LA Tech Week Comes to Marlborough

On October 15, students in the Frank & Eileen Accelerator Program for the Leaders of Tomorrow welcomed tech founders for a roundtable discussion in honor of LA Tech Week—a week-long celebration bringing together LA’s tech community with events, networking, and innovation showcases across the city. They were joined by Amber Atherton, Partner at Patron Fund, a venture capital firm that backs early-stage tech startups; as well as Patron Fund Co-Founder Jason Yeh; and three founders from businesses backed by Patron: Mandi Zhou of SweatPals and Jinseo Park and Sohan Choudhury of Flint.

Ms. Atherton is very familiar with Marlborough: she sponsors The Atherton Award, an annual prize that aims to recognize and encourage entrepreneurial spirit in young women in a global network of girls’ schools. Marlborough is one of two schools in the United States where a student receives the award. Last year, Audrey N. ’26 won for her venture Memory Lane after participating in the Marlborough Pitch Showcase. 

Like Audrey N. ’26, many of the students in attendance at the roundtable have scaled their businesses from concept to product by moving through Marlborough’s Incubator and Accelerator Programs. The Incubator allowed them to foster a deep understanding of a real-world problem and craft a solution to that problem through prototyping, testing, and user feedback. In the Accelerator Program, they scale their solution to a working prototype and clear concept. 

In a conversation led by Ms. Atherton, students had the opportunity to hear from these industry leaders about their businesses and the future of next-generation consumer tech. Mr. Yeh noted the industry’s current interest in younger founders who have insight into the audiences they’re building for, adding, “It's awesome to see that you guys are already actively building exciting businesses.”

Marlborough’s 2025-2026 Accelerator Program students then described their own business ideas to the panelists before the group split into breakout sessions. In these smaller group conversations, students were able to discuss their product or service, the challenges they have identified, and the paths for growth—providing an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback from professionals working directly in these spaces. The panelists were able to offer advice, advising students on important steps such as creating a beta version, securing funding, and getting users.

The opportunity to host these visionary entrepreneurs was invaluable for Marlborough students. It served as an important moment of mentorship to steer them towards the best path for their businesses as they continue to develop and navigate all that goes into launching a successful venture in an ever-changing tech landscape.