Startup Columbia is a series of campus-wide startup competitions offering non-dilutive cash prizes to the winning teams. For the past four years, the Brown Institute at Columbia has sponsored a “Media Track” for this competition. It is designed for students, recent alumni and faculty who are interested in starting a new venture. These might be for-profit or non-profit and should involve journalism, media and technology in some way.
Apply at entrepreneurship.columbia.edu/startupcolumbia (Select Media Track) | Submissions due February 3, 2025!
Maybe you have an idea about how AI can help reporters in small newsrooms
Maybe you’re interested in encouraging new forms of collaboration between reporters
Maybe you want to make working with data on your beat easier
Maybe tools for the verification of images is important
Maybe you’re imagining a single-subject news site, or maybe it’s a tool or platform, or maybe is a consultancy
Have questions? Reach out to Institute Staff (browninstitute@columbia.edu) to connect over office hours or get put in touch with one of our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.
The Media Track of Startup Columbia consists of two rounds of “pitch sessions” in which you prepare a short presentation about your idea and deliver it to a group of judges. After your first interaction, you refine your pitch (maybe sharpen your idea) and have the chance to present for a second round. After that, in mid-March, we name three winners who receive cash prizes. The winners also receive scholarships for the Brown Institute’s 2025 Summer Entrepreneurship Program where they really work through their ideas. At the end of the summer we will have one final competition for the three challenge winners, this one possibly ending in a grant for up to $100k!
As always, the Brown Institute is pleased have Entrepreneurs in Residence who can help you refine your idea. And the Brown Institute staff is always around to lend a hand! Good luck!