Founders building founders

With 15 years of combined innovation capacity building in over 2000+ young leaders, our team is just getting started.
Learn About Us

Our Story

After studying entrepreneurship in his undergraduate program, Nick Chagin knew the entrepreneurial mindset was something every young person should have access to unlocking in themselves. He spent several years teaching entrepreneurship programs for students from over 22 educational institutions, spanning 13 countries across 5 continents, with a non-profit called 3 Day Startup.

After 3 Day Startup closed its doors, Nick founded The Startup Bug in 2021 to continue the necessary work of bringing entrepreneurship education to as many students as possible.

Since then, The Startup Bug has impacted over 400 students through in-person, hybrid, and completely virtual experiences, delivering inclusive and accessible startup programming to a variety of organizations.

Our organization continues to innovate how innovation is taught. Work with us to collaborate on a customized program that delivers the outcomes you expect for your students.
team

Meet our talented team

Nick Chagin

Founder & Lead Facilitator

Having worked with 1700+ aspiring entrepreneurs across seven different countries, Nick knows that the power of entrepreneurship can unlock individuals.

Nick's energizing and infectious facilitation techniques have been utilized in workshops with over 50 universities, 13 U.S. Embassies within the U.S. Department of State, the U.S Air Force corporations, and international study programs to help more aspiring entrepreneurs bring their innovations into the world.

He is typically found elsewhere exercising, screenwriting, booking a flight somewhere, or listening to audiobooks.

Aidan Leahy

Head of Program Development & Facilitator

Aidan is an expert in innovation workshop design & execution. He has a proven track record of curating immersive and impactful experiences for the world's largest companies and using those precious moments of collaboration to help clients move from 0 to 1.  

Aidan combines his corporate innovation experience with a background in Strategic Foresight, Design Thinking, and Agile and the enthusiasm of a wedding singer (no, really).  

When he isn't building programs for TSB, he's on the volleyball court, hiking up a mountain, or figuring out how to beat Nick in Fantasy Football.

Justin Chagin

Head of Partnerships

Justin is a people person. He establishes a foundation of trust and confidence in any relationship and strives to understand his partner's needs.

By day, he equips startup founders with a toolkit of resources, mentors, and community members to accelerate their businesses. By night, he is listening to records and playing with his cat, Tuna.

Go to any music festival, thrift store, or new restaurant and you're bound to find Justin there.

Our team is a blend of experts from different industries, cultures, and walks of life, united by a shared commitment to excellence.