The venture cycle continues as Columbia Business School’s Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund announced its spring round of investments in four new companies founded by alumni entrepreneurs. A separate competition for students has been ongoing since 1996.
Through the fund, the Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurship Center supports innovative startups tackling big problems and leading change. For example, in the last round of alumni funding in fall 2022, recipients focused on tackling issues such as ethical supply chain management, shrinking the racial wealth gap, and reducing trauma-related mortality rates.
Established in 1996 with a $1 million gift from Eugene M. Lang, MS ’40, the Lang Fund helps foster an entrepreneurial environment at CBS. To date, companies incubated and launched by students and alumni include Away, Betterment, Beyond Meat, Compass, Daily Harvest, Flexport, Mack Weldon, Workrise, Zocdoc, and many more.
This spring, after a highly competitive selection process, the fund awarded investments to these new ventures:
Genius Sheets
Trevor Lee ’20 and Zheng Li ’20
- Lets users connect to any internal API or database to ask questions, generate reports, and query data using text interfaces powered by AI.
Health In Her HUE
Eddwina Bright ’18
- Leverages the power of tech, media, and community to improve Black women’s health and well-being.
Sool
Carol Pak ’16
- Operates as a global wholesaler of premium Korean alcoholic beverage brands.
Truewind
Alex Lee ’19
- Provides AI-powered accounting and financial planning for startups.
All applicants were screened by students in the two-year Columbia Venture Fellows program. The program provides firsthand venture investing experience to CBS students who are serious about pursuing a career in venture capital.
Learn more about the Lang Entrepreneurship Center.