Miller Fellows Share Their Growth and Grit

Throughout his time as a fellow, Andrew Chen pivoted from his original idea of a 3D printing venture to a self-service 24-hour ramen shop. Chen quickly realized that he could not get feedback fast enough for the previous idea. However, he knew there was a problem to solve in the restaurant industry: a labor shortage, which could be addressed through automation.

Over the last six months, Chen built the first shop from scratch. He imported machines from Korea, assembled the structure and learned how to use a point of sale system. They recently opened the first location in the library.

As for the future of Midnight Ramen, Chen hopes to open multiple locations and scale up to offer more affordable prices and a wider variety of menu options. To achieve this, he is creating a long-term supply chain strategy to ensure large-scale sourcing of fresh, high-quality ingredients.

The Miller Fellowship gave Chen a place to feel re-energized and motivated to move forward as he navigated the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. “It is inspiring to be surrounded by people who have faced similar challenges. Even though we all work on very different ideas and come from diverse backgrounds, we learn from each other and gain new perspectives on our own challenges,” he said.

One lesson Chen has taken away from his time as a fellow is that the first step is always the hardest. “I’ve learned to never fear rejection from customers and to stop waiting for a “perfect” product before launching.

Andrew Chen’s one piece of advice to an aspiring entrepreneur is a quote from Dr. Lisa Su, “run toward the hardest problems — not walk, run.” He continued, “As an entrepreneur, you will face countless challenges. You must accept that failure is a necessary part of success. The key is to adapt quickly and stay resilient in uncomfortable situations — that is the only way a startup can survive and grow.”

During his time as a fellow, Austin Ketola has made major strides with Asobo Education, transforming the business from an early-stage prototype into a fully functional adaptive learning platform. Ketola has launched a new website, refined the diagnostic engine and developed AI-powered teacher dashboards aligned to state standards. He has also started pilots with local schools. His focus has been on building the best product possible that consistently excites teachers and students.

As for the future of Asobo Education, the focus is on scaling pilots and becoming the gold standard for truly personalized learning. Later this year and into the next, the plan is to expand into classrooms through school and district partnerships while refining their AI-based diagnostics. Over the next few years, Ketola wants Asobo to become a nationally recognized platform that helps teachers understand each student’s learning journey while making practice feel like play for students. Even longer term, he aims to build the data backbone of personalized learning — one that unites teachers, students and AI to close learning gaps more effectively.

The Miller Fellowship has been invaluable for Ketola’s growth both personally and professionally. Through the program, he gained access to a community of driven entrepreneurs who constantly push him to think bigger and refine his vision. “The mentorship and accountability have kept me focused on tangible progress — launching pilots, preparing for funding and building a sustainable model. It’s also helped me develop the mindset to balance strategic vision with day-to-day execution, teaching me to communicate my ideas more clearly to investors, partners and educators alike,” he said.

An important lesson that stuck with Ketola is that momentum does not come from ideas. It comes from consistency and staying committed to the vision. The fellowship gave him the structure and encouragement to keep moving forward, test assumptions and adapt quickly. “I’ve learned to celebrate small wins while keeping sight of long-term goals, and to see every setback as data, not failure,” he said.

Austin Ketola’s one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: prioritize learning. The best founders are not the ones with the perfect plan; they are the ones who keep iterating, asking questions and finding creative ways to move forward. Entrepreneurship is less about having all the answers and more about developing resilience, resourcefulness and conviction in your mission.

Over the past six months, Braden Champion has seen major momentum in both validation and development with his business, IronPlate Solutions. Champion and his team completed over 500 customer discovery surveys and interviews, ran hundreds of EasySear demos and conducted 100+ time studies to measure labor savings and real-world return on investment. They hosted live demonstrations at NC State and in restaurants, gathered hundreds of testimonials and letters of intent and had over 30 mentor conversations with experienced founders and investors.

IronPlate Solutions now has two validated product directions: 

• EasySear — an automated cooking device, now focused on the residential market to validate the core technology and generate early revenue before re-entering the restaurant space.
• Relay — a newly developed AI voice-to-POS prototype, which turns restaurant conversations into structured order tickets.

For the future of IronPlate Solutions, their immediate focus is on finishing demos, running pilots and following the data, then committing fully to the product that proves most viable. After pilots, they plan to raise a pre-seed round and execute a focused go-to-market push. Long-term, every product the team builds aligns with their mission to deliver perfect culinary experiences through smart technology.

The Miller Fellowship was a major catalyst for Champion. It gave him structure, mentorship and accountability during a critical phase of growth. It helped him learn how to validate markets before scaling, refine communication with customers and investors and stay grounded while making high-stakes pivots. Personally, it helped Champion grow as a leader and learn to prioritize data over emotion and momentum over perfection.

The hardest lesson Champion learned over the last six months was to pivot with conviction. They initially believed EasySear’s commercial path would lead the company, but the market ultimately showed a stronger pull toward residential and software opportunities. The fellowship reinforced adaptability, showing that listening to customers and acting quickly on traction are how real startups win.

Braden Champion’s one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to get your idea in front of people early. Real feedback beats perfect plans. Every conversation, test and prototype teaches you something that spreadsheets never will.

This period of time has been transformative for Batoul Al-Zoubi. It gave her the space and opportunity to turn her vision into a recognizable and growing brand with a strong foundation for future expansion. She has launched four new crewneck designs and three scarf designs, each focused on quality and cultural storytelling for her business, Karam The Collection. She has expanded her customer base and strengthened her presence in the fashion market through consistent marketing and social media engagement.

Beyond product launches, Al-Zoubi has seen tremendous growth in defining the business’s brand identity, increasing inventory and building valuable connections through entrepreneurship events and business seminars. These experiences opened new doors to exciting opportunities for Al-Zoubi, including being invited to one of the largest bazaars in New York to showcase and sell her brand.

As for the future of Karam The Collection, Al-Zoubi plans to evolve her brand from mainly comfort wear to more elegant and classy clothing lines that can be worn to work, dinners and special events. As a recent graduate and a full-time employee, she wants her brand to grow alongside her and reflect this new chapter of her life. The goal is to design pieces that blend professionalism with modesty and sophistication, allowing people to feel confident and stylish in any setting.

The Miller Fellowship played a huge role in both Al-Zoubi’s personal and business growth over the last six months. It gave her the time, resources and mentorship to focus intentionally on Karam and better understand what it takes to run a sustainable brand.

Through the program, she was able to attend business seminars, network and gain more clarity on her business model, marketing strategy and long-term goals. She developed more confidence and stronger leadership skills while strengthening the foundation of her brand. Being around other driven entrepreneurs has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience; we have grown together, shared our challenges, celebrated each other’s wins and offered support through every stage of the journey.

One piece of advice Batoul Al-Zoubi would give to an aspiring entrepreneur is to remember that every decision, no matter how small, brings you closer to your vision. Do not rely on motivation; it fades. What truly matters is consistency and showing up, even when it is hard.

She wrapped up her interview with this thought, “I’m not exactly where I want to be yet, but I have grown so much from where I was six months ago, and that is what entrepreneurship is about. It is not instant success; it is steady progress.”

Over the last six months, Marko Sun has continued to collect customer feedback from the target audience of Nature’s Throne in places like nature trails, parks and local outdoor retailers. The feedback has been primarily positive, and Sun used video clips of these interactions to continue the company’s growth on social media.

Through a partnership with District C and Cary Academy, which gives students the opportunity to analyze and solve real business problems, Sun received ideas on how to structure content, different go-to-market strategies and bottlenecks of the company’s current operations.

As for the future of Nature’s Throne, Sun has been dialing in to his real estate career to raise additional funds to continue bootstrapping product development.

This fellowship gave Sun the invaluable opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who are in the same process of developing their businesses. “Throughout the last six months, I have been able to learn from various guest speakers, make connections with those who can help move the business forward and even be a guest speaker to share my journey with an entrepreneurship class at NC State,” said Sun.

A lesson that stuck with this founder was from a guest speaker who said the basis of entrepreneurship is simply “who does what, by when.” The Miller Fellowship helped Sun put this idea into practice by helping create a framework to delegate tasks so that he can focus on more important tasks.

Marko Sun’s one piece of advice to an aspiring entrepreneur: You don’t have to know what is next, you just need to start.

Throughout his time as a fellow, Matthew Nassif has learned to pivot. He came into the fellowship with the business idea called Sesame and is now building CommonGround, a community-building app for apartment residents, tailored to their specific apartments. Over the last six months, he has built a minimum viable product that allows residents to see their neighbors’ interests, post community events and send messages. He has interviewed multiple apartment complexes to learn how to increase community engagement and gather product feedback.

As for the future of CommonGround, Nassif plans to continue networking with local apartment complexes and to maintain existing relationships. He is working on a fully functioning app and starting user testing. To generate interest in the product, he is creating social media content focused on customers’ pain points.

The fellowship helped him develop his business and himself. Nassif was able to get a lot of advice from other fellows and guest speakers. Being part of an entrepreneurship community gave him the support he needed to grow. He used fellowship funding for a website and app-building tools. Lastly, he improved his analytical and communication skills by understanding other fellows’ businesses and giving advice.

An important lesson that Nassif learned over the last six months was that being an entrepreneur does not mean you are married to an idea; all entrepreneurs experience pivots. He also learned from the book Happiness Advantage that if you approach a meeting or event with a negative mindset, your brain will not find the lessons or benefits in that activity.

One piece of advice from Matthew Nassif to aspiring entrepreneurs is that your network in entrepreneurship is everything: opportunities, advice and growth.