William V. Campbell Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia University

Founders at the Columbia Startup Lab regularly come together to share what they’ve been working on and exchange insights. Having a community that pushes each other forward is key, especially for solo founders! At this latest summer session, founders ran user demos, bounced ideas off one another, and left the session fueled with renewed motivation and new perspectives.

Thank you to every founder who showed up to share their ideas and feedback with fellow Lab members!

📸 + 🖋️ Andrea Chow, ‘30CC

Are you a currently enrolled Columbia student who wants to dive into entrepreneurship in the Fall? Join us on ZOOM on Tuesday, August 4, 10:30-11:30am for an orientation and panel that will give an overview of the entrepreneurship ecosystem at Columbia, events and resources that are available around the university, and a chance to hear and ask questions about the student experience in this space.

To ask for the link, use your Columbia email to send a note to: entrepreneurship(at)columbia(dot)edu

Columbia World Projects Social Impact Fellows sat down with six founders from the Columbia Startup Lab and learned all about their social impact ventures! Listening to the founders’ stories, their motivations, the unique barriers they overcame –– today’s session at the Lab left fellows inspired. 

Big thanks to our founders for showing up and sharing their journeys, and to every student who came ready to ask questions and learn.

📸 Andrea Chow ‘30CC

That’s a wrap on Startup Columbia 2026! Thank you to the alumni, judges, and mentors who supported this year’s venture competition, and congratulations to all the winners for their innovative ideas and hard work. These ventures represent the creativity and impact of Columbia’s entrepreneurial community and we can’t wait to see the building that happens next! Link in bio to read about the winners.

The 2026 Startup Columbia competition was a collaboration between the tracks of the Campbell Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia, Columbia Engineering, SIPA, and Columbia Journalism, with prizes sponsored by the Data Science Institute and the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. Photos by

Thrilled to have hosted the third annual Alumni in Startup and Tech Mixer at the Columbia Startup Lab with and ! At the Campbell Center, we love to see cross-school connections made.

Grow your venture with tailored programming, subsidized space, and a vibrant community of Columbia entrepreneurs - applications are now live for the Columbia Startup Lab through March 31! Link in bio.

The Columbia Startup Lab opens its doors to a new group of Alumni ventures! Applications will open March 1 through March 31, so join us for an information session at the Lab on March 5: meet the team and founders, and ask us any questions you may have about the Lab. Space is limited, so please only RSVP if you are a May 2026 grad or recent alum hoping to build your venture full time at the lab. Link in bio.

📸 Entrepreneur and adjunct professor Apoorv Agarwal, PhD

Students are back and building at Columbia Startup Lab Uptown Friday sessions!

A reminder that applications for the 2026 Startup Columbia venture competition are open now through February 3! This year, there are additional prizes to check out - learn more through the link in bio and below: 

The Helen Gurley Brown (HGB) Foundation Prize provides up to $25,000 in non-dilutive funding to ventures founded or co-founded by one or more Columbia University students. The Prize supports entrepreneurs participating in the 2026 Startup Columbia venture competition who are prepared to turn their ventures into real, scalable businesses within six months. Grounded in the HGB Foundation’s mission of inspiring and sparking innovation, the Prize honors Helen Gurley Brown’s legacy by backing bold founders who are redefining what’s possible.

The Columbia Data Science Institute (DSI) AI Prize awards grants of up to $15,000 to a Columbia University start-up founder or founding team whose start-up demonstrates exceptional innovation in AI.  To be eligible, you must be a current Columbia University student and participate in any of the campus-wide Startup Columbia venture competitions in 2026.
Rooted in DSI’s mission, this prize supports ventures that use AI to drive positive societal impact, advance ethical and responsible innovation, and turn data insights into real-world solutions.

Applications for the 2026 Startup Columbia venture competition are now open! Every year, this competition gives out over $200,000 in cash grants to Columbia entrepreneurs to build and grow their big ideas. 

This year, there are 3 choices of tracks to compete in, each with additional prizes available within each track - including the new Columbia Data Science Institute AI Prize. Link in bio to read more about the special prizes, rules, regulations, and eligibility and to get the application.

Apply by February 3! Good luck!