External Resources

For Columbia startups in development, L2M offers the resources below. 

External Accelerator Programs

The Almaworks Accelerator offers cohort companies a unique set of value-adds including world-class mentorship from experts in the NYC startup ecosystem, access to VCs and investors, benefits from corporate technology and legal partners (including Google, Amazon, and Brex), and more, with campus media that collectively reaches more than 13,000 subscribers and followers. We take no equity and help early-stage startups run by Columbia-affiliated entrepreneurs achieve significant, sustainable growth. Our 70+ graduated startups have collectively raised more than $30M in funding and enrolled in programs like TechStars, Y Combinator, and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator and are advised by world-class mentors with expertise in startup growth, product, funding, legal, finance, and wellness

Learn more HERE

Endless Frontier Labs is a nine-month program focused on maximizing the potential of massively-scalable, science and deep technology startups.

Learn more at: https://endlessfrontierlabs.com/

 

dlab was created by SOSV in 2018 to provide capital and resources to web3 and crypto projects creating more open, transparent, and participatory systems using blockchains and other decentralization technologies. They provide up to $250k in venture funding to pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the globe through their fully-remote program.

In addition to providing capital, their team supports startups through a proven recipe of scheduled review and feedback sessions, mentor network interactions, and bespoke hands-on help in areas such as product architecture and design, UX, business development, and fundraising strategy. They have a dedicated community of mentors, founders, syndicate investors, and ecosystem partners excited to collaborate with early-stage founders.

As part of the SOSV family, founders also have access to further follow-on funding opportunities, educational workshops, a global alumni community network of over 2000 founders, and over $500k in perks from partners and leading infrastructure providers.

Learn more at: https://dlab.vc/

Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs (CORE) is the one of the largest student-run entrepreneurship organizations in the country. In addition to running the Almaworks Accelerator, CORE connects students to internships at startups, educates students on building startups, highlights minority founders through speaker series, and more. Learn more about their 10+ initiatives at https://www.coreatcu.com/.

Learn more at: https://www.elabnyc.com/

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) combines seed capital, hands-on help and a great co-working location with an expert team to positively impact the trajectory of early-stage startups. ERA runs two, four-month programs per year.

Learn more at: https://www.eranyc.com/

NYC is home to a thriving tech community --- ranked as the #2 strongest startup ecosystem in the world. Founders and innovators flock to NYC to start their companies and surround themselves with a deep bench of industry experts, talent, corporate partners, investors and mentors. Over 400 Techstars founders live in NYC, working to build the next generation of game changing companies.

Learn more at: https://www.techstars.com/nyc-program/

Y Combinator provides seed funding for startups. Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays your expenses while you’re getting started.

Learn more at: https://www.ycombinator.com/

Additional Funding Opportunities

The CaMPR award program focuses on the innovative assembly of new teams to gather preliminary data to address unresolved clinical, translational and public health problems with novel approaches informed by interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Successful applicants are expected to implement plans to publish findings and to acquire future funding based on CaMPR award findings. 

  • Award Duration: One (1) Year
  • Award Amount: $40,000
  • Quantity: Up to five (5)

Application deadline: Friday, December 13, 2019 by 5:00 p.m.

See the program page to learn more and apply.

Application deadline: Friday, November 15, 2019 by 5:00 p.m.

See the program page to learn more and apply.

Application deadline: Friday, November 29, 2019 by 11:59 p.m.

See the program page to learn more and apply.

Additional Resources

The Columbia Commercialization & Entrepreneurial Resources Database lists programs and opportunities offered by Columbia's entrepreneurship community, including Columbia Technology Ventures, Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design, SEAS Entrepreneurship, and many others. The database allows users to sort by their Columbia affiliation and what kind of opportunities they are seeking. 

 

Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design has compiled a list of Columbia resources for anyone looking to apply innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset to challenges and opportunities in coursework, personal goals, careers, or launching a venture.

Increasingly, grant applications (whether Federal, Foundation, or from Industry) contain questions about Columbia’s policies and practices around entrepreneurship, intellectual property, technology transfer, interuniversity collaborations, or similar topics. Columbia Technology Ventures, Columbia Entrepreneurship, and Columbia's Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, have partnered to gather sample answers to the most common variants of these questions, which are now available for Columbia researchers to simply copy and paste (or edit as you see fit) into grant applications.

L2M is occasionally asked by technology entrepreneurs for the names of attorneys who are able to represent Columbia startup companies during their formative stages, and in particular during the licensing discussions with L2M. While Columbia does not recommend any particular firm nor require the use of any of these firms, listed below are some firms that represent that they:

  • Have an entrepreneurship practice able to fulfill the needs of most startup companies (i.e., formation as a Delaware corporation; bylaws; issuance of founder’s stock; creation of equity incentive plan and initial option grant; related securities laws filings; standard forms for consulting, advisory board agreements, proprietary information, assignment of inventions; set-up of minute book and stock ledger; coordination with patent counsel; experience negotiating license agreements for early-stage IP);

  • Have attorneys with experience in both physical sciences and health sciences; and

  • Offer a fixed fee or deferred fee deal for Columbia startup companies, in order to help companies manage their cash burn (please be sure to mention L2M in your outreach)

The list below provides the contact information for the lead partner(s) at each firm, as well as a link describing the firm’s startup experience and the offer (if any) that they are currently making to startup companies.

The firms below are familiar both with the types of policies that most startups need as part of their ongoing business, and also the insurance requirements mandated by university patent license agreements. They can provide a quote for the level of insurance required.