LavaLab
Meet your cofounders.
USC’s premier, student-run, product incubator.
Meet your cofounders.
USC’s premier, student-run, product incubator.
Every semester, LavaLab takes a cohort of 28 students composed of product managers, engineers, and designers to build tomorrow’s startups, today.
At LavaLab, we don’t build “projects”—we build ambitious startups for a brighter future, create innovative technology that solves real problems, and invest in forward-thinking people who dare to bet on themselves.
We walk all our cohorts through a curriculum built on the foundation of YC and Thiel’s Zero to One ideology—augmented by decades of earned experience passed down by USC’s most successful builders and founders.
Make patterns with
the tiles!
LavaLab is a community of 500+ ambitious entrepreneurs, relentless builders, and fearless change-makers driven by a shared passion for innovation and impact.
Fueled by lifelong connection, you’ll find a culture that pushes you to grow, challenge the status quo, and become the boldest version of yourself.
If any of this resonates with you, we welcome you to the LavaLab community.
Sonya Alexis
President, Cohort S'25
Mannat Bawa
Vice President, Cohort F'25
Bodie Currier
Director of Curriculum, Cohort F'24
Ethan Palosh
Director of Engineering, Cohort S'25
Arnav Shah
Director of PM, Cohort S'25
Ben Flora
Director of Design, Cohort S'26
Amrita Arun
Director of External Community, Cohort F'24
Ronnie Cheung
Alumni Director of Community, Cohort S'26
Charles Gao
Co-Director of Internal Community, Cohort S'25
Arin Jain
Director of Industry Relations, Cohort S'25
Jo Choi
Director of Publicity, Cohort F'25
Tongfei Zhu
Director of Marketing, Cohort S'25
Sania Gupta
Director of Recruitment, Cohort S'26
