Our Story
One Idea Can Change a Life
LemonTree was founded by Ice Venkatesh, a student entrepreneur with a passion for mathematics, finance, innovation, and creating opportunities for others.
Ice recognized that many young people have strong ideas and the determination to build something meaningful, but often lack the first investment, business guidance, or trusted network needed to move forward.
LemonTree was created to become that first believer. We provide small meaningful grants, practical mentorship, and entrepreneurship education so young founders can test ideas, launch ventures, learn from experience, and build confidence.
More than a grant program, LemonTree is a growing community where today’s founders can become tomorrow’s mentors, leaders, and supporters of the next generation.
Our Purpose
Mission and Vision
We invest in more than ideas. We invest in young people who are ready to learn, create, lead, and make a difference.
Our Mission
To empower young entrepreneurs by providing early-stage investment, mentorship, and opportunities that transform innovative ideas into impactful businesses and future leaders.
Our Vision
To build a world where every young entrepreneur with talent, determination, and a bold idea has the opportunity to create, innovate, and lead, regardless of their financial background.
We finished the "missing" loop.
Lemonade with Ice has spent a decade putting Houston students in front of audiences, judges and mentors. The EmpowerHER Summit and its Innovation Marketplace gave young people a stage, a judged competition and recognition for their ideas.
What was missing was the next step. A student would present a genuinely good idea at the Marketplace, win recognition — and then go home with no money to continue to build on it. LemonTree is the piece that was missing.
That last leg is the whole design. A founder we fund this year exhibits at next year’s Marketplace, and the year after that they are judging it. The programme is built to be handed down, not to depend on any one person — including the person who started it.
Why LemonTree Was Created
Because Talent Deserves Opportunity
Great ideas can come from anyone, at any age. Yet many young entrepreneurs never get the opportunity to test their ideas because they lack startup funds, financial knowledge, mentorship, or someone willing to take them seriously.
LemonTree bridges that gap. Through our funding ladder, founders can receive support at different stages from planting their first idea with a Seed Grant to earning LemonTree’s highest honor, the Lemon Grant.
We also believe that success should create opportunity for others. Founders are encouraged to share what they learn, mentor future applicants, and participate in a pay-it-forward cycle that keeps new ideas growing.
We do not simply fund projects. We help young founders build the confidence, skills, and community needed to become future leaders.
What Guide Us
Our Core Values
These values shape how we select founders, provide support, build partnerships, and measure success.
Believe in Potential
We recognize possibility and invest in young people with the courage to begin.
Innovation
We encourage curiosity, creative thinking, and practical solutions to real problems.
Integrity
We lead with honesty, fairness, accountability, and respect in every decision.
Growth
We value learning, resilience, responsible experimentation, and continuous improvement.
Pay It Forward
We encourage successful founders to mentor, inspire, and create opportunities for others.
Impact
We measure success through both business progress and positive community outcomes.