<p><span class="p-body">Each academic year, the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality hosts its<a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/divisions-and-departments/jonathan-m--tisch-center-of-hospitality/hospitality-innovation-hub/incubator.html#AboutUs0" target="_blank"> Hospitality Innovation Hub (HI Hub) Incubator Program</a>, and<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/levent-tuysuzoglu-68723615/" target="_blank"> Levent Tuysuzoglu</a>, founder and CEO of Hazelicious, a company obsessed with making delicious hazelnut products in the most sustainable way, was named the top start-up for the fall 2023 semester.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">Tuysuzoglu, an NYU Stern alumni, shares with you the founding of his start-up, his family’s history as hazelnut farmers, and his decision to join the HI Hub Incubator Program.</span></p>

<p><span class="p-body">Tuysuzoglu’s grandparents were fifth-generation hazelnut farmers on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey, where 600,000 small family farms produce 70–80 percent of the world’s annual crop. “When they passed away from Covid–19, I left my career in finance to focus on reinventing hazelnut products to show consumers the real potential of hazelnuts,” said Tuysuzoglu.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">Then, as he started to bring his business Hazelicious to life, he heard about the Tisch Center’s HI Hub Incubator Program and made the decision to be part of its program. “For me, there is nothing better that defines hospitality than delicious food,” said Tuysuzoglu. “After finding out about the incubator program focused on hospitality, applying was a no-brainer.”</span></p>

<p><span class="p-body">Tuysuzoglu has enjoyed bringing his start-up to life with no single day and no single task ever being repetitive or mundane. His words of advice for someone contemplating founding a startup: “Success will take a lot longer than you imagine, and you will need to make many personal sacrifices for long periods of time.”</span></p>

<p><span class="p-body">While he spends many hours of his day working on legal, financial, and administrative tasks necessary to keep the startup running, he sees a bright future for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hazelicious.com/">Hazelicious</a>. Through the HI HUB Incubator Program, Levent is connecting and receiving advice from NYU alumni and mentors. “We are super thrilled with the advice and support we are beginning to receive,” said Tuysuzoglu.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">According to Tuysuzoglu, in the ideal world of the future, Hazelicious will redefine hazelnuts in the consumer’s eye with our products being a standard for non-dairy, low-carb, and gluten-free lifestyles, like with their hazelnut milk.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">Discover how NYU SPS can help your start-up. Learn more about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/divisions-and-departments/jonathan-m--tisch-center-of-hospitality/hospitality-innovation-hub/incubator.html#AboutUs0">NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality HI Hub Incubator Program&nbsp;</a>and its mission to provide NYU affiliated star-up businesses and young entrepreneurs with core business services.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>