Built at the intersection of student development, startups, and practical AI.
The program combines Monique Claiborne's decade of work helping students position themselves for competitive opportunities with Clayton Redmon's hands-on experience building AI into operating companies.
Monique Claiborne
Monique has spent more than a decade helping ambitious students distinguish themselves in highly competitive environments. Since her undergraduate years at Princeton, she has coached students into selective colleges and universities across the United States and internationally, often continuing that work through internship placement, career development, and long-term project advising.
Her interest in technology began early. While at Princeton, she interned at Google and completed her senior thesis at the intersection of technology, society, and ethics.
After graduation, Monique moved to South Korea as a Henry Luce Scholar and became the first Creative Director of a venture-backed media startup, building production teams across Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and New Delhi. That experience led to years of working closely with founders and people building companies from the ground up.
Today, she works across student development, college admissions, career coaching, and startup advisory. She created Nitro to connect capable students with founders who can give them meaningful ownership, direct feedback, and opportunities that can compound throughout the early stages of their careers.
Clayton Redmon
Clayton is a chef-turned-founder who has built AI directly into the operations of his own companies. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America and working in demanding restaurant kitchens, he began exploring better ways to improve how food is grown, sold, and delivered.
He founded Miniature Harvest, an urban farming company using controlled-environment agriculture to grow specialty crops close to the restaurants and communities they serve. As the company grew, Clayton began building AI tools and automations that allowed a lean team to operate more efficiently.
His work includes internal knowledge assistants, AI-supported lead qualification, prospecting tools, meeting workflows, and operational automations. He now designs and sells custom AI tools for businesses across industries.
The collaboration started through Nitro.
Monique and Clayton first connected when Miniature Harvest was referred to Nitro as a potential startup partner.
Clayton went on to host two Nitro interns, including a current Cornell student. Through those projects, Monique saw how much students could learn when they worked directly with a founder and took ownership of something the business actually needed.
When Clayton's second intern began working on an AI-focused project, it overlapped with a pattern Monique was hearing in her conversations with founders: students were using AI more often, but many lacked the judgment, vocabulary, and practical experience to use it well inside an organization.
The collaboration became a natural next step. Clayton brought practical experience building AI inside operating companies. Monique brought years of helping students develop stronger ideas, connect their work to future opportunities, and communicate why it is valuable. Together, they created the AI Advantage Bootcamp as the preparation students complete before being shortlisted for Nitro.
Learn from people who have built with students and founders.
Complete the AI Advantage Bootcamp, create something functional, and become eligible for the next stage of the Nitro network.