Columbia Entrepreneurship

Design Thinking Roundtable
2019-04-17 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
OPEN TO ALL

Come and learn about the progress of Columbia teams working on a design challenge with Brazilian EdTech clients – Nova Escola, Khan Academy Brazil and Arvore de Livros! The Design Studio’s Adam Royalty will be on hand to walk through the design process and opportunities to get involved. Non-pizza lunch served! Date: April 17th; Time: 1:00-2:00 PM; Location: IAB 405.

Celebrating Bill Campbell: Trillion Dollar Coach
2019-04-16 18:30 - 20:30
OPEN TO ALL
REGISTER HERE

Hear about Coach Bill Campbell and his legacy of mentorship, the fire behind Columbia’s #CoachingColumbia movement.
The Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing
is pleased to welcome
Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle
as they discuss Trillion Dollar Coach
moderated by Jonathan D. Schiller

Location

Low Memorial Library
Columbia University Campus
535 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
United States

Entrepreneurship Drop-in Hours at Barnard Design Center
2019-04-16 16:00 - 18:00
Chat with Columbia University’s Entrepreneurship Librarian about your idea or venture. Find out about campus resources, customer discovery, market sizing, and more.
Barnard Design Center
Milstein Center First Floor
Tuesday, April 16, 4-6pm

Deadline: 76West Clean Energy Competition
2019-04-15 17:00
The application period for 76West Round 4 is now open through April 15, 2019, 5:00 p.m. EST
Apply here.
76West is a competition focused on growing entrepreneurs and attracting resources from the U.S. and around the world to build clean energy businesses and jobs in New York State’s Southern Tier region. The competition offers $20 million in prize money and support services, including a $1 million top prize.
Learn more about the program and apply here.

Application Deadline: Columbia IBM Blockchain Accelerator LAUNCH Program
2019-04-15 08:00 - 17:00
Find out more on the program information page, and the direct application link.

About
LAUNCH is a pre-seed accelerator for founders to explore their blockchain concepts and turn them into reality. The program, operated by Columbia’s Lab-to-Market Accelerator Network, is the 8th technology accelerator launched by Columbia University in the past 5 years. The 10-week program began on March 14th and will culminate with a demo day on May 17th.

Program Benefits
Network Convening & Business Support:

Lean Launchpad methodologies to test business hypothesis and define an MVP, implemented by Columbia’s Lab-to-Market Accelerator Network
Exposure to network of industry, technical, and business mentors focused on innovation and blockchain
Specialized sessions on legal, compliance, governance, and securities-related aspects of tokenization
Storytelling clinics to refine final pitch presentation at demo day

Technical/Research Support:

Design Thinking sessions with IBM certified designers to develop a blockchain MVP
Technical mentorship from IBM Blockchain architects

Additional Support:

Access to exclusive benefits and discounts to help build and launch a team, including $120K of free IBM cloud credits for IBM Blockchain Platform and IBM cloud services
Connection to the diverse Columbia University research community, which includes research labs for technology access and student talent pools
Connecting blockchain and other emerging technologies (e.g., AI, quantum computing, cloud, etc.)

2019 Columbia Hackathon
2019-04-12 08:00 - 2019-04-13 17:00
Columbia Business School and Graduate School of Engineering Hackathon
The 2019 Columbia Hackathon is a joint event between Columbia Business School & and the Engineering school. This is a great opportunity to collaborate across schools to develop a startup idea, build a product prototype, and pitch it to a panel of VCs! $4,000 prize will be split between the best teams.
Friday 4/12 Kickoff @ 6-8pm (optional group work time post-kickoff)
Saturday 4/13 Hackathon @ 10am-6pm
This is a joint effort between the Engineering school and CEO, MMA, SEC, HCIA, & FinTech Clubs, who have exciting prompts to jumpstart business ideas. Check out the Splash page for prompts and more details.
http://cbshackathon2019.splashthat.com
Sign up today! Team formation will start next week.

Application Deadline: Magic Grants
2019-04-08
Every year, the Brown Institute awards up to $1M in grants and fellowships — its “Magic Grant” program provides funding to develop a story idea or to pursue new technology that advances the way stories are found and told. In addition to funding, grantees have access to a distinguished advisory and mentoring group, and an extensive and inspiring alumni network.
Are you passionate about the role that emerging technologies can play in the future of media? Do you have a story that can only be told outside the scope of traditional media? A Brown Institute “Magic Grant” might be for you.
Since its founding in 2012, the Brown Institute’s “Magic Grants” have funded 150 people and over 50 projects. Previous grants include…

A 360-video documentary on the famine in South Sudan, co-produced with PBS FRONTLINE.
A database to collect and contextualize the reporting by the nearly 100 journalists killed in Mexico since 2000 — providing the history of the places where they lived, the social forces they faced, and the stories they told.
A natural language processing algorithm that “reads” a news article and counts citations by gender — it is currently under trial at both the Financial Times and the New York Times.
A series of deep audits of forensic DNA software, exploring and exposing important issues of algorithmic transparency that include both the mathematical description of an algorithm as well as its implementation in software.
A new “urban storytelling” reportage, mixing illustration, analog data visualization and oral history, resulting in a portrait of NYC’s “canners,” people who pick up cans and bottles on the streets of NYC for a living, and published by NPR, The Gothamist and The Guardian.
Experiments with natural and gestural (i.e., not a joystick) interfaces to drones.
An open-source software infrastructure to explore and systematically analyze extremely large video collections — with a focus on examining the last decade of TV news.
A prototype aid for science journalists as they assess a “breaking” research report — Is the topic timely? Is the report at the center or the periphery of a debate? And given the network of the authors, the report’s citations and the other scientists working in the field, who would make a good source for comments?

And the list goes on. You can see the 2018-2019 grants on this website.
From the Brown Institute:
We are looking for story proposals, new software platforms or even innovations in hardware. We are interested in projects that advance storytelling and journalism through original technology development. We also are interested in tools, technologies and stories that extend media broadly. A successful application clearly explains a unique story or technological advance and outlines a one-year (at most) plan for its realization or the creation of a prototype.
We welcome applications from teams of students, faculty, and alumni — as well as practitioners and researchers outside the university working in areas relevant to media and technology (e.g., journalism, communications and the digital humanities, as well as statistics, computer and data science, engineering, design and business).
Our applications are due April 8 and can be submitted at brown.submittable.com. If you are near the Columbia campus, we are having open office hours in the Brown Institute space Thursdays from 1-3 (book a session here).

#StartupColumbia 2019 | StartupColumbia.org
2019-04-05 09:30 - 16:30
OPEN TO ALL
BUY TICKETS AT STARTUPCOLUMBIA.ORG

Comforting the disrupted. Disrupting the comfortable. By raising the voices of innovators for social justice, #StartupColumbia Festival 2019 celebrates a special type of problem-solver: founders facing down the seemingly insurmountable and working for the world, with the world.
Columbia’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem will come together on Friday, April 5th at Miller Theater for a day that celebrates changemakers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who work to help refugees become founders, to mitigate mass incarceration, and more. Learn about these innovators, their transformative work, and how you can take action and make an impact too.
Find more at StartupColumbia.org

Data Science Day
2019-04-03
OPEN TO ALL
REGISTER HERE
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
9AM–5PM
Announcing the Keynote Speaker:
Brad Smith
President of Microsoft
Join the Columbia Data Science Institute for demos and lightning talks by Columbia researchers presenting their latest work in data science. The event provides a forum for innovators in academia, industry and government to connect.
Roone Arledge Auditorium
Lerner Hall | Columbia University
2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

Deadline: Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator
2019-04-01
ERA SUMMER 2019 PROGRAM
The companies selected to participate in the four-month program will receive a $100,000 investment and the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund.
Click here for more program details

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Columbia Startup Lab
2019-04-01
Apply for the 2019-2020 Startup Lab cohort here.

The CSL has been “corporate headquarters” for more than 150 Columbia-founded ventures. The space is administered by WeWork and includes: furnishings (desk and chair), WiFi, water/coffee, cleaning/maintenance, and access to common facilities across the global WeWork network. CSL also provides ongoing workshops, office hours, networking events, and community building activities to help resident ventures advance their businesses.

Eligibility
CSL is open to recent alumni from across the University (including Barnard and Teachers College) who are committed to working on their venture full-time.

Teams must select one Columbia University-affiliated founding member.
Only one application per team will be considered, regardless of the school in which the founder is affiliated.

Quick Facts

The application period is OPEN. Deadline to apply is April 1, and the new cohort will be announced on April 17. APPLY HERE.
Admitted teams may spend up to 1 year in the space.
The annual turnover of cohorts is the first week of June.
The space is administered by WeWork and includes: furnishings (desk & chair), WiFi, printing, meeting spaces, phone booths, water/coffee, beer, cleaning/maintenance and access to common facilities across the global WeWork network.
CSL provides ongoing workshops, office hours, networking events, and community building activities to help resident ventures advance their businesses. All CSL teams are encouraged to participate.
Columbia University affiliated tenants are required to commit to a four-month term in the space at a rate of $250 per month/per seat. Non-Columbia University team members will be required to make a contribution of $400 per month/per seat.

Questions? Contact entrepreneurship@columbia.edu.

DoD AI Pitch Day_MD5 Starts NYC
2019-03-29
Calling startups that have products (or are developing products) that have commercial as well as defense applications. Examples of defense applications for AI include cybersecurity, decision-making, geospatial modeling and analytics, safety, predictive maintenance and supply, and business process streamlining.
DoD AI Pitch Day_MD5 Starts NYC

Deadline: Friday, March 29, 2019

Startups Apply Here: https://splash.md5.net/starts-nyc/home

Investors and Mentors Register Here: https://bit.ly/2HYYUCu

Location: SAP Next Gen Lab, 10 Hudson Yards, NYC

Date: April 24, 2019 – 4pm – 6pm

Background
The Joint AI Center (JAIC) is tasked with accelerating the delivery of AI-enabled capabilities, scaling the Department-wide impact of AI, and synchronizing DoD AI activities to expand Joint Force advantages. The DoD projects the JAIC’s budget will grow from $70mm this year, to $400mm in annual funding.
Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the Director of the JAIC, will deliver opening remarks and lead a panel of DoD and investment community partners that will pose questions to the selected companies.
Form more details on what the Department of Defense needs AI solutions for, see the DoD’s AI strategy: https://bit.ly/2GCDryo

2019 Military Ball, with Tribute to Dean Emeritus Peter J. Awn
2019-03-29
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE:

Recent Alumni and Current Students
Alumni, Guests, and Table Sponsorships

Friday, March 29
6:30 – 10:30 p.m.

Capitale
130 Bowery
New York, NY

Black Tie or Military Dress

This annual event celebrates Columbia’s distinguished student veteran community and unites them with leaders, scholars, and pioneers of New York City and the world.

Third Thursday - Social Entrepreneurship
2019-03-28 18:00 - 20:00
Hosted by Columbia Engineering, in partnership with the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise
Thursday, March 28, 2019
at Columbia Journalism School, World Room
from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres with RSVP
Third Thursday is a recurring open forum that brings together the Columbia University entrepreneurship community for an evening of networking, info session, and pitch presentations. It provides students, faculty, staff, and alumni the opportunity to hear ideas from across campus, form teams, and explore career options. 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.
Thursday, March 28 will feature entrepreneurs who are using their engineering skills to solve some of today’s most pressing social and environmental issues. Please save the date to hear from alumni who currently run social ventures in this space, pitch an idea during the open mic section of the event, and meet and network with fellow social entrepreneurs. This event is open to all Columbia University alumni, faculty, and students, as well as professionals in the social impact sector.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Linh Le ’09SEAS, Founder and CEO of Bonbouton
Linh Le is a chemical engineer by training, he has published multiple papers, international conference proceedings and currently holds seven US patents. He later found Bonbouton, a technology platform for preventative diabetic healthcare. Prior to that, he received his MS in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University and BS in Chemistry from Vietnam National University. As a vivid distance runner, he recently acquired ultra-marathoner title, and plans to run all the World Marathon Majors.
Liz Luckett ’90CC, Managing Partner of TSEF
Elizabeth (Liz) Luckett has an extensive background in philanthropy, technology, analysis and market research. Before joining TSEF, Liz was Director of Impact Investing at the Pershing Square Foundation. Prior she served as Senior Vice President at Citigroup and co-founded and was Executive Vice President of Fulcrum Analytics (formerly, Cyber Dialogue). Liz began her career with the Gartner Group as director of business planning, where she worked with the CEO and executive team analyzing and implementing acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic partnerships for the company.
Liz is a board member at Aunt Bertha and First Access and a board observer at CloudFactory, ConnXus and Frogtek. She is also a founding board member of The Bail Project and a member of the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing at Columbia University.
Liz has a B.A. from Columbia University and a Master of Philosophy from Cambridge University in England.
Matthew Robins ’13BUS, CEO of DeansList
Matt Robins is the CEO of DeansList, a software platform that helps schools manage all their non-academic data and parent communication/engagement tools in a single place. Matt started DeansList with BUS’13 classmate Akshai Patel with a mission to specifically address the needs of schools in low-income communities that are actively tackling the achievement gap. Together with their school partners, they develop unique solutions to engage every stakeholder in a child’s education: students, teachers, administrators and parents.
Prior to DeansList, Matt spent six years as a consultant with PwC’s Forensic Technology Advisory groups. There a large portion of his client work included helping banks and lenders assess their data in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Matt has a degree in Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
MODERATED BY:
Samuel Sia, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Faculty Co-Director, SEAS Entrepreneurship at Columbia Engineering
Samuel Sia develops technologies for point-of-care blood tests, wearable sensors, implantable devices, and cell-based therapy, both in an academic and industry setting. He is co-founder of Claros Diagnostics, which garnered European regulatory approval for a prostate-cancer blood test for doctor’s offices and was acquired by OPKO Health (NYSE: OPK), Junco Labs, and Rover Diagnostics.
Sia’s research has garnered coverage from Nature, Science, JAMA, Washington Post, Science News, Popular Science, Chemical and Engineering News and has been featured on the BBC, NPR, and Voice of America. MIT Technology Review named him as one of the top’s world young innovators, and he is an inducted fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Sia is the founder of Harlem Biospace, a biotech incubator facility in New York City (developed with the NYC mayor’s office) that has hosted over 50 biotech companies. He also currently co-directs the entrepreneurship initiative for Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Sia has a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in Biophysics (with a HHMI predoctoral fellowship) from Harvard University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University.

Third Thursday: Social Entrepreneurship
2019-03-28 18:00 - 20:00
OPEN TO ALL
REGISTER HERE

Thursday, March 28, 2019
6:00–8:00 p.m.
at Columbia Journalism School, World Room
New York, NY 10027
RSVP →
Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres with RSVP
Third Thursday is a recurring open forum that brings together the Columbia University entrepreneurship community for an evening of networking and pitch presentations. It provides students, faculty, staff, and alumni the opportunity to hear ideas from across campus, form teams, and explore career options. 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 month’s event will feature entrepreneurs who are using their engineering skills to solve some of today’s most pressing social and environmental issues. Join us to hear from alumni who currently run social ventures in this space, pitch an idea during the open mic section of the event, and meet and network with fellow social entrepreneurs.
Please see our panelists below:

Linh Le ’09SEAS, Founder and CEO of Bonbouton
Liz Luckett ’90CC, Managing Partner of The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund (TSEF)
Matthew Robins ’13BUS, CEO of DeansList
Samuel Sia, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Faculty Co-director, SEAS Entrepreneurship (Moderator)

Application Deadline: MassChallenge Accelerator
2019-03-13
MassChallenge is looking for the world’s most-promising startups across industries! Have an idea or early-stage venture you want to scale? Apply for the chance to access top corporates, expert mentors, tailored curriculum, free office space, scholarships, and up to $1M in cash prizes – all at zero cost and for zero equity.
The deadline for the 2019 accelerator is March 13. Interested applicants can use code InnovateColumbia100 to get started on your free application. Learn more at masschallenge.org/apply

Data Science Institute-Industry-Innovation Seminar: Amazon
2019-03-06 18:00 - 19:30
OPEN TO COLUMBIANS

Byron Cook, Professor of Computer Science at University College London (UCL) and Director of Automated Reasoning at Amazon Web Services

Wednesday, March 6, 20108
6:00PM – 7:30PM
Schapiro CEPSR, Davis Auditorium (412)

Abstract: This talk will discuss the development and use of formal verification tools within Amazon Web Services (AWS) to increase the security assurance of its cloud infrastructure and to help customers secure themselves. I’ll also discuss some remaining challenges that could inspire future research in the community.

Bio: Byron Cook is Professor of Computer Science at University College London (UCL) and Director of Automated Reasoning at Amazon Web Services. Byron’s interests include computer/network security, program analysis/verification, programming languages, theorem proving, logic, hardware design, operating systems, and biological systems. Byron is the founder and leader of Amazon’s Automated Reasoning Group (ARG).e at University College London (UCL) and Director of Automated Reasoning at Amazon Web Services

The Columbia | IBM Blockchain Accelerator Demo Day
2019-03-06 09:00 - 13:00
OPEN TO ALL
REGISTER HERE

The Columbia | IBM Blockchain Accelerator Demo Day, coming up onWednesday, March 6th in NYC from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm! The event will be held at AppNexus at 28 W 23rd St in Manhattan, and will feature pitches from each of the NETWORK program companies.
Each company will announce their Blockchain network and highlight key developments that have occurred throughout the 8-week program. You can see an overview of all teams here.

Application Deadline: Carnegie Mellon Venture Challenge
2019-03-04
OPEN TO ALL UNDERGRADS
APPLY HERE

The Carnegie Mellon University Venture Challenge is an annual, international start-up competition where students from around the world come to CMU’s Pittsburgh campus to pitch their creations. For 12 years, the CMUVC has been bringing top students to launch their ideas, technologies, and talent. CMU receives over 100 applications every year from universities all over the country, as well as several international applications. For each of the 12 finalists, the CMUVC brings together a strong network of resources, including mentorship from serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, attorneys, and the opportunity to present and pitch to a panel of judges and the city of Pittsburgh.
More information on eligibility and the application is available here.

Third Thursday: Athletics and Human Performance
2019-02-28 17:30 - 19:00
Third Thursday is a recurring open forum and networking session for the Columbia University entrepreneurship community. It provides students, faculty, staff, and alumni the opportunity to hear ideas from across campus, form teams, and explore career options.
February’s Third Thursday event will feature an exciting announcement about new funding for interdisciplinary startup projects and the Makerpace! Brent Walker Ph.D., Columbia Associate Athletics Director for Championship Performance will be joined by Houtan Fanisalek, a seasoned CTO and SEAS grad. Both speakers will share knowledge in athletics, human performance, and the new technologies that can support better performance, recovery, tracking, and training.
The Ignition Grants and new Making and Igniting Grants are financial grants to assist Columbia University students in launching new businesses, social and not-for-profit ventures. The grant supports the initial stages of early venture development from formation, IP protection, and incubation to building prototypes and creating proofs of concept.

Columbia Startup Lab Applications are LIVE
2019-02-25
Apply for the 2019-2020 Startup Lab cohort here. Deadline is April 1 and the new cohort will be announced April 17.

Eligibility
CSL is open to recent alumni from across the University (including Barnard and Teachers College) who are committed to working on their venture full-time.

Teams must select one Columbia University-affiliated founding member.
Only one application per team will be considered, regardless of the school in which the founder is affiliated.

Quick Facts

The application period is OPEN. Deadline to apply is April 1, and the new cohort will be announced on April 17. APPLY HERE.
Admitted teams may spend up to 1 year in the space.
The annual turnover of cohorts is the first week of June.
The space is administered by WeWork and includes: furnishings (desk & chair), WiFi, printing, meeting spaces, phone booths, water/coffee, beer, cleaning/maintenance and access to common facilities across the global WeWork network.
CSL provides ongoing workshops, office hours, networking events, and community building activities to help resident ventures advance their businesses. All CSL teams are encouraged to participate.
Columbia University affiliated tenants are required to commit to a four-month term in the space at a rate of $250 per month/per seat. Non-Columbia University team members will be required to make a contribution of $400 per month/per seat.

Application Deadline: Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Student Entrepreneur Program (WBENC SEP)
2019-02-22
OPEN TO ASPIRING COLLEGIATE FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS

APPLY HERE

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Student Entrepreneur Program (WBENC SEP) is a premier startup program fostering growth for the next generation of women-owned businesses.

Aspiring collegiate female entrepreneurs studying in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) or Business receive mentoring from some of the most successful Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) and America’s largest Fortune 500 companies while also participating in a tailored entrepreneurial curriculum, a pitch competition awarding $20,000 in seed capital and experiential learning through off-site visits to WBEs, corporate campuses, and accelerators.

Apply now to participate in the 2019 program, taking place June 23 – 28, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland during the WBENC National Conference & Business Fair.

Applications are due by February 22, 2019.

LEARN MORE:

Visit wbenc.org/SEP for more program information and details about the application process.
Check out a recap of the 2018 SEP Program.
Meet past SEP Pitch Competition winners.

Columbia Startup Lab Info Session
2019-02-21 18:00 - 20:00
Interested in applying? Meet the team, see the space and hear from a few resident ventures at our Open House on Thursday February 21. RSVP here.
The Columbia Startup Lab opens its seats to a new group of Alumni ventures this June, offering subsidized space for recent alumni entrepreneurs to house and nurture their fledging ventures.
In its fifth year, the CSL has been “corporate headquarters” for more than 150 Columbia-founded ventures. The space is administered by WeWork and includes: furnishings (desk and chair), WiFi, water/coffee, cleaning/maintenance and access to common facilities across the global WeWork network. CSL also provides ongoing workshops, office hours, networking events, and community building activities to help resident ventures advance their businesses.

Social Venture Pitch Mix & Match
2019-02-21 18:00 - 20:00
OPEN TO ALL
RSVP HERE
Thursday, February 21, 2019
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Columbia Business School
Uris Hall, Calder Lounge
New York, NY 10027
RSVP →
Dinner will be provided with RSVP
This matchmaking event is designed for:

Any Columbia student or alum from any Columbia school (including Barnard and Teachers College) looking to join or get involved with a Columbia-affiliated social or environmental start-up, and
Any Columbia-affiliated social or environmental start-up or nonprofit (at any stage) seeking new team members (co-founders, interns, specialists, etc.) or connections

Join for this fun, easy, and informal gathering!

Immigration 101 for Entrepreneurs and Startups
2019-02-20 12:30 - 13:30
This workshop will cover immigration law essentials for entrepreneurs and startups. Presenter Najia Khalid will provide an overview of immigration topics including how to read, navigate, and evaluate financial documents, which are critical to various employment-based immigration cases.

SPARK WORKSHOP on Retouch Haiti: Creating Sustainable Employment by Building Links Between Haiti and Global Markets
2019-02-12 18:00 - 19:30
Open to All
RSVP Here
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Columbia Business School
Uris Hall, Room 329
3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Refreshments included with RSVP
Retouch | Haiti is a social enterprise that provides graduates from a free film and audio engineering college in Haiti, called The Artists Institute, with specialized training in e-commerce photo and video post-production.
With these graduates, Retouch | Haiti operates an e-commerce photo and video post-production service that specializes in providing global retailers, brands, and creative agencies with high-quality, high-volume, and quick-turn around capabilities at an affordable cost. The need for online imagery is growing, as is the demand for high-quality and affordable post-production services. There exists a quality gap between current offshore vendors’ capabilities and the industry’s quality expectations, and Retouch | Haiti aims to fill this gap.
Retouch | Haiti is an incubator to test the training tools, organizational structure, business model, operational efficiency, and product offering in the market. The long-term objective is to create a business model that can be successfully expanded to other locations in Haiti and replicated around the world.
About Spark Workshops
Spark provides social innovators with an opportunity to explore resources, connections, and potential solutions to help their social ventures. These workshops tap into the collective knowledge within Columbia University and the larger entrepreneurial and social impact community.
Spark is a platform for ventures to make valuable connections, as the audience is a self-selected group interested in the topic area. Ventures are also able to gather ideas through group brainstorming to help them address specific questions or problems within the business organization.
These workshops are free and open to all who are willing to bring their ideas, experience, and connections to help solve social and environmental challenges that social innovators aim to address.
If you are unable to attend this event but would like more information on Spark, please register for our mailing list.
If you would like to suggest a future Spark workshop, please contact:socialenterprise@gsb.columbia.edu.

Food & Design Workshop - SIPA, NYU, and the Design Studio
2019-02-09 09:00 - 16:00
APPLY NOW!
An inaugural workshop exploring the tools and knowledge required to rethink Food Systems using Design Thinking.

First Round Deadline: $250K Columbia Venture Competition
2019-02-08 23:59
Entry links, descriptions of the five tracks, rules, and eligibility requirements for the $250K Columbia Venture Competition are here. If you are a Columbia University (including TC and Barnard) student or recent alumnus and your venture has less than $150,000 in venture funding – YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE. CVC judges will come from Columbia’s worldwide alumni community, from Bordeaux to Beijing to Brooklyn, and will represent diverse backgrounds and a wide-ranging set of expertise.

The First Round Submission Deadline is Friday, February 8th 11:59PM.

FDT Center for Intelligent Asset Management - FinTech Lecture Series
2019-02-08 15:30 - 17:00
OPEN TO ALL COLUMBIANS

FDT Center for Intelligent Asset Management – FinTech Lecture Series

“Fair Algorithms for Machine Learning”

Michael Kearns

Friday, February 8, 2019

Davis Auditorium
3:30 pm lecture followed by 4:30 pm reception

Michael Kearns is a professor in the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds the National Center Chair. He is also Head of Research in Morgan Stanley’s AI Center of Excellence. At Penn, Kearns has secondary appointments in the Department of Economics, and in the departments of Statistics and Operations, Information, and Decisions in the Wharton School. He is the founding director of the Warren Center for Network and Data Sciences and the founder and former director of Penn Engineering’s Networked and Social Systems Engineering Program. His research interests includes topics in machine learning, artificial intelligence, algorithmic game theory and quantitative trading and finance. Kearns is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. He has consulted widely in the technology and finance industries, and on a variety of related regulatory and legal matters.

Application Deadline: Almaworks Spring 2019
2019-02-08
The Spring ’19 Cohort for Almaworks, the startup accelerator created by and for Columbia students, is now open – apply now!
Almaworks take no equity and aim to help early-stage startups run by NYC student entrepreneurs achieve significant, sustainable growth.
Its 45 student startups have collectively raised more than $12m in seed funding and enrolled in programs like TechStars, Y Combinator or Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator.
Eligibility
Startups applying should have:
○ 1-4 founders, at least half of whom should currently be an undergraduate, graduate, or recent alumni (at most two years out of school) of Columbia University. Dropouts of college-age will be considered.
○ A burning passion for the product and at least some domain expertise
○ A desire to prioritize growth over everything else for eight weeks (especially schoolwork).
○ At least some progress with market validation and efforts to find initial product-market fit
