and are scored by a panel of judges. E3 Director and Professor Lu Ann Reeb says, “I couldn’t be more excited for Lea after winning the E3 Expo competition, and now this major accomplishment at MassChallenge. She and her team will now be able to take Wunder to the next phase of development and the marketplace.”

Lea, who is from Santa Monica, California is among 128 teams chosen from 1,500 pitches to MassChallenge. As part of the 2017 MassChallenge cohort, Lea and other start-ups will have access to top corporate partners, expert mentorship, tailored curriculum and more than 26,000 square-feet of co-working space in Boston’s Seaport District all at zero cost and for zero equity.

About Lea LeBlanc:

Lea LeBlanc graduated in May 2017, with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Entrepreneurship. Lea is also a dancer, who works at Boston Ballet and a first generation Japanese-American. She is also collaborating with MIT students in the new Emerson-MIT partnership to help test the chemistry for the product.

About the Emerson College Entrepreneurship Experience (E3):

The E3 Program was launched twelve years ago at Emerson College; it is a year-long immersion in crafting a new business venture. Emerson College’s E3 program is led by Professor Lu Ann Reeb, Director of Business and Entrepreneurship Studies Program at Emerson College, and an entrepreneur herself.Lu Ann Reeb, Director of Business and Entrepreneurship StudiesLu Ann Reeb, Director of Business and Entrepreneurship Studies More than 175 ventures have been created since Emerson’s E3 Program’s inception and 30% of those have been realized into businesses. For more information visit: http://www.emerson.edu/marketing-communication/undergraduate-programs/minors/entrepreneurial-studies-minor.

About Emerson College:

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city’s Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has approximately 3,500 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs at Emerson Los Angeles, located in Hollywood, and at its 14th-century castle in the Netherlands. Additionally, there are opportunities to study in Washington, DC, London, China, the Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, Greece, France, Ireland, Mexico, Cuba, England and South Africa. The College has an active network of 37,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information visit: emerson.edu.