Christine Nyaga, founder of current eLab student startup Scited, pitches her business idea to a crowd at Entrepreneurship at Cornell Kickoff on Sept. 8.
A record 28 teams were selected in a competitive process to participate in eLab, Cornell’s student startup accelerator, as part of the 2022-23 cohort.
The program will narrow the cohort in the spring based on the teams’ performance and business models. Student founders from any field across Cornell may apply; once accepted, participants engage in entrepreneurship bootcamps, conduct customer discovery, refine their business plans and gain access to a network of successful Cornell alumni, all while earning college credit.
Throughout the program, eLab’s student entrepreneurs hone their pitches for investors as they prepare for launch. Teams are given the opportunity to present their progress to venture capitalists and Cornell alumni entrepreneurs at several pitch events, including eLab’s annual NYC Pitch Night on Oct. 20 and its program-culminating Demo Day, a pitch showcase at Entrepreneurship at Cornell Celebration in April.
“This year’s cohort brings a diverse set of student founders and business ideas, illustrating the passion for entrepreneurship among Cornell students,” said Ken Rother, managing director of eLab and lecturer at the Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business. “In what proves to be a highly competitive fall semester, we’re excited to see the progress that is made as teams strive to continue into the spring.”
eLab was established in 2008 by the Student Agencies Foundation and Entrepreneurship at Cornell. Many startups have gone on to success upon graduation from the program, including Rosie – which recently announced its acquisition by grocery e-commerce giant Instacart – and Hopscotch, which closed an $8 million seed round in September.
Numerous alumni serve on the program’s advisory boards, comprising eLab alumni, Cornell alumni and successful entrepreneurs who ask student founders questions, offer feedback and provide practice working with a board.
“eLab will help us perfect our product-market fit and build our business model,” said Nyomi Thomas ’24 of social commerce startup Jur, one of the participating teams. “We admire eLab’s supportive network and hope to gain new, meaningful connections.”
The students and startups taking part in eLab 2022-23:
Lauren Simpson is a marketing and communications coordinator for the Center for Regional Economic Advancement.
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