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Announcing the Dave Mawhinney Founders First
Legacy Fund!
Extraordinary founders are the catalyst for transformative innovation. With the Dave Mawhinney Founders First Endowed Legacy Fund, we honor the legacy of Dave by embodying his unwavering commitment to putting founders first—providing not just capital, but the deep support, mentorship and ecosystem that empowers visionary entrepreneurs to realize their boldest ambitions.
Just as Dave observes that exceptional founders are the bedrock of groundbreaking companies, the Dave Mawhinney Founders First Endowed Legacy Fund will provide pre-seed or seed stage grants to CMU startups that demonstrate remarkable potential, resilience, vision and commitment to the Pittsburgh region.
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Accel Partners Co-Founder Jim Swartz Joins President Farnam Jananian During His Return to Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday
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Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian hosted a conversation on Wednesday, October. 29, with Tepper School of Business alumnus and Accel Partners co-founder Jim Swartz. The two discussed entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership as part of the Founders and Funders Leadership Series.
The event, part of CMU's broader efforts to nurture entrepreneurship across campus, highlighted the impact of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, which connects students, faculty, alumni and researchers with resources, mentorship and opportunities to turn ideas into successful business ventures.
“We like doing things where some of our energy, some of our funding, can make a transformational difference in a situation,” Swartz said." Swartz and his wife, Susan, have made significant investments in CMU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Swartz Center, launched in 2015, now anchors CMU’s startup community, supporting hundreds of student ventures, alumni founders and innovation-focused programs each year. One of those programs is the James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows, of which the 2025-27 cohort was welcomed by Jim at a special Induction Ceremony held at the Swartz Center the same afternoon.
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|  | Jim Swartz, Dave Mawhinney and CMU President Farnam Jahanian
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Later that afternoon, the university community honored Dave Mawhinney, Founding Executive Director of the Swartz Center, for a decade of leadership and his lasting impact as a faculty member. During the community celebration event, which Interim Executive Director Meredith Meyer Grelli was instrumental in organizing, the Swartz Center announced the Dave Mawhinney Founders First Legacy Fund—which will provide pre-seed and seed grants to CMU startups, supporting future generations of entrepreneurs here and around the world.
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|  | Meredith Meyer Grelli, Interim Executive Director, Swartz Center, kicking off the Induction Event
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Jim Swartz with wife, Susan (center), Meredith Meyer Grelli (far left), Sonya Ford, Program Manager (second, right from Jim), Dave Mawhinney (far right) and the new cohort of Swartz Fellows, Innovation Scholars and Innovation & Commercialization Fellows at the Induction Event
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The Swartz Center Hosts: From Passion to Purpose - A Journey Through Social Enterprise With Leah Lizarondo
Over 200 Carnegie Mellon students packed the CMU Swartz Center on Monday, October 27 to hear from CMU Heinz alumna Leah Lizarondo, Swartz Center Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Founder and Board Emeritus of Food Rescue Hero and Co-Founder and Board Emeritus of 412 Food Rescue, as she walked through her journey of translating social impact to reality.
During the discussion, which was moderated by Steven Guo, Swartz Center Program Manager for its VentureBridge program, Leah discussed the Swartz Center's McGinnis Venture Competition and its Social Enterprise Prize track, as well as the pathway to entering the $1M Hult Prize—the largest global pitch competition for students with startups addressing our biggest challenges.
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DashStrom Wins Second Place and $75K at UpPrize Finals
DashStrom, a Pittsburgh-based social enterprise founded by Ketaki Desai, Ph.D., addresses the youth mental health crisis through challenging play, mentorship and character-based movement programs. The company won second place and $75K at the 2025 UpPrize final showcase last week.
DashStrom's tech-enabled platform trains and deploys vetted local coaches, connects them with schools and communities, and measures impact on children’s resilience, confidence, and wellness. To date, DashStrom has served over 12,000 children nationally, including pilots in Pittsburgh schools and recreation programs.
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| Arda Wins Best New Product of the Year in Manufacturing Software at The Assembly Show
Arda, creator of cards that are scannable triggers for automated, AI replenishment workflows, has been chosen as Best New Product of the Year in Manufacturing Software at the recent The Assembly Show. CMU alumnus Uriel Eisen is the President of Arda, also a 2024 VentureBridge Startup .
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| CMU's Graduate Entrepreneurship Club Hosts: Hack-A-Startup!
The CMU Graduate Entrepreneurship Club (GEC) is thrilled to launch its flagship series, Hack-A-Startup, designed to take you from curious student to confident founder in less than five months! No idea? No team? No problem! This program is built to help you explore, build and launch.
• Hack-A-Startup Kick-Off Weekend – Oct 31 – Nov 2
• Mentorship Workshops – Nov 5 – 11
• Hack-A-Startup Finale – Nov 15
• Venture Capital Investment Competition – TBD
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CMU's ScottyLabs Hosts NOVA, GenAI Hackathon on
Saturday, November 8 | 10:30 AM - 8:30 PM ET!
Carnegie Mellon's ScottyLabs organization is hosting NOVA, CMU's first GenAI playground hackathon. At NOVA, you’ll build incredible projects in just seven hours.
Unlike other hackathons, NOVA is uniquely focused on AI. You’ll get free access to top GenAI models through API credits to power your ideas. In teams of up to four, you’ll compete for over $2K in prizes.
NOVA will be held on Saturday, November 8 from 10:30am to 8:30pm and will take place at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship in the Tepper School of Business. Sponsors include Agentuity, Jane Street, Sandia National Laboratories, CodeRabbit, and Accenture.
Check out the detailed schedule, and follow @cmu.scottylabs on Instagram for Nova updates.
Lunch and dinner will be provided.
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Calling All Current CMU Student Entrepreneurs!
Announcing the 2026 McGinnis Venture Competition
& Social Enterprise Prize
Start your application by December 1 to receive a coach!
· Applications are now open for the 2026 McGinnis Venture Competition and Social Enterprise Prize!
The McGinnis Venture Competition is a platform exclusively for Carnegie Mellon University’s global community of student entrepreneurs, bringing together the best and brightest to compete for $60K in investments. All participants receive coaching, valuable feedback and an opportunity to raise capital.
This multi-round competition begins with two virtual rounds and will culminate in a final live-round celebration on March 17, 2026.
Social Enterprise Prize
Ready to create a company that makes an impact on the world's biggest challenges? The Swartz Center's Social Enterprise Prize is designed to empower students to develop entrepreneurial solutions for social and environmental challenges.
Virtual Info Sessions
Come learn about the 2026 McGinnis Venture Competition & Social Enterprise Prize. Find out important deadlines and details.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Register
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Register
Advanced registration required for the info sessions. Zoom details will be sent to registered attendees the day before the event.
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Founder Horror Stories Night!
"Every founder has a ghost story — what’s yours?"
Date: Friday, Oct 31 | 6:00–8:00 PM ET
Location: CMU Campus, Register to See Address
Startups aren’t for the faint of heart. From cofounder clashes to investor meetings gone wrong, every founder carries a story that still haunts them. This Halloween, we’re gathering for an evening of real founder horror stories — the failures, the frights, and the lessons we learned.
Come for the stories, stay for the community (and a few spooky snacks).
Hosted by EchoHer @ Pittsburgh, a nonprofit community supporting women and non-binary founders.
Supported by the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship.
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The Scott Institute for Energy Innovation Presents:
Entrepreneurship Lecture Series Featuring, Thomas Healy, Founder/CEO, Hyliion
Date: Thursday, November 6
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | ET
Location: CMU Scott Hall, Bosch Spark Conference Room
Thomas Healy will share his entrepreneurial journey through an entrepreneurship lecture titled "Rethinking Power: From CMU Startup to the New York Stock Exchange".
Free lunch will be provided. Space is limited.
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President’s Lecture Series and 125th Anniversary Kickoff With Luis von Ahn
Date: Thursday, November 6
Time: 4-6 PM | ET
“CMU, CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA, and Duolingo” - A CMU125 at Homecoming Weekend event featuring alumnus Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-founder of Duolingo.
Launched in 2023 by President Farnam Jahanian, the President’s Lecture Series engages and inspires the CMU community with thought-provoking presentations from renowned scholars and leaders. This special installment will feature CEO and co-founder of Duolingo and CMU alumnus Luis von Ahn.
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Swank Works Axe Throwing Event on November 6!
Swank Works invites the CMU/Swartz Center and Pittsburgh entrepreneurship community to a friendly game of Axe Throwing on Thursday, November 6! All levels are welcome.
To RSVP, email jaimel@swankco.com
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Family Business Leadership Series Presents: Ida Posner
and Henry Posner, III
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Location: Swartz Center, Tepper Quad Bldg, 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Floor
Join Henry & Ida Posner for a conversation on stewardship, legacy and leadership across generations as part of the Family Business Leadership Speaker Series hosted by the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The discussion will explore how family enterprises sustain growth while navigating legacy and leadership transitions in today’s evolving economic landscape.
Refreshments will be provided.
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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| Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
See the full schedule and register for ALL of the seminars here!
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|  11/5
REGISTER
Avoiding Mentor Whiplash: How to Manage Conflicting Advice (Jim Jen, CMU Swartz Center, CSL Director)
| |  11/12
REGISTER
Financial Modeling (Phil Compton, Technology CFO, Entrepreneur/Mentor)
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START SMART LEGAL SERIES
11/18
REGISTER
How to Form Your Startup Company | 2 Part Workshop
In Part 2 (November 18), your team will be matched with one or more law students to design a “legal roadmap” that will recommend the best entity option for your startup and the basics of a Founders Agreement. You will also receive guidance on other legal issues on your ‘checklist’ – all under the supervision of experienced startup lawyers!
All Fall 2025 Start Smart Legal Series sessions will be held virtually from 5:00-6:15 P.M. Start Smart Legal Series recordings will NOT be made available to the public due to the sensitive nature of the information shared. Program resources may be provided upon request at the discretion of the presenters.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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| Click the images to find out more about each of the Clubs!
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| CMU Builder Demo Night!
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Time: 6:30–8:30 PM | PST
Location: Convex, 444 De Haro St #218, San Francisco, CA 94107
We’re excited to host an evening for CMU founders + builders to demo what they’re working on! The plan is to make this a monthly, recurring event.
Who It’s For: Founders, engineers, designers, and operators building something new. +1s welcome!
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CMU Alumni + Investors Mixer
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Time: 6-8 PM | PST
Location: Shared upon approval
Join Carnegie Mellon alumni, Plaid Matrix Fund, and Rain VC, and JP Morgan for conversation, drinks, and connection at the intersection of tech, startups, and AI.
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The CMU T&E has a jobs board, available for people across the community to share and seek new opportunities in the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Find out more and visit the website here.
The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group aims to build a bridge between CMU students and alumni across the startup and tech continuum. With main chapters in NYC, Pittsburgh, and SF, we offer a range of in-person and online events and programming in the form of panels, workshops, founder/investor engagements, startup support, and socials to foster collaboration, innovation, and networking opportunities.
Join 7,000+ Tartans on our Slack workspace and mailing list for resources and updates on how you can engage in the community and CMU entrepreneurial ecosystem.
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The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
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| Pillsbury and Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC are holding office hours for the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The office hours are for any interested CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni interested in entrepreneurship or connecting with members of the Swartz Center network.
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Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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Legal Services Weekly Virtual Office Hours with Matt Kirmayer
Mondays 1:00-3:00 PM ET (10-12 PT)
Matt Kirmayer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, is offering office hours for newly established startup and emerging companies. Matt specializes in representing technology startups and emerging growth companies, assisting with entity formation, fundraising and overall growth needs. Startup companies with a founder who is a CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni is eligible to register for
an appointment. Complete the Signup Form for a 30 minute session by the Thursday prior to your
desired appointment.
Contact Daria Stokes or Sean Mawhinney for office hours outside of these regular hours.
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| Microsoft for Startups is a digital platform that provides free access to the latest AI tools and 1:1 guidance from experts to help founders solve challenges as they grow their business. We provide the right resources at the right time in a startup’s journey so founders can build faster and dream bigger.
Sign up for Microsoft for Startups!
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| HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
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Swartz Center Education and Resources
No matter what phase of the entrepreneurship cycle you're in, there are programs and resources at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship that will take your idea to the next level. Find out more.
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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
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FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
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Have startup news or opportunities to share? Have questions about the Swartz Center Weekly Bulletin? Send news, opportunities or questions to Sonya Ford, Program Manager.
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
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