Columbia Entrepreneurship

Crash Course in Business Research
2025-04-17 14:00 - 15:00 UTC
Open to current students.
April 17, 2025

2:00PM-3:15PM
Registration: https://library.columbia.edu/using-libraries/workshops.html#

Design Your Life (and Get Out of Your Own Way!): A Professional Development Opportunity for Columbia Student and Alumni Women Entrepreneurs
2025-04-25 15:00 - 18:00
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Time: 3 PM – 6 PM
Location: The Columbia StartUp Lab, 69 Charlton Street, Manhattan
About the Facilitator
Lauren Zander has nearly two decades of experience coaching thousands of private and corporate clients. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, Forbes, Women’s Health, and other leading publications. Lauren is also the author of the acclaimed book, Maybe It’s You, which distills her powerful coaching techniques into actionable strategies.
Workshop Overview
Transform your approach to business challenges and personal development through this immersive workshop specifically designed for women entrepreneurs. Lauren will guide you through her renowned coaching methodology — which she has taught at MIT, Stanford Graduate School of Business, etc.
Lauren Zander’s revolutionary approach to designing your life lies in her emphasis on radical accountability—challenging you to take full responsibility for your choices. You will benefit from her teachings by learning to confront self-limiting beliefs, embrace personal responsibility, and actively design a life — and business — you truly love.
Key Takeaways

Identify and overcome limiting patterns that impede professional growth

Develop practical frameworks for strategic decision-making

Implement systems to transform aspirations into measurable outcomes

Build a sustainable approach to leadership and business development

Secure your place today – this event is limited to 30 participants, so please sign up today by filling out this form: Design Your Life
We hope you’ll join us!

Application Deadline: Startup Me Up Bootcamp
2025-06-20
The Start Me Up Bootcamp is a 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 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 continue customer discovery. Additional funding is available to support conference travel for commercialization. In addition to providing entrepreneurial training, the program enables students and researchers to identify new ways to apply research to solve problems across several fields.

Startup Me Up Bootcamp Kickoff
2025-07-09
*Application Deadline, June 20*
The Start Me Up Bootcamp is a 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 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 continue customer discovery. Additional funding is available to support conference travel for commercialization. In addition to providing entrepreneurial training, the program enables students and researchers to identify new ways to apply research to solve problems across several fields.

Deadline: Tamer Fund for Social Ventures
2025-08-15
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 from the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures.
This fund provides $25K seed grants 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.
Before applying to the fund, watch this short video for all the essentials.
Sign up for office hours
Join Karen Hasher, program manager, on Zoom to learn about the application process and ask questions
Sign up for July 21 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM
Sign up for August 11 from 11 AM to 12 PM
Questions? Email tamersvfund@gmail.com.

2025 Fast Pitch - Columbia Engineering
2025-09-19 08:00 - 17:00
Do You Have a Startup Idea?
Apply to compete in Fast Pitch, Columbia Engineering’s campus-wide annual elevator pitch competition to win prize money for your startup idea.
Learn more and sign up here.

Columbia Startup Lab Uptown Kickoff Session
2025-09-19 12:00 - 13:30
Currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students at Columbia and Barnard are welcome to send their Names, UNIs, Anticipated Graduation Year, and School Affiliation (SIPA, Engineering, etc) to cslmorningside(at)gmail.com to join the community.
For those who are interested in entrepreneurship, curious about startups, and/or who may be in the ideation stages or earliest stages of a new venture, and want to learn more about startups, entrepreneurship, the various entrepreneurship events on campus, we have you covered.
This is all about jumping into the community and meeting others, exchanging ideas and building bonds. We will get to know one another, have entrepreneurs and investors give talks from time to time and learn as much as possible about startups, venture capital and using the latest AI tools to get moving.
MEETINGS: NOON – 1:30 PM @ CSL most Fridays (you will receive an email confirming each weekly session, please check before attending).

CSL Uptown Community Session
2025-09-19 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-09-26 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-10-03 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-10-10 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-10-17 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-10-24 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-10-31 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-11-07 12:00 - 13:30 and 2 more dates

Columbia Healthcare Ventures: Find Your Pitch Team Event
2025-09-22 16:30 - 18:00
​Looking to join the CHV Pitch Competition this fall? Or just want to meet other creative minds in the healthcare innovation space? This is your chance! 💡
RSVP
​Join us for a casual meet-and-greet with fellow CHV members. Midway through the session, we’ll run a team formation activity to help you connect with potential teammates based on shared interests and complementary skills.

Innovation Forum: Welcome Entrepreneurs
2025-09-25 17:00 - 19:00
Join Columbia Engineering to kick off the monthly Innovation Forum for the 2025-2026 school year! The Columbia Innovation Forum provides students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to hear startup ideas, network, form teams, and explore next steps. You’ll hear from Columbia faculty and other experts on ways to engage at Columbia, their experience in startups, and more.
The event will feature Professor Harry West, co-faculty director of IDE, and Ivy Schultz, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs joined by guest speaker Neil Daswani, ENG’96, co-director of the Stanford Advanced Security Certification Program, and an expert in data security. Learn more and register.

Kickoff: Start Me Up Bootcamp
2025-10-03
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 researchers, graduate and undergraduate students may apply with a team of one to three people. Enrolled teams are required to attend all short-course sessions. Teams that successfully complete this bootcamp may be eligible to receive conference travel or stipend funding, including eligibility to apply for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, which includes a $50,000 grant.

Capital for Good Conference
2025-10-03
Join the conversation that reimagines the role of capital in building a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous society.

This headline event, located in the finance capital of the world, provides a unique opportunity to tap into the vibrant ecosystem of capital for impact through the lens of philanthropy, impact investing, ESG, NGO, and social venture and business examples. Social and environmental impact leaders in business, government, nonprofit, and philanthropy will speak to how they are changing the way we think about how capital is sourced and used to generate sustainable solutions to global, systemic challenges. Hear where opportunities exist to pursue future careers of impact on both the financing and implementation sides of capital for good.

Innovation Forum: Business Plans, Pitching and Customer Discovery with Hugh Thomas
2025-10-07 17:00 - 19:00
Join us on October 7 and Hugh Thomas, serial entrepreneur and teacher, with over 30 years’ experience in international technology companies as corporate leader. Hugh has been through all phases of the technology company lifecycle, from company formation, fund raising, product development, sales and marketing, organization growth through to company acquisition. Hugh will be speaking about startups, pitching, and the value of customer discovery.
Hugh is a serial entrepreneur and teacher, he has over 30 years’ experience in international technology companies as corporate leader. Hugh has founded and run 4 startup companies of his own, as a 4x CEO he has raised multiple rounds of investment capital (>$50M in total), grown teams from 1 to over 150 employees, built and sold many successful products (software and semiconductors) and grown revenues from zero to tens of millions of dollars in annual sales.
Open to CUID card holders only.
Davis Auditorium, CEPSR
530 W 120th Street
Tuesday, Oct 7, 2025, 5-7pm

RSVP HERE

Columbia Giving Day 2025 - Support Columbia Entrepreneurs
2025-10-21
Support Entrepreneurs: Columbia’s Builders

Your gift to the Campbell Center is a gift to all Columbia founders of businesses and social enterprises. Because it takes more than grit and brilliance to launch a new venture, we offer financial help through the annual Startup Columbia venture competition, space and mentoring at the Columbia Startup Lab, and support for current students exploring entrepreneurship at the Columbia Startup Lab Uptown. Please support the Campbell Center for Entrepreneurship on Columbia Giving Day!

GIFT LINK

Columbia Startup Celebration, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Diane Bondareff)

Director of Entrepreneurship Dave Lerner hosts a session of CSL Uptown.
CSL Uptown members visit CSL SoHo and hear from full time Columbia entrepreneurs Nick DeGiacomo and Alexandra Bono, as well as Professor and early stage investor Jeremy Kagan.

Collaboratory Fellows Fund 2025 Information Session
2025-10-30 15:00 - 16:00
The goal of the Collaboratory Fellows Fund is to support innovative curriculum development that meets
the data and computational literacy needs of a given discipline, set of disciplines,
and/or cohort of students at Columbia.
An information session will be held on Thursday, October 30th, 2025 at 3pm at CSL Morningside (Room 430 in the Riverside Church on 120th & Claremont). Please RSVP By October 28th, 2025.
Register for the Info Session
Please send questions or completed applications to collaboratory@columbia.edu using the application template.
Collaboratory Application 2025
2025 Collaboratory RFP

Application Deadline: 2025 SIPA Global Policy Challenge
2025-11-03 00:00 - 23:59
Applications for the annual SIPA Global Policy Challenge are due on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. You have one additional week to finalize and submit your proposals. Compete for $75,000 in seed funding, personalized mentorship, and exposure to a global network of entrepreneurs
Application Deadline: Monday, November 3, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
Apply here.

CBS Startups Week 2025 (Nov 5-14)
2025-11-05 08:00 - 2025-11-14 17:00
CBS Startups Week (Nov 5-14)
Join 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 Columbia University at the leading edge of change. Be part of the journey, connect with like-minded individuals, and explore the future of innovation. RSVP here to secure your spots.

Fast Pitch 2025
2025-11-19 17:00 - 20:00
Fast Pitch 2025 – Fast Pitch is Columbia’s longest running pitch competition on campus since 2013. Entrepreneurs pitch in 60 seconds to a panel of judges and win up to $5,000! Fast Pitch is FREE and open to all undergraduate and graduate students across campus.

2025 Columbia Healthcare Ventures Fast-Pitch Competition
2025-11-21 09:30 - 14:30
RSVP Here
Columbia University graduate and undergraduate students in the ideation phase of a startup solution, aimed at a public health and/or healthcare problem should apply to participate in the HPM Healthcare Pitch Competition. To be considered, please fill out the form below by October 15. Eligible submissions will be notified by October 20 and participants must be available to pitch their idea in-person on November 21.
The fast-pitch competition will be held from 9:30am-2:30pm at the Mailman School of Public Health (722 w 168th street, 8th floor auditorium) with a reception to follow.

Please contact Angela Sclafani (as5760@cumc.columbia.edu) with any questions.

Application Deadline: Spring 2026 Columbia Build Lab (CBL)
2025-12-07 00:00 - 23:59
The Spring 2026 CBL Engineering application is open!
Columbia Build Lab (CBL) matches Columbia students pursuing Computer Science (or related degrees) with CBS student-founders of an early-stage startup. Engineers in the Build Lab program gain experience working to solve real-world challenges with teams of peers and CBS founders. This is an excellent opportunity for any engineering or computer science student looking to gain valuable experience this Fall! Submit your application to the Spring 2026 cohort before December 7th!

Rolling Admission Application through Dec 31: Spring 2026 Design for Social Innovation (DFSI)
2025-12-31
Led by TPI Co-Director Sarah Holloway — Spring 2026
Focus: AI for Impact
This 3-credit, project-based course is open to students across Columbia’s undergraduate and graduate schools. In Spring 2026, the class will partner with NYC-based nonprofits and public-sector organizations to explore how artificial intelligence can amplify their mission and impact.
Learn more and apply here.

Overview
Are you interested in tackling complex global problems through tech-enabled solutions?
This experiential course is open to students from across Columbia’s 20 undergraduate and graduate schools. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students will support real clients to address complex global problems through human centered design. Past clients include Warby Parker, NYC Department of Education, Sesame Workshop, Apple, UNDP, and others. In Spring 2026, the course will focus on AI for Impact, partnering with NYC-based nonprofit and public-sector organizations to explore how artificial intelligence can amplify their mission and impact.
Course Details
This 3.0 credit course will take place in-person on Wednesdays from 1:10pm – 3:00pm 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 30. Please do not apply for the course unless you believe you can attend the Friday session.
Students conduct stakeholder research and interviews, develop insights through human-centered design, iterate
ideas, and create working prototypes and implementation blueprints for their clients.
The application-only course will accept a total of 30 students for the Spring 2026 term.
Application Instructions
To apply for the course, please complete the application form and include a 1-minute video. Detailed instructions can be found in the form. If selected, you will be placed on a team based on your background and interest.
