Manifesto
Columbia founders raised $20B+ last year. This isn’t a small figure, but it likely undervalues the latent talent density at this school. By pouring into the correct programming, people, and resources, we want to create positive feedback loops that catalyze Columbia’s continued trajectory toward being “startup-native.”
More literally, this means assembling a community of similarly minded optimists. CORE is best defined as a talent incubator and community for Columbia’s most talented yet down-to-earth founders, operators, engineers, and designers. We value students who are obsessed with technology, care about those around them, and who have a high bias toward action.
In practice, this looks like hosting events with OpenAI, Y Combinator, and Andreessen Horowitz, site visits across SF and NYC, casual Sunday build sessions, and more. Other than founding, our members go to labs like OpenAI and DeepMind, startups like Browserbase and Sunday Robotics, and quant firms like Jane Street and Two Sigma.
Initiatives
Our campus-wide initiatives and programs are run exclusively by members. They currently include:
- Digital Strategy The Digital Strategy team is responsible for all branding and design aesthetics of CORE and its initiatives. This includes the weekly newsletter to 4,000+ recipients, managing social media channels, serving as webmaster, and creating a brand voice for the organization.
- Almaworks (startup accelerator) Columbia University’s student-run startup accelerator. We have graduated over 100 startups which have gone on to raise over $150 million dollars. Each cohort consists of 6–8 startups in an intensive 8-week program with weekly 3-hour sessions at Columbia’s SoHo startup lab. Founders typically have a minimum viable product and are working toward product–market fit.
- CORE Fellowship (startup internships) Formerly known as the Almaworks Fellowship, CORE Fellowship recruits and pairs motivated Columbia students with impactful internship opportunities in the New York Area. Opportunities range from large, established companies to early-stage startups.
- CORE Youth (entrepreneurship education) This initiative empowers high school students in New York and globally to launch their own ventures. We host weekly entrepreneurship sessions and work with local NYC schools, in addition to organizing venture competitions and programs for high school students worldwide.
- Women @ CORE (community for female-identifying builders) Increasing the number of women successes in the startup world. The initiative consists of a mentorship program, panels, workshops, and a dinner series—all aimed at inspiring more women to pursue entrepreneurship and providing a support network to do so.
- FounderSchool (semester-long entrepreneurship class) The first entrypoint for aspiring builders at Columbia. This roughly 40-person cohort are usually new to entrepreneurship and spend the semester learning about founders, technical aspects of building, and venture capital—while brainstorming startup ideas they may pursue.
CORE is a group of highly ambitious undergraduate students who deeply care about fostering this culture at Columbia. We are excited to meet the next generation!
CORE Board, 2026–27