Columbia Entrepreneurship

Networking Happy Hour
2023-12-14 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
Calling all individuals interested in the venture space – entrepreneurs, founders, investors, venture capitalists – Join Columbia Venture Community for in-person networking happy hours on the 2nd Thursday of each month in 2023! For the second half of the year, join us for an exciting series of events happening on 8/10/23, 9/14/23, 10/12/23, 11/09/23, and 12/14/23 — each dedicated to exploring the forefront of innovation in specific industries. Mark your calendars and RSVP here!
Tickets are $12.98
12/14/23 – ALL industries
Previous events:
6/8/23 – FINTECH
7/13/23 – AIl
8/10/23 – WOMEN FOUNDERS & INVESTORS
9/14/23 – ESG
10/12/23 – BIOTECH
11/09/23 – WEB3
RSVP
Columbia Venture Community is pleased to invite you to a Networking and Social Event in support of our NYC venture community! Come out and join us for drinks and socializing with the goal of meeting and supporting the many entrepreneurs and investors in our community. This event is open to all. We look forward to seeing you there!
*Note: In order to attend and receive a drink ticket, you must register for this event each month!
All ticket sales are final. We primarily use ticketing to ensure the quality of events we continue to organize for you.
More about CVC: Columbia Venture Community is a network of more than 6,000+ Columbia alumni interested in all aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation. Founded in 2006, CVC has hosted more than 400 events around the world. Today, CVC hosts multiple global programs, in-person and virtual events, and an online community for members to share resources.

Rolling Admission: Columbia Startup Lab Uptown
2024-01-01, 2024-02-01, 2024-03-01
Columbia Startup Lab (CSL) Uptown provides a host of campus-wide programming, open working space, mentorship, and connection to other entrepreneurship nodes around the University for aspiring student founders currently enrolled at Columbia and Barnard. This is a way to onboard into the Columbia entrepreneurship ecosystem throughout the year.
Read more and submit an application here.

Deadline: Applications for the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures, Spring 2024
2024-01-11 08:00 - 17:00
APPLY HERE
Are you a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid early-stage social or environmental venture with  Columbia affiliation? Apply by March 1 for a chance to receive a seed grant of up to $25K!
This fund provides seed grants of up to $25K to nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid early-stage social and environmental ventures. Ventures must be led by Columbia University students, alumni, faculty or researchers, or be advised and have significant involvement by Columbia University faculty or researchers. Tamer Fund seed grants will be made to approximately seven ventures each year.

Innovation Forum: Immigration and Entrepreneurship
2024-01-24 17:30 - 19:00
RSVP
Join Columbia Engineering for an open forum to learn more about entrepreneurship and network with the Columbia University startup community. You’ll hear from Columbia alumni and other experts on their experiences working in the field, how they’ve applied their Columbia experience in their careers, and more. This event will feature Megan Kludt, Partner at Curran, Berger & Kludt LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in all areas of immigration, including business, achievement, investment, family, and humanitarian bases for immigration status.

StartMe Up Bootcamp Winter 2024 Kickoff
2024-01-25
Apply here.
Join a select group of entrepreneurs for a two-week hybrid program designed to build your successful startup. The bootcamp introduces participants to the Lean Launchpad methodology and techniques to direct customer discovery through field interviews. Participants are required to conduct at least 20 customer interviews; attend online sessions and engage with other bootcamp teams and entrepreneurs. Teams “get out of the building” to learn from potential customers to determine if they are solving a real-world problem with a sizeable market opportunity. In addition to providing entrepreneurial training, this program helps students and researchers identify new ways to apply research to solve global challenges.
Faculty, staff, postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student researchers may apply with a team of one to three people. Applicants are expected to be available for all short-course sessions. Teams that successfully complete this bootcamp may become eligible to apply for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Teams program, which includes a $50,000 grant.
Winter 2024 Bootcamp Dates
Kickoff Day 1 | January 25, 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Kickoff Day 2 | January 26, 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Midpoint Check-in | February 2, 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Finale | February 9, 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM

*Interviews are required prior to acceptance. Please email seaseship@columbia.edu to set up a brief interview after submitting your application.

Learn more.

Application Deadline: Startup Columbia 2024
2024-02-09
Startup Columbia is a series of campus-wide startup competitions offering non-dilutive cash prizes to the winning teams. Applications open in early January each year and are open to early-stage ventures founded, managed, and owned by current Columbia students, or by Columbia alumni within 5 years of their most recent Columbia degree.
Each year, alumni judges evaluate competitors in each of the various competitions. All competitions have their own focus, save for the OPEN Competition, which is open to any kind of business model, including not-for-profit and social enterprises. As you will see in the Rules & Regulations, teams who wish to compete must choose to enter one competition only. Please note that the SIPA track is no longer accepting applications.
Applications for the 2024 Startup Columbia Competition will be OPEN from Jan 7, 2024 and will CLOSE February 9th, 2024!
LEARN MORE AND APPLY

Tamer Center for Social Enterprise 2024 Annual Reception
2024-02-26
REGISTER
You are cordially invited to join Columbia Business School for an evening of networking and socializing with fellow alumni, faculty members, students, and professionals in the climate and social enterprise sector.
This year’s reception will feature remarks from Austin Smith ’22, managing partner of Alley, a full-service digital agency that creates digital solutions that connect people to news, entertainment, ideas — and to each other. Austin will share his experience working with the ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP) and Justice Through Code (JTC) and how he leveraged his experience, skills, and EMBA degree, as well as the resources and capabilities of Alley, to empower formerly incarcerated individuals who need second chance career track employment opportunities. Hear from Austin about how he created a reentry simulation used in the REAP Immersion class and the mentoring platform that contributes to ongoing learning for the MBA network and JTC students alike. Professor Dan Wang will provide welcome remarks.

Application Deadline: 2024-2025 Cohort of the Columbia Startup Lab
2024-03-31
Applications for the Columbia Startup Lab (CSL) are now open! The CSL offers our alumni entrepreneurs a place to house and nurture their fledgling ventures through tailored programming, space, and a vibrant entrepreneurship community.
Did you know?

CSL startups have raised $120M+ and $115M+ in acquisitions and exits.
The CSL has been headquarters to over 500 startups.

CSL is Columbia University’s recent-alumni co-working space located on the ground floor of 69 Charlton Street. It is a cross-school initiative between Columbia Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Columbia College, Columbia School of Public Health, Law, Barnard and School of International & Public Affairs.
Now in its eleventh year, the CSL has been “corporate headquarters” for more than 500 Columbia-founded ventures. The space is administered by Studio by Tishman Speyer and includes: furnishings (desk and chair), WiFi, water/coffee, cleaning/maintenance and access to common facilities across the global network. CSL also provides ongoing workshops, office hours, networking events, and community building activities to help resident ventures advance their businesses.

Fireside Chat with Ian Sigalow ’06
2024-04-10 12:30 - 14:00
Join Columbia Business School for a conversation with Ian Sigalow ’06, co-founder and managing partner of Greycroft, a multi-stage venture fund based in New York City. Ian will discuss his career journey, including his own entrepreneurial endeavors, and the story behind how he became the managing partner at a fund right out of CBS. Register here.

Kickoff: Start Me Up Bootcamp
2024-04-11
The Start Me Up Bootcamp program is a two-week virtual program designed to build your startup. The bootcamp introduces participants to the Lean Launchpad methodology and techniques to direct customer discovery through field interviews. Teams are required to conduct at least 20 customer interviews; attend online sessions and engage with other bootcamp teams and entrepreneurs. Teams “get out of the building” to learn from potential customers to determine if they are solving a real-world problem with a sizeable market opportunity. Upon completion, eligible teams may apply for a $50,000 NSF I-Corps grant to support customer discovery. Additional funding is available to support conference travel for commercialization.
APPLY

Athena Center for Leadership End-of-year Incubator Showcase
2024-04-11 18:00 - 20:30
Get ready for an evening filled with business pitch presentations by our talented Fellows, an insightful panel discussion on how to finance your business idea, and invaluable networking opportunities with seasoned entrepreneurs and esteemed alumni.

Mark your calendars and save the date:
Date: April 11th, 2024
Time: 6PM – 8:30PM
Venue: Sulzberger Parlor, 3rd Floor Barnard Hall
Make sure to RSVP now through the Google Form to secure your spot.

Founder's Journey: Navigating the Obstacles from Student to Startup!
2024-04-24 17:00 - 18:30
Our speaker on the Founder’s Journey is Andrew Satz, CEO of EVQLV, a company that leverages advances in computation to design therapeutic antibodies for biotechs and pharmaceutical companies. Andrew is a Columbia alumnus, a data scientist, and former CORE president, where he had a significant impact on Columbia’s entrepreneurial community. He will be sharing his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges, and ways to overcome obstacles to build a thriving startup.

Deadline: Start Me Up Bootcamp
2024-06-30
Join a select group of entrepreneurs for a two-week hybrid program designed to build your successful startup. The bootcamp introduces participants to the Lean Launchpad methodology and techniques to direct customer discovery through field interviews. Participants are required to conduct at least 20 customer interviews; attend online sessions and engage with other bootcamp teams and entrepreneurs. Teams “get out of the building” to learn from potential customers to determine if they are solving a real-world problem with a sizeable market opportunity. In addition to providing entrepreneurial training, this program helps students and researchers identify new ways to apply research to solve global challenges.
Faculty, staff, postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student researchers may apply with a team of one to three people. Applicants are expected to be available for all short-course sessions. Teams that successfully complete this bootcamp may become eligible to apply for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Teams program, which includes a $50,000 grant.
MORE INFO AND REGISTER

Deadline: Tamer Fund | August 15, 2024
2024-07-16 08:00 - 17:00
Are you a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid early-stage social or environmental venture with Columbia affiliation? Apply by August 15 for a chance to receive a $25K seed grant!
This fund is open to nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid early-stage social and environmental ventures. Ventures must be led by Columbia University students, alumni, faculty, or researchers, or be advised and have significant involvement by Columbia University faculty or researchers. Tamer Fund seed grants will be made to approximately seven ventures each year.

Rolling Admission: Columbia Startup Lab Uptown
2024-09-12
Columbia Startup Lab (CSL) Uptown, located on the Morningside campus, provides a host of campus-wide programming, open working space, mentorship, and connection to other entrepreneurship nodes around the University for aspiring student founders currently enrolled at Columbia and Barnard.
We are lucky to have cultivated a very vibrant community of students and alumni who take a genuine interest in helping others in the CSL community. It’s about engagement and sharing, not about just “working on your own venture”. When reviewing applications for participation, we look for individuals who are going to give back as much as they get out of this experience.
[ CLICK HERE TO APPLY ]

Columbia Startup Lab Uptown Programming Begins
2024-09-13

Innovation Forum
2024-09-18 17:00 - 18:30
Register for the fall welcome event on September 18th to meet new and current entrepreneurs at Columbia. Dan Steingart, co-director of the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center will join Professor Harry West, co-faculty director of IDE, and Ivy Schultz, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, to share how to get started on all things entrepreneurship at Columbia. You’ll hear from Columbia faculty and other experts on opportunities at Columbia, their experience in startups, and more. RSVP to learn about upcoming entrepreneurship programs and events in the 2024 – 2025 school year.

Columbia Giving Day 2024 - Support Entrepreneurs
2024-10-01
This year, on Columbia Giving Day, Columbians everywhere are gathering together to make an impact. At Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design, we make an impact by supporting hundreds of student and alumni entrepreneurs across all of Columbia’s schools.
Click here to donate to our Columbia Entrepreneurs Fund.
Because it takes more than grit and brilliance to launch a new venture, we offer financial help through the Startup Columbia venture competition, and space and mentoring at the Columbia Startup Lab (uptown for students, downtown for alumni) to explore entrepreneurship.
The Columbia Startup Lab Uptown, located on the Morningside campus, provides a variety of campus-wide programming, open working space, mentorship, and connection to other entrepreneurship nodes around the University for aspiring student founders currently enrolled at Columbia and Barnard.
The annual Startup Columbia venture competition is a series of campus-wide startup competitions that give out hundreds of thousands of dollars in non-dilutive cash prizes to the winning teams.
The Columbia Startup Lab in Soho is headquarters to over 70 Columbia alumni entrepreneurs each year and offers subsidized working space, tailored programming, and a supportive community to help alumni founders and their ventures succeed.
Your generous contribution will support all of Columbia Entrepreneurship’s robust programming and help today’s Columbians learn, build, and launch their ventures: Give Now

Start Me Up Bootcamp Kickoff
2024-10-10
Applications are now open for the Start Me Up Bootcamp program. Teams are required to conduct at least 20 customer interviews; attend online sessions and engage with other bootcamp teams and entrepreneurs. Teams “get out of the building” to learn from potential customers to determine if they are solving a real-world problem with a sizeable market opportunity. The bootcamp is based on the NSF I-Corps program and introduces participants to the Lean Launchpad methodology including techniques to direct customer discovery through field interviews.

Application Deadline: 2024 Columbia Health Venture Fast-Pitch Competition
2024-10-16
Open to Columbia University graduate and undergraduate students in the ideation phase of a startup solution, aimed at a public health and/or healthcare problem. Participants must be available to pitch their idea in-person to the judges on November 22.
Apply here!

Fireside chat with Investor Mike Maples and Entrepreneur and Professor Apoorv Agarwal
2024-10-22 13:00 - 14:00
Join Columbia Engineering for a fireside chat with Mike Maples, one of the first investors in Twitter, Lyft, and Twitch, on October 22nd at 1PM in Davis Auditorium! A regular on Forbes’ Midas List, Mike has an incredible record of sensing and driving innovation in tech. He’ll be joined by Apoorv Agarwal, who received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia and founded Text IQ, a pioneering legal tech startup that he successfully exited in 2021. If you’re building now or looking to learn more about VC and startups, this is a must attend event for you – RSVPs required, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-a-startup-tickets-1033913532207
After the panel, Mike will be signing his book, Pattern Breakers, which Steve Blank has called “The most important startup book of the last ten years”. We’ll be doing a Columbia-specific BOGO offer if you’re interested in taking it home!

CBS Startups Week 2024
2024-11-11 00:00 - 2024-11-15 17:00
Join CBS for CBS Startups Week, a dynamic week of panels, tabling events, and networking opportunities! This celebration of entrepreneurship highlights the innovative knowledge and vibrant community that keeps CBS at the leading edge of change. Recently ranked among the top 5 MBA programs in the U.S. for entrepreneurship, CBS continues to produce exceptional founders. Be part of the journey, connect with like-minded individuals, and explore the future of innovation.
RSVP here to secure your spots.

2024 CBS Virtual Demo Day
2024-11-13 12:00 - 13:00
Join CBS virtually on Wed, Nov 13th at 12pm for a CBS Virtual Demo Day to see how CBS founders are turning innovative ideas into reality. This event will feature pitches from select startups founded by current students and recent alumni. Discover exciting new solutions and potential investment opportunities in these ventures.
Click here to RSVP.

Design for Social Innovation Spring 2025 (Application Deadline)
2024-11-18
Apply here.
A project-based course aimed at solving complex problems through design.
Are you interested in tackling complex problems through human centered design?
Design For Social Innovation (DFSI) is a semester-long course taught by Sarah Holloway (SIPA Faculty) and Adam Royalty (Founding Director Columbia Design Studio) where Columbia University students and faculty support social enterprises, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector to address complex, ambiguous global problems through human centered design. The course is open to students from Columbia’s 20 undergraduate and graduate schools via an application process.
The 3.0 credit course is a collaboration between the Columbia Entrepreneurship Design Studio and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)
The class will take place in-person on Wednesdays from 11:00am – 12:50pm at the Columbia Entrepreneurship Design Studio (meeting all but three Wednesdays when teams are “out of the building” interviewing, workshopping and with teaching team in office hours)
In addition to class time, there will be one mandatory Design Sprint on Friday, January 31. Please do not apply for the course unless you believe you can attend the Friday session.
The application-only course will accept a total of 30 students for the Spring 2025 term.
If selected, you will be placed on a team based on your background and interest.
Applications are now live and they will close at 11:59pm ET on Monday, November 18.
Apply Here!

2024 Columbia Fast Pitch Competition
2024-11-20
In November Columbia Engineering hosts the much-anticipated Fast Pitch event. Teams have 60 seconds to sell their business ideas to a panel of judges to win up to $5,000. Fast Pitch is Columbia’s longest running pitch competition on campus since 2013.

2024 Columbia Health Ventures Fast-Pitch Competition
2024-11-22 10:00 - 13:00
Open to Columbia University graduate and undergraduate students in the ideation phase of a startup solution, aimed at a public health and/or healthcare problem. To be considered for the fast-pitch competition, please fill out the form below by October 16. Eligible submissions will be notified by October 18 and participants must be available to pitch their idea in-person on November 22. The fast-pitch competition will be held from 10am-1:00pm at the Mailman School of Public Health (722 w 168th street, 8th floor auditorium) with a reception to follow.
Learn more here.

No Fear! Engaging Your Board in Resource Development
2025-01-16 18:00 - 19:00
REGISTER
Learn proven strategies for identifying and attracting diverse, committed board members who align with your mission. You’ll also gain practical tools to nurture their active participation and engagement. This webinar is ideal for new organizations building their first board and established nonprofits seeking to energize their current leadership.

Columbia Innovation Forum: Immigration & Building a Team for Entrepreneurs
2025-01-22 17:00 - 19:30
REGISTER
Join Columbia Engineering for an open forum to learn more about entrepreneurship and network with the Columbia University startup community. You’ll hear from Columbia alumni and other experts on their experiences working in the field, how they’ve applied their Columbia experience in their careers, and more. At this month’s open forum, learn about all things entrepreneurship, immigration and building a team. Attend to network, meet potential co-founders & recruit for your team.
