IDExCORE Entrepreneurship in Hard Tech: A Conversation with Alumni Founders

This panel is designed to give Columbia undergraduates a clear, honest picture of what the early stages of entrepreneurship actually look like before the pitch decks, headlines, or venture funding.

Through conversation with young alumni founders, students will hear how start-ups begin: ideation, finding mentors, meeting co-founders, working out of shared spaces, testing half-formed ideas, navigating uncertainty, and learning through trial and error. Panelists will reflect on their time at Columbia, the questions they had, the doubts they faced, most helpful resources and tactics, and the small decisions that shaped their path forward. Attendees will hear personal stories and leave with a grounded understanding of how entrepreneurship unfolds over time and how to start engaging with it while still at Columbia. The panel will feature Vignesh Karthik, Valentina Marini Fichera, and other alumni moderated by Katherine Brown, SEAS '28.

Dinner will be provided

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