The Columbia Startup Lab (CSL) is a coworking space designed to serve startup entrepreneurs who are recent Columbia University alumni. The competitive program—hundreds of applicants vie for around 70 slots every year—offers participants subsidized office space, mentorship, programming, and a shared community.

“Building a business is easier with community support,” said CSL director Daniella Raposo. “At CSL, you get the benefit of being around peers who are taking the same risks, struggling with the same setbacks, celebrating the same wins, and asking the same questions.” 

CSL’s programming includes workshops on the basics of running a business, fireside chats with leaders in the New York City startup and venture capital scene, and access to mentors, many of whom are program alumni. There are also ongoing opportunities for feedback through pitching practice, product jams, and product-solution sessions. 

CSL is the result of a unique partnership between Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Design, Columbia Business School, Columbia Law School, the School of International and Public Affairs, the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, Barnard College, and the Data Science Institute. 

“We’re not just a business school or engineering lab,” Raposo explained. “Instead, we have this interdisciplinary approach where you have founders from across the university from very different experiences and expertise, and there’s a skills exchange that happens.”

Since 2020, four startups led by Columbia M.S. in data science alumni have been incubated by CSL, including:

  • PressDB, founded by Chris Rusnack (2018), uses cutting-edge information extraction, machine learning, and subject-matter expertise to make fact-checking misinformation easy and quick for journalists and the general public. 
  • AutoCEQR, co-founded by Daniel Sheehan (2020), ingests publicly available geospatial data and user-provided project inputs and returns standard analyses, data, and maps as required by New York City’s Environmental Quality Review Technical Manual. Read more
  • iXopp, co-founded by Alimu Mijiti (2017) and Vincent Pan (2020), is a location-based product search app that helps customers connect with local small businesses. Read more
  • AiTou Technology, founded by Xueqian An and Bin Xu (2019), aims to connect international applicants and employers open to international talent.

AiTou Technology’s Xu appreciated the opportunity to receive input on his team’s product from people of different backgrounds and disciplines. “CSL has such a robust network that can help you connect with most people you would like to talk to and introduce resources that might be a great help to your business,” he said.

Raposo agrees that the CSL network is one of the program’s greatest advantages. “Everyone is invested in joining the community, learning from one another, building, scaling, and connecting,” she said.

Program applicants should be New York City-based and committed to working full-time on their startup. They must demonstrate proof of concept, customer validation, an understanding of their market, and a go-to-market strategy.  Each cohort includes approximately 50 startups, as many entrepreneurs are solo founders while some join in a team.

Register for Columbia Startup Lab’s Thursday, March 3 virtual open house.

— Karina Alexanyan, Ph.D.