News Item

Thirty-two students presenting 24 ventures were admitted into this Spring term's Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program.

The Entrepreneurial Greenhouse is a program for second year student entrepreneurs designed to help prepare their businesses for investment by providing access to experts in key fields, funding for pre-launch expenses, and opportunities to present business concepts to professional investors. 

Admission into the Greenhouse program is highly selective.  Students are required to present their business plan and be evaluated by a committee of judges including faculty, venture capitalists, and talented professionals from a variety of industries. A total of 57 students and their partners submitted their application in hopes for a coveted seat in the Program.

Many of this year’s venture submissions were in the socially conscious, education, technology, and healthcare industry sectors. Venture concepts include a  eco-healthy preschool, an interactive home furnishing website and a Metropolitan bike share program .

Professor Clifford Schorer developed the Program and has taught the class for nearly a decade. “I have witnessed a significant boost in both the quality of creative business ideas generated and the commitment level of the students in the past few years”, Schorer said, “and this incoming class continues with that trend. Our goal is simple: Provide aspiring entrepreneurs at Columbia with the platform and support to ‘hit the ground running' upon graduation.  We have a portfolio of companies that have been effectively started right out of the Program, and the quality of this year's plans will ensure our success and tradition in 2010.”

Check our website in the upcoming spring term for an update on the progress of the class and their venture plans after graduation!