Explore
Explore the different resources available and take advantage of the Columbia entrepreneurial community.
UG=Undergraduate, G=Graduate, F=Faculty
Funding
Fast Pitch
60 seconds to pitch your business idea and win up to $5K. Apply to pitch at the live event on campus in November.
Eligibility: UG, G
Funding level: up to $5,000
Apply: annually in early October
Startup Columbia Venture Competition
Prize money for early-stage ventures – $50K provided in the Millard Chan ’99 Technology Challenge and $10K in Engineering for Humanity awards. Apply in the spring to pitch at the live event in April.
Eligibility: UG, G
Funding level: $10,000 – $25,000 per award
Apply: annually in February
Ignition Grants
Seed funding for the initial stages of early ventures for Columbia University engineering students in launching new businesses, social and not-for-profit ventures.
Eligibility: UG, G
Funding level: $3,000 – $6,000 per award
Apply: annually in March
SEAS Interdisciplinary Research (SIRS) and SEAS Translational Acceleration Research (STAR) Seed Funding Program
Open call, with additional special interest tracks in Engineering and Health, and Innovations in FinTech, Engineering, and Business Operations.
Eligibility: F
Funding level: up to $85,000 per award
Apply: annually in early Spring
BioMedX
Selected eligible teams receive funding, advice, and guidance to help advance promising biomedical technologies from conception to proof-of-concept. BiomedX has received over 150 applications and funded 50 teams for $4.5M cumulatively.
Eligibility: F
Funding level: up to $100,000 per project
Apply: annually in Fall
Space
Makerspace
A work space on campus with tools and equipment for the Columbia community to share ideas and collaborate. A wide variety of tools are available for students, artists, makers, creatives, programmers, scientists, and engineers to use.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Location: 254 ET/Mudd
Apply: annually in early Spring
Columbia Startup Lab – Soho
The CSL has been headquarters to over 600 startups and 700 Columbia alumni entrepreneurs that have raised over $200M in funding and $265M in acquisitions.
Eligibility: UG, G
Location: 69 Charlton St
Apply: annually in early Spring
Columbia Startup Lab (CSL) Uptown
Located on the Morningside campus, CSL Uptown provides 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.
Eligibility: UG, G
Location: 69 Charlton St
Apply: annually in Fall
Design Studio
Learn about design-based thinking for your product or venture with the aim to help innovators, students, professors, or affiliates, be more human in their approach.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Location: Room 430, Riverside Church
Apply: workshops and studio hours available all year
Harlem Biospace
A new biotech incubator and the first of its kind in New York City to offer affordable shared wet-lab space for new ventures.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Location: 423 W 127th Street
Apply: apply throughout year
Lasker Makerspace (Medical Campus – Lasker Building)
The Lasker Makerspace is a SEAS-run prototyping space providing tools for scientists and engineers, focusing on supporting projects with medical and clinical applications.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Location: 3960 Broadway
Apply: apply throughout year
Learning
Innovation Forum
Recurring open forum networking meeting for the entrepreneurship community.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Location(s): Carleton Commons; Innovation Hub; Columbia Startup Lab-Soho; Davis Auditorium, CEPSR
Apply: register monthly
Start Me Up Bootcamp
Explore the commercialization potential of your product or idea in a 2-week hybrid program through customer interviews.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Apply: offered 4x a year
Courses
Explore entrepreneurship courses available on campus during the academic year.
Eligibility: UG, G
Apply: Fall and Spring
Minor in Entrepreneurship
The IEOR department offers a Minor in Entrepreneurship featuring cutting-edge research in healthcare operations, financial engineering, supply chain management, and market design.
Eligibility: UG
Apply: Fall and Spring
Lab to Market Accelerator
A cross-discipline support system providing tactical and strategic guidance to the Columbia-affiliated accelerators in therapeutics, biomedical technology, pandemic preparedness, carbontech, advanced materials, big data, and more.
Eligibility: UG, G, F
Apply: Fall and Spring
Other Resources
Blueprint Mentorship Program
Ready to connect, grow, and succeed? Join a vibrant network of Columbia Engineers. Mentor the next generation, share your expertise, and discover new career opportunities. This is your Blueprint—to connect, give back, and chart your path forward.
Eligibility: UG, G
Apply: offered throughout year
CTV Executives in Residence
CTV’s Executives in Residence (XIR) Program aims to connect Columbia inventors and technologies with seasoned industry executives, venture capitalists, and serial entrepreneurs.
Eligibility: F
Apply: Fall and Spring
Sounding Board
An opportunity for Columbia engineers to schedule one-on-one advisory meetings with industry experts to discuss their own entrepreneurial ideas and challenges.
Eligibility: UG, G
Apply: Fall and Spring
Amazon Web Services
AWS provides web services, commonly known as cloud computing, which are on-demand IT resources. Cloud computing helps many startups launch without investing in costly infrastructure, and it is the backbone of many of today’s most popular sites including Netflix and Pinterest.
Eligibility: UG, G
Apply: Fall and Spring
Faculty Handbook IP Policy
Review Columbia Tech Ventures’ Faculty Handbook IP Policy.
Eligibility: F
Conflict of Interest and Research
Relationships between industry and Columbia researchers (and Columbia itself) are essential for advancing scientific frontiers and enabling the commercial development of academic discoveries for the benefit of the public.
Eligibility: F
Additional resources: 1-page overview; IP and Entrepreneurship Language for Grant Applications