How we raised $41,000 in equity free funding?

Fresh off a plane from his home in Qatar during his first semester at UMass Amherst, Juliano Wahab ’23 had just arrived at his software entrepreneurship class when his professor told him to present a startup idea. Caught by surprise, Juliano, a computer science and marketing major, had no choice but to rise to the challenge.

“I wanted to do something art related, so I said I wanted to democratize the art world,” he said. “I knew I wanted to help artists make their art more accessible, but I had no product, no features, nothing concrete.”

That idea has since morphed into Monet—a growing online platform that makes it easy for art sellers and collectors to create virtual exhibitions and find opportunities to collaborate.

In May, Juliano, Hicham Al Baker, an art lawyer and collection manager, including fellow student Alex Rohrberg ’23, competed in the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2023 Innovation Challenge and won $41,000 in equity-free funding to continue their work. Monet hosted more than 350 artists on six continents as of early May.

“Our panel of judges was extremely impressed by Monet and the power it has to revolutionize the art business,” said Gregory Thomas, executive director at the Berthiaume Center and a lecturer at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. “I’m excited to see how this platform evolves with the new funding.”

Juliano grew up across the world in Dubai and Qatar. A multimedia artist himself, he loves to create animations, clothes, and paintings. The budding entrepreneur and artist first learned about UMass Amherst when he came across a skateboarding physics problem written by a UMass in his French physics textbook, while studying at a French school in Doha. Although he did not get into the Isenberg or the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences when he first applied, he was eventually accepted to both.

“I want to be able to create things that influence how people think and behave,” Juliano said. “But I also chose computer science because I like being able to do anything—if I have an idea, I can do it. And now I know how to market it, which is fun.”

Monet is a combination of our love for art, marketing, and technology. We believe in pushing the boundaries of the art world and craft immersive collecting experiences to engage the next generation of artists and collectors.

“At Monet, we hate ads with a passion,” said Juliano. “I feel like when you watch an ad you often automatically get a sense they’re trying to take advantage of your wallet. We don’t want to do that; we want to be the people you identify with.”

Many Isenberg and Computer Science professors have thrown their support behind Monet, according to Juliano. He highlighted Heidi Bailey, Nenna Thota, Matthew Rattigan, and Verónica Martín Ruiz, as their main supporters.

The road to success, however, has not been easy. Juliano and his team brought Monet to multiple pitch competitions before the 2023 Innovation Challenge, losing every single one. We got embarrassed at a few of them, but we had just enough feedback to keep looking ahead.

“Every time we talk to someone and fail, it feels like the end of the road,” Juliano said. “People say, ‘Juliano, you have so many other great ideas, go do those.’ You have to be so stubborn and slightly stupid to ignore everyone, even if they have more experience than you.”

Juliano has found immense value in pushing through and participating in every pitch competition he can. Through these experiences, he’s connected with MBAs and business advisors to guide the Monet team.

“What I’ve learned from being an entrepreneur is if you’re not in doubt constantly about what you’re doing, then you’re not pushing the boundaries far enough,” he said. “I can’t really say what I will be doing six months from now, because I’m already doubting what I’m doing tomorrow.”