September 10, 2024
Entrepreneurship at Cornell
Inspire, connect, educate, support, and engage with an entrepreneurial mindset
?=New Addition
??Upcoming Events
Cornell Research & Innovation offers the virtual workshop series to faculty, staff, post-docs, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni at Cornell University to explore the potential of launching a business grounded in research. The series is designed to explore the entrepreneurial journey from ideation to operation. A relevant Cornell faculty member or program lead will moderate each workshop and feature subject matter experts as presenters.
Thursday, September 12th 11:45am: A Scientist's Dilemma: Am I the CEO or CSO?
Wednesday, October 2nd 11:45am: Attracting Investment & Prepping for Business Plan Competitions
Wednesday, October 23: Introduction to Intellectual Property
Wednesday, November 13: Unlocking Cornell & its Resources to Launch Your Startup
GC has over $13B in value created by more than 150 GC-Fellow invested companies on a global scale and share the cap table with the biggest players in the game. Now, the GC supports founders anywhere with their grant program and credit suite.
If you’re a current college student who is passionate about venture capital, startups, tech, or entrepreneurship, GC Venture Fellows wants to hear from you. Applications are open now until September 12th.
??2024-2025 Speaker Series: Embracing the Intersection of Entrepreneurship & Family Business
The Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Theme (IET), the Management & Organizations Area, Entrepreneurship@Cornell, and Smith Family Business Initiative will collaborate this spring to bring together speakers at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship and family business. This series supports an interdisciplinary approaching bridging the Dyson School, the Johnson School, and the Nolan School of Hotel Administration to foster cutting-edge research.
Thursday, September 12 at 3pm EST, Zoom
A Founder's Guide to Branding: Positioning Your Brand to Scale In this 60-minute session, Leart Zogjani, Founder of Skins Agency, will share his proven strategies for:
Take advantage of this chance to take your startup to new heights! RSVP
Thursday, September 19 (6:00 – 8:30 p.m. EST) – Rev: Ithaca Startup Works (314 E State Street, Ithaca, NY) RSVP here
Home to three higher education institutions and consistently recognized as one of the country’s best college towns, Ithaca, NY is a hotspot of student innovation and activity.
Join Rev: Ithaca Startup Works for Networking@Rev: Successful Student Startups to meet select student founders who leveraged resources within the local entrepreneurial ecosystem — all while getting their degree. These entrepreneurs have launched impactful companies and made significant progress towards achieving their goals. They’re convening to share the ups and downs of their startup journeys and inspire anyone thinking of taking the next step in an entrepreneurial venture of their own.
A light open bar and locally-sourced appetizers will be provided. All are welcome, and admission is free. RSVP today!
Wednesday, September 18 from 5-6pm \ Cornell Law School, Myron Taylor Hall Landis Auditorium (class 184)
Dough Lankler is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Pfizer. The fireside chat will be hosted by Zach Shulman, Director of Entrepreneurship at Cornell and his former law school roommate of 2 years.
Sept. 20-22 \ Statler Hall/Statler Hotel
PIHE is working with Hilton once again to bring you the annual Hospitality Hackathon! This year’s theme is focused on DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR THE HOTEL GUEST OF THE FUTURE, and we hope you’ll join us as we focus on finding opportunities using real feedback data to improve the guest experience. Inviting students with diverse backgrounds of degrees, majors, and schools to collaborate in teams in order to produce innovative solutions for real world challenges. Previous hackathon experience NOT required!
???2024 Cleantech Open Northeast Regional Finals
Tuesday, Oct. 1 | Greentown?Labs in Somerville, MA
For emerging cleantech and climatetech startups looking to accelerate toward commercialization and others interested in this space. Meet?40+?cleantech?startups?that have completed the 2024 Cleantech Open accelerator as part of the Northeast cohort. Network with leaders from?academia, government, industry, and the investment community.
The event features a Showcase of all of the graduating?startups, pitches (on stage) by the 6?finalists, live judging, cash awards, and networking. It's a celebration of cleantech innovation across the region which spans from Eastern Canada to Virginia. To get a sense of this event, please see the?video of our 2023 Finals?(held at Newlab in Brooklyn, NY).?
Oct. 9-10 \ New York City
The 10th Anniversary gala celebration is an opportunity to connect, learn, and engage with students, alumni, and exceptional business owners and leaders. The conference kicks off with a welcome reception and dinner on Wednesday, October 9, featuring an intimate fireside chat with Cristina Mariani-May, President and CEO of Banfi Wines, moderated by Dean Andrew Karolyi.
All are welcome. Full details, sponsorship opportunities, and registration can be found below:
October 23, 2024, at Carnegie Mellon University
In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon's Corporate Startup Lab (CSL), PNC Bank is sponsoring the Third Annual Nationwide Case Competition with a theme of Financial?Wellness. A Cornell team placed 3rd in last year's competition! The competition is open to graduate and Ph.D. students, specifically those pursuing studies in business, finance, entrepreneurship, and related fields.
Register here by September 20
Learn more about the competition here
Friday, September 27 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET | Upson Lounge 116
Looking for support to commercialize your technology? Cornell Engineering and the Entrepreneurs in Residence program offer connections to mentorship, funding opportunities, legal information, entrepreneurship programs, and other commercialization resources in Cornell’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Join us for this exclusive lunchtime discussion hosted by the college’s Entrepreneurs in Residence program to learn about the resources available to you as you explore entrepreneurship and commercialization.
Cornell Engineering alumni who have leveraged college resources to found and scale successful startups will be in attendance. This event is open to Cornell Ph.D. candidates and postdocs in the College of Engineering only. Lunch will be served.
??The 2024 Advertising Week New York Accelerate Program
Wednesday, October 9, Advertising Week Investor Zone
Each year, the Accelerate Program invites approximately 15 early stage (pre-seed, seed stage) ad, retail and media tech start-ups to participate in a highly curated program.? The program provides education, business development and partnership opportunities within the Advertising Week network of agencies, brands and technology companies.? Startups participate in a ? day program where they are able to interact with leading executives, entrepreneurs and investors from the greater advertising industry.? As well, the program offers select participants post-Accelerate Proof of Concept opportunities. All participants are provided two complimentary passes to the full Advertising Week Conference (Oct 7-10).
Wednesday, October 9 from 4-5pm EST \ Zoom
Applications are now open for the 2025 cohort of the Jiang Fellows Program, previously known as the Kessler Fellows Program! Open to all juniors in any school at Cornell University, the Jiang Fellows program features entrepreneurship training followed by an unparalleled domestic or international internship opportunity to gain firsthand startup experience. The internship experience is fully funded, ensuring that students can focus entirely on their internship and professional growth.
Rooted in the College of Engineering, the Jiang Fellows program is delivered in two phases:
Applications will be accepted through October 16, 2024. Apply here.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
??Upcoming Deadlines
Applications are now open for the 6-week Ascend Retail Cohort powered by SEED SPOT (Sept-Oct). This program is designed for D.C. area-based makers, creators, and artisans who have turned their talents into a revenue-generating business. All types of creative products are supported through this program, including accessory design, textile and fiber arts, woodworking, metal smithing, culinary art, handcrafts, and more. Businesses must have generated 25k in revenue to be considered. The program includes a series of hands-on workshops and tailored mentoring designed to build your creative business and increase your impact.
Apply by September 13th ?? Ascend Capital Accelerator Business Retail Program.
Sept 14 - Dec 14 \ Virtual
Immerse yourself in a 3 month professional, virtual first cohort based program for doctors, developers, and designers to build new projects and tooling in healthcare.
Apple here by Sept 14
Discovery is a career prep platform that equips college students to jumpstart their careers & land great jobs or internships. Through it, you'll have access to a personalized path of live online workshops & practical resources, like a job board & resume templates.
Claim your spot by Friday 9/16 to get priority access. Limited slots are available.
The Impact Accelerator is ?8 weeks of expert training, quick-start tools, and personalized coaching to achieve tremendous leaps of growth in a short time. Key outcomes are revenue growth and investment readiness. The virtual Accelerator runs from October 7th through November 26th, 2024. This program is ideal for prototyping or early-stage entrepreneurs looking to validate their impact-focused for-profit or nonprofit businesses.
Key takeaways are:
Applications are now open and the deadline to apply is September 16th, 2024. APPLY NOW
??Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year
Application deadline October 11, Nominate Here
If you know of a deserving Cornellian please nominate him/her for Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year 2025.
This award recognizes the achievements and qualities of a Cornellian who best exemplifies the ideals of entrepreneurship by meeting most of the following criteria:
For a list of past winners, please visit https://eship.cornell.edu/about-us/awards/.
??Become a Big Red Ventures Fund Associate!
Interested in learning about venture capital and the skills needed to become a successful venture capitalist? Apply to be a Fund Associate for Big Red Ventures (BRV), Cornell’s early-stage venture capital fund run entirely by MBA and graduate students BY SEPT 10 on Canvas . Here’s how:
Who First-year MBAs, especially those who have aspirations of becoming a BRV Fund Manager in the future, are highly encouraged to become a BRV Associate. Current JCT MBA, EMBA, PhD, second-year MBA and J.D. students are also eligible. This program is not open to alumni.
When To become a BRV Associate, applicants must complete a series of three required training sessions. Each session will be offered twice. Applicants must attend all three training sessions to be considered. Additionally, each session includes pre-work that must be completed before attending. The three training sessions and their available dates and times are as follows:
Where Training sessions will be held in a hybrid format to accommodate interested students in the eligible programs outside of Ithaca (EMBA and JCT MBA). If you are a residential MBA or in a degree program in Ithaca, you are expected to attend in person.
Application deadlines listed in details
Virtual and hybrid courses led by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) this fall
University-based STEM researchers and early-stage founders: You’re invited to evaluate the market potential of your deep technology innovation and learn valuable entrepreneurial skills in a free, month-long NSF I-Corps Regional Course.
Open to innovators in all STEM fields:
· September 30 – October 30: Hosted by IN I-Corps partner West Virginia University. Apply by September 4.
· October 14 – November 14: Hosted by IN I-Corps partner Binghamton University. Apply by September 18.
·November 13 – December 18: Hosted by IN I-Corps partner Dartmouth College. Apply by October 23.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
Application Deadline October 2
The E-Team Program supports student ventures as you embark down the path you’re likely to take as an innovator and entrepreneur. We help you advance your invention through a powerful mix of up to $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding, entrepreneurship training, mentorship by dedicated staff, national recognition, and networking with peers and industry experts.
Pioneer: the first stage of the E-Team Program. Through $5,000 in non-dilutive funding and an entrepreneurship training workshop designed to help you discover the best market for your invention, we kickstart your potential and outline the possible pathways for your invention.
Propel: Once you have successfully completed Pioneer and built a strong foundation for advancing your innovation, you’re eligible to level up and apply for Propel. Propel offers an additional $20,000 in non-dilutive funding and three months of training focused on supporting you as you build your business model canvas and make plans for testing your business hypotheses.
For more information, visit refer to these resources:
Apply here
??Experience & Opportunities
RBV invests exclusively in companies founded by, or managed by, the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Cornell. RBV is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by or funded by, Cornell. However, part of the firm’s strategy is to engage the university’s 300,000+ alumni to a) help source and vet potential investments and b) assist portfolio companies with advice and introductions.
You can get involved with the firm in one or more of the following roles:
Shared by Daniel Stoller ‘93 & Gus Warren ‘94 Company Overview | June Newsletter
Cayuga Forum is a virtual, facilitated, peer-to-peer coaching and networking program exclusively for #Cornell #alumni. The program started in January 2022 and now includes 100+ members. The mission is simple: Connect Cornellians working in and around entrepreneurship in meaningful ways.
Program Elements:
?Monthly Pod Meetings: Connect with 8-12 fellow alumni for mutual support.
?Cross-Pod Meetings: Engage with guest speakers at monthly program-wide meetings, such as Cornell faculty, subject matter experts, and leadership coaches.
?Curated and Random Intros: Opt into meeting other members within the program on 1:1 calls throughout the year.
?Member Spotlights: Share your work (business, company, idea) with the rest of the program to receive feedback and gain relevant connections.
??Meet with a Mentor
??Cornell Family Business Mentorscape
The Cornell Family Business Mentorscape is a vast network that connects current Cornell students and recent alumni with scholars, advisors, and family business leaders for one-on-one mentoring and coaching sessions. Students have the exceptional opportunity to select their own agendas and interest areas for exploration during the time spent with their mentors.?Cornell Family Business mentors are carefully selected to provide for a diversity of experience and expertise.?Learn more here
??Engineering Entrepreneurs in Residence
This program partners experienced entrepreneurs with engineering faculty, postdocs, and students who are interested in learning more about commercialization and entrepreneurship. Set up a meeting to explore the entrepreneurship landscape, introduce you to like-minded alumni, and connect you to programs to get started. EiRs offer guidance and support to:
??Blackstone LaunchPad?at Cornell
BLP provides mentorship and venture creation support to Cornell student, alumni, faculty, or staff at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey.?Whether you are interested in learning more about the entrepreneurship community at Cornell, have an idea, or need help with later-stage startup challenges, BLP mentors are there to guide you. Visit the BLP site so you see the areas of expertise for the 32 BLP mentors and view their schedule to make an appointment with them here.
Meet with Josh Nelson, Director of the Pre-Seed and Seed Matching Fund at NY Ventures. This state venture capital arm actively looks to provide greater access to venture capital across NY State. If your company is HQed in NY State and raising a pre-seed or seed round (or plans to soon), I encourage you to check out the program.
Meet Josh at his bi-weekly virtual office hours and meet founders in small groups to answer any questions individuals may have about the program. Hosted on Mondays or Thursdays. You can also direct questions via email to [email protected]