Staying Connected to Your Entrepreneurial Community
The mission of The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School is to instill entrepreneurial thinking in all Columbia Business School students and to create a community of business practitioners with a lifelong commitment to achieving social and economic progress through entrepreneurship.
A highlight of The Lang Center’s resources is its extensive entrepreneurial network, many among them successful graduates from every industry. Members of the network serve as mentors to student entrepreneurs, as judges/evaluators of Center events and competitions, and as classroom guest speakers, providing students with a level of advice and guidance that can only come from highly seasoned professionals.
Do you want to get involved?
Alumni have many ways to stay connected to Columbia Business School and the entrepreneurial community including:
| Throughout the Academic Year |
The Goal | Your Role |
| The Entrepreneurial Sounding Board is an opportunity for MBA students and alumni to schedule confidential 1:1 meetings with Center faculty and practitioners to discuss their own entrepreneurial ideas and perceived business opportunities. | To provide Business School students/alumni with access to faculty and expert professionals who donate their time to the program | Sounding Board participant, Sounding Board practitioner, and/or prospective mentor. |
| The Columbia Family Business Network fosters a network between Columbia Business School graduate students, alumni, and greater community who actively work in/for a family businesses and/or are interested in the unique challenges and issues family businesses face today. | To provide members with a forum to meet with like-minded individuals, discuss topics of interest, and share experiences. | Member, guest speaker, panelist |
| Women Entrepreneurs Network (WEN) fosters a network of female entrepreneurs. | To develop a network that brings alumnae and other women entrepreneurs together for learning, advice, and discussion. | Member (alumnae only) and /or guest speaker |
| The Fall Term | ||
| Fall Venture Fair is a high energy event where invited students showcase their business ideas to the Columbia Business School Community. | To create a networking forum for students to meet seasoned professionals that will help mentor and work closely in business plan development, establish networks, and assess a venture’s viability. | Informal Advisor |
| The Columbia Mentorship Program for Entrepreneurs (CMPE) pairs Columbia Business School student entrepreneurs committed to meeting specific goals/objectives that aid in developing their business concept with a seasoned professional from our network. | Links student entrepreneurs from Columbia Business School with seasoned members of the School’s entrepreneurial community who will provide support, guidance, and concrete assistance on a one-on-one basis to support mentees in the launch of their own business. | Formal Mentor |
| The Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program Admissions gives students interested in applying to the Greenhouse Program Master Class the opportunity to present their concept to members of the selection committee. | Select those students that will be admitted to the Greenhouse Program Master Class in the spring term. | Evaluator |
| Crain's New York Business Perfect Pitch Competition is open to ventures led by Columbia Business School students, alumni and Columbia Community Business Participants who meet the competition's qualifications. | Designed to empower entrepreneurs in the Columbia Business School community to hone their media pitch skills through presentation pitch skills training and experience while competing to receive a Best Media Pitch Award. | Competitor |
| The Spring Term | ||
| Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program Final Presentations provides students with the opportunity to pitch their plans to a room full of evaluators and angel investors and venture capitalists. | Serious support for students who wish to launch their ventures upon graduation. | Evaluator and/or potential investor |
| A. Lorne Weil Startup Pitch Competition is a student-run competition that encourages their peers to explore creative entrepreneurial ideas. Students explore these ideas while learning firsthand what goes into the development and presentation of a solid business proposal. | To encourage and support innovative creativity. A. Lorne Weil ‘71 sponsored: $14,000 in cash prizes are awarded. | Judge |
| Columbia Entrepreneurs Showcase is an event where faculty advisors and other evaluators help select which plans advance to present to the Lang Fund Board of Directors. | Selection of students who will present to the Lang Board of Directors for potential early-stage investing. | Evaluator |
| Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is a student-led business plan competition that actively supports and promotes successful social ventures around the world. GSVC is sponsored by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, the Columbia Business School, Yale Business School, London Business School, and Indian School of Business. | Mission is to catalyze and promote the creation of financially self-sufficient or profitable social ventures. | Judge and/or prospective mentor |
There are also opportunities to hire our students as interns. Please contact the Lang Center for more information at entprog@columbia.edu.
Related Link:
Participate in the Crain's New York Business Perfect Pitch Competition