|
|
| In Loving Memory
Respironics Founder Gerald E. McGinnis Dies
| |
| Long time friend and founder of Respironics Gerry McGinnis, who graciously endowed the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship's annual McGinnis Venture Competition, has died. The news of his passing was received on Thursday, January 25. Tributes were given at last night's kickoff to the 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition at the CMU Swartz Center.
The Swartz Center team is truly saddened by this news and sends condolences to his daugher Alicia and the entire McGinnis family. More details will be shared as they become available.
| |
CMU-Q and Qatari Businesswomen’s Association Partner to Empower Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) and the Qatari Businesswomen’s Association (QBWA) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding to encourage and empower the next generation of female business leaders. CMU-Q is a Qatar Foundation partner university. The agreement was signed by CMU-Q Dean Michael Trick and QBWA Vice Chairwoman Aisha Hussein Alfardan.
| |
Meter Feeder CEO Jim Gibbs Takes Adversity and
Success in Stride
Carneige Mellon alumnus Jim Gibbs, co-founder and CEO of Meter Feeder, has been making a living writing computer software since he was six. Still, the road to becoming the boss of his own company hasn’t been easy. Gibbs and co-founder Daniel Lopretto started Meter Feeder after winning a hackathon, which led to a prestigious three-month boot camp in Silicon Valley in 2016 where the two were mentored by Y Combinator, the angel startup accelerator.
| |
| Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 PM ET
Location: CMU Swartz Center, Tepper Quad, 3rd Fl., 4765 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
| |
Apply to the VentureBridge Summer Accelerator by February 29!
The VentureBridge Summer Accelerator is a 12-week summer program that helps CMU startups by providing funding ($25K investment from CMU), speakers, workshops, 1:1 support, and introductions to mentors and advisors.
Eligible startups must have at least one Carnegie Mellon University affiliated alumni founder that is full time on the company. All applications must include a pitch deck and a two-minute pitch video. The early application deadline is February 29, 2024 and the final deadline is March 29, 2024. Send questions to Aleks Petkov, Program Manager.
Register for an information session:
February 1, 2024
March 4, 2024
| |
Apply to the Spring 2024 Customer Discovery
Kickstart Program
The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship’s Project Olympus Incubator is seeking candidates for
its March, 2024 cohort of the Customer Discovery Kickstart, a program for early-stage startups to explore
the feasibility of their business ideas.
Startup teams in the 4-week program learn about the fundamentals of customer discovery, including conducting customer discovery interviews and will receive coaching from experienced
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. CMU startup founders, including alumni, are eligible to apply. The next cohort will begin on March 20 and run through April 10.
Register for a virtual info session:
February 12; 12-1:30 PM ET
Contact Melanie Simko, Program Manager with questions.
| |
| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
| |
Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
Find out more and see the full schedule.
| |
|  1/30
REGISTER
CONNECTS: How To Know That You're Ready for an Investment (Christine S. Ferguson-Rau, Ferguson Financial Consulting
| |  1/31
REGISTER
CONNECTS: An Entrepreneurs' Guide to Managing Legal (Dave Mawhinney and Craig Markovitz, CMU Swartz Center)
| |  2/1
REGISTER
CONNECTS: Pitching: An Investors Perspective (Cathrine Mott and Sreekar Gadde, BlueTree VC)
| |
| | |
Fireside Chat Featuring Jason Chen and Shagun Maheshwari Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Location: Swartz Center, Tepper Quad, 3rd Floor
If you're currently building, thinking about starting a company or are interested in VCs, join the CMU Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Association (UEA) for a fireside chat featuring Jason Chen (Partner at Contrary) and Shagun Maheshwari (Innovation Scholar and Student Venture Partner at Contrary) for the chance to receive guidance for the next steps in your professional journey. Networking reception with refreshments to follow. Register here.
| |
|
Discover Voyager Hard Cider: Pop-Up Events starting on January 26, 2024
Voyager Cider, a new Pittsburgh-based, hard cidery focusing on dry, complex ciders and co-founded by current MBA '24 James Bucki, is launching with a series of pop-ups at Carnegie Coffee Company. Take a bottle of cider to go or stay and have a glass alongside a full menu of food (with gluten free options!). The pop-ups at Carnegie Coffee Company are scheduled weekly through March 2024. Fridays: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM and Saturdays: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM. See you there!
| |
|
The mission of 99 Tartans is to partner with the highest potential, early-stage CMU alumni companies and accelerate their success through access to capital and networks. Find out more.
| |
CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
| |
Announcing the CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship
Rebrand Design Competition!
The CMU T&E has announced a brand design competition to refresh the its visual identity for the growing CMU T&E community. Open to everyone, the competition closes on January 31, 2024
at midnight.
| |
| The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group connects the CMU community, alumni and students, to build an entrepreneurial culture and provide resources to help the community succeed. There are multiple region-based chapters within the group. Find out more and join the CMU T&E blog,
the CMU Tech Entrepreneur!
| |
The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
| |
| 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.
| |
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
| |
|
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 currently 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.
To sign up for a 30 minute session with Matt, complete the Signup Form by the Thursday prior to your desired appointment. If you need to schedule an office hour outside of these regular hours,
contact Daria Stokes.
| |
Legal Services Weekly Office Hours
Sign up for weekly office hours.
| |
| PATRON SPOTLIGHT
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a multi-jurisdictional, full-service law firm that takes a progressive approach to providing counsel at each stage of a client’s life cycle. Our dedicated team works closely with our clients to form entities, advise on the most advantageous entity type and design and negotiate joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. If a client has a dispute, Steptoe & Johnson has a team of business and product liability litigators and labor and employment lawyers to guide clients through these often stressful and disruptive situations. Steptoe & Johnson brings a strong skillset for data privacy, cyber security, and intellectual property matters which are frequent concerns for startups and technology companies. It offers competitive and flexible rates and aims to provide value to its clients.
| |
HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
| |
| |
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.
| | |
| |
Project Olympus Incubator Program
Want more help with finding product/market fit, developing your business model, making connections and attracting funding? Project Olympus will team you up with a business coach to develop a personalized ‘roadmap. Find out more.
| | |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
| |
| | |
The VentureBridge program is an initiative of the Swartz Center 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. Find out more.
| | |
FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
| |
|
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.
| |
|
|
|
Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
|
|
|
