Columbia Technology Founder’s Track (CTech)

The Columbia Technology Founder’s Track (CTech) represents a university-wide collaboration between the Business School’s Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center, the Engineering School’s IEOR Department, and Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design.
About CTech
Founded by Dr. Song Li, PhD ’92, CTech gives technical Columbia MBA and Engineering students the tools to become world-class entrepreneurs by providing them with curriculum, mentorship, and networking opportunities, guiding the launch and growth of Columbia-founded technology startups.
Eligibility
CTech is a selective, cross-disciplinary program open to first year Engineering graduate students and rising second-year MBA students with technical backgrounds who are dedicated to launching and growing a tech-enabled startup while at Columbia.
Prerequisites:
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For rising second-year MBA Candidates:
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Currently enrolled in or completion of (CTech 101) Foundations of Entrepreneurship prior to applying, or an exemption from this course.
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STEM undergraduate degree or relevant work experience in a technology company/role.
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For first year SEAS Candidates:
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Completion of (CTech 101) Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (IEOR 4570) prior to applying, or an exemption from this course.
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Program Components
For MBA Students
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Enrollment in (CTech 201) “Launch Your Startup” during the upcoming fall semester (3 credits)
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Acceptance to and completion of the (CTech 301) Greenhouse Accelerator program
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Pitch practice coaching will be available to students admitted to CTech
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Attendance of the Dr. Li Distinguished Technology Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
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Access to selected Columbia Startup Lab events
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VC coursework or VC-related experience. This requirement can be satisfied by one of the following:
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Enrollment in Foundations of VC and/or VC Seminar
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A CTech-facilitated VC immersion project
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Acceptance and participation in the VC Fellows program (administered by the VC Club)
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For SEAS Graduate Students
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Enrollment in either (CTech 201) IEOR 4998 “Managing Technical Innovation” with Prof. Jerry Neumann or B8519-002 “Launch Your Startup” during the upcoming fall semester (3 credits).
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Direct experience in a tech startup in the spring semester (3 credits). This requirement could be satisfied by one of the following:
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Acceptance to and completion of the (CTech 301) Greenhouse Accelerator program
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Completion of an approved accelerator during the spring semester
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Attendance of the Dr. Song Li Distinguished Technology Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
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VC coursework or VC-related experience. This requirement can be satisfied by one of the following:
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Enrollment in Foundations of VC and/or VC Seminar
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A CTech-facilitated VC immersion project
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How to Apply
Admission to CTech is by rolling application, or by faculty recommendation. We encourage serious applicants to apply as soon as possible so that accepted students can plan for required coursework.
The application deadline has passed.
Questions? Please reach out to Lara Hejtmanek at [email protected].
CTech Team Leaders

Angela Lee
Faculty Director, Lang Entrepreneurship Center
Angela's Bio
Angela has spoken at the White House and NASA and is a sought-after expert on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, MSNBC, and Fox Business. She was recognized by Inc. as one of 17 Inspiring Women to Watch in 2017, by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of 6 Innovative Women to Watch in 2015, and by Craine’s as a Notable Women in Tech in 2019. Angela received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley and her MBA from Columbia Business School. ”

Dave Lerner
Director of Entrepreneurship at Columbia University
Dave's Bio
By background he’s an entrepreneur (2 exits) and angel investor in 100+ companies. His personal blog, www.davelerner.com/blog, explores the worlds of university entrepreneurship, angel/venture investing, and startups and he’s a frequent contributor to many other publications, including Business Insider, whose SAI group recently named him both one of the “top 100 most influential New Yorkers in the digital business community” and “one of NYC’s top 100 early stage investors.”

Yvette Miller
Director of Marketing and Communications at Columbia Entrepreneurship
Yvette's Bio
Yvette has 13+ years of experience in the public, private, and education sectors. She started her career leading communications at an early-stage startup, and has built outreach strategies from the ground up a few times since. She has prepared senior staff at startups and major companies for media interviews, congressional testimony, and events, and garnered coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, USA Today, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNET, and more.

Lara Hejtmanek
Senior Associate Director, Lang Entrepreneurship Center
Lara's Bio
Prior to joining the Lang Center, she worked at several early stage companies in strategy and planning roles, and has over 20 years of experience in digital marketing. Most recently she founded and led the Insights & Planning practice for 360i – named the #1 digital agency in the country by AdAge for four years in a row – serving major brands for clients in CPG, travel and retail. There she led her team in bringing together consumer insights with emerging technologies to identify high impact opportunities for clients, spanning social media, mobile, search, paid media, and overall brand strategy. Lara holds a BA in Art History from Vassar College and an MBA from Columbia University.
Meet the Current Cohort

Martim De Mello ’21BUS
Co-founder and CEO of Changing Room
Martim's Bio

Sarvadnya Kulkarni ’21BUS/SEAS
Co-founder of FleetCharge
Sarvadnya's Bio

Diana Nleya, ‘21BUS
Founder and CEO of Gwara
Diana's Bio

Scott Reddy ’21BUS
Founder and CEO of Meerkat
Scott's Bio

Karam Singh Sethi ’21BUS
Co-founder and CEO of Terra
Karam's Bio

Abhirat Shinde ’21SEAS
Co-founder of FleetCharge
Abhirat's Bio

Lara Vartanian ’20BUS/SEAS
Co-founder and CEO of FormSpotter
Lara's Bio
She is fascinated with the health & fitness space and is passionate about helping others unleash their potential with the right mindset. Having experienced this herself, she truly believes fitness is an excellent framework for self-improvement as it exposes people to the central tenets of personal growth. Whether it be good habit formation, humility, discipline, challenging oneself, these are all qualities people can acquire through fitness to transfer over to other areas of life to help them achieve their greatness in life.

Barry Wise ’21BUS
Founder and CEO of FileMaster
Barry's Bio

Jeremy Yao ’21BUS/SEAS
Co-founder and CTO of Changing Room
Jeremy's Bio

Saron Yitbarek ’21BUS
Founder of Disco