VentureBridge Program
The VentureBridge program is an initiative of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship exclusively focused on helping Carnegie Mellon alumni founders succeed in their entrepreneurial ventures. The program provides seed funding, office space, access to a large network of mentors and innovators, and help with startup growth and future larger scale fundraising rounds.- If you are a founding team, with a CMU co-founder, working on an idea, we’d love to hear from you.
- The application cycle for the VentureBridge program is closed and will reopen in January 2025.
- If you’d like to partner with Swartz Center as a sponsor, please contact Aleksandar Petkov, VentureBridge Program Manager.
"We've loved working with VentureBridge to grow ViralMoment. They supported us with finances, mentorship and a community as we took the company from 0-1, they helped us with customer, VC, and team networking as we built from 1-10, and now we're excited to keep scaling from 10-1000 with the VB team's support." - Chelsie Hall, ViralMoment (VB '21)
“I can honestly state that closing our Seed Round was directly correlated to joining the CMU VentureBridge Program. Firstly, the CMU connection opened doors to many new introductions within the alumni network. Additionally it paved the way to meeting several of the larger firms in our round. Finally, it gave us an opportunity to work with mentors and peers to rapidly iterate and improve our pitch. Thanks CMU!" - Jeremy Toeman, AugX Labs (VB '23)
A Special Thanks to
Summer Accelerator
Introduction
The summer programming (virtual and in-person in SF and NY) includes talks by prominent investor & founders, such as Jim Swartz (Accel Partners), Lane Bess (Bess Ventures), Scott Dietzen (Pure Storage), Bill Gurley (Benchmark), Matt Rogers (Incite), Matt Humphrey (Quiet Capital), and many others, introductions to successful experts, and a number of founder roundtables, mixers, and dinners.
Companies also receive investment in the form of a SAFE note and in-kind services, read the Benefits column.
Benefits
- 12 Week Summer Programming
- $25,000 Investment by Carnegie Mellon
- Introductions to angel investors, venture capital firms, accelerators. customers, suppliers, and CMU-affiliated companies
- Matching with specific mentors
- Incubation space in San Francisco, New York, and/or Pittsburgh.
- Invitations to attend different workshops and events located in the heart of Silicon Valley, New York, and Pittsburgh.
- Cloud Credits through AWS or GCP.
- HubSpot for Startups Partner benefits (All-in-one CRM, Sales, Marketing, and Services plans)
- Additional Benefits from Retool, Vouch, Rippling, and Brex.
- Introductions and opportunities to work with Swartz Center patrons
Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for VentureBridge:
- Teams must have at least one CMU affiliated alumni founder.
- If the affiliated founder is a CMU student they need to be eligible to and graduate by end of Spring 2025.
- If accepted the team must commit to the full summer programming (in-person and virtual events) and attend Demo Day.
Application Process
The application cycle for VentureBridge is closed and will reopen in January 2025.- All applications must be fully completed and submitted by the final application deadline and late entries will not be considered. Applications must include a pitch deck and a 2 minute video pitch.
- Applications are reviewed by the VentureBridge Selection Committee and the strongest startup candidates are invited to present virtually to the VB Selection committee.
- After the selected teams have presented the VB Selection Committee evaluates the best candidates and 5 - 8 teams are selected and invited to participate in the Summer Accelerator program.
- Candidates invited to the program have a week to confirm their acceptance of the invitation.
CMU Open Mic Pitch Night
Introduction
The VentureBridge program hosts multiple CMU Open Mic Pitch Night events throughout the year. These events bring founders (student and alumni) together with a network of experienced and vetted alumni. Startups of all stages are encouraged to apply to be a part of these sessions.
Benefits
- Opportunities to network and connect with CMU Alumni, mentors, and prominent entrepreneurs.
- Engage and connect with fellow CMU entrepreneurs
- Hosted in Pittsburgh, New York, and San Francisco.
Eligibility Criteria
- Startups must have one CMU affiliated (Student, Faculty, Staff, Alumni) founder
Application Process
- Sign up for the CMU Swartz Center Newsletter to not miss the next one.
VentureBridge Team
VentureBridge Team
- Namrata Banerjee, VentureBridge Director, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
- Aleksandar Petkov, VentureBridge Program Manager, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
- Dave Mawhinney, Executive Director, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship; Executive Director, Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship; Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship
Testimonials
"When we first entered the VentureBridge summer accelerator, we had just incorporated our company and were not much more than an idea and barebones pitch. Through the program's weekly seminars and extensive mentorship, we were able to build a coherent company business strategy, access resources for our R&D work, and transform our idea into an exciting and growing start-up. VentureBridge was transformative for Refiberd, and we would definitely recommend the experience for anyone in the early stages of their start-up." - Sarika Bajaj, Refiberd (VB '20)
"The VentureBridge program supported the EKTO VR team through a substantial market pivot during a time of complete global uncertainty. By participating in the program, we were able to execute a live stream product reveal that received worldwide attention and put us on the path to building strong relationships with partners, customers, and investors alike." - Brad Factor, EKTO VR (VB '20)
"The CMU network is very powerful and VentureBridge has made it extremely accessible for us. The entire team is always available to help us out, be it with introductions, reviewing content, or offering us advice across the various startup dimensions." - Vishakha Gupta, ApertureData (VB '20)
“VentureBridge contributed momentum and structure during Onyx’s critical early days; they also introduced key investors who were part of our first round.” - Andrew Seid, Onyx (VB '19)
"VentureBridge provided us with a lot essential resources a startup needs to grow from 0 to 1. The right mindset we developed during the VB program has been benefiting us ever since." - JJ Xu, TalkMeUp (VB '18)
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
