eLab is a credit-bearing student startup accelerator at Cornell University that launches about 12 real businesses each year. You and your team will spend one year evolving your business plan, speaking with potential customers, validating your business model, and actualizing your company so it's ready to operate by the end of the program.
Schedule:
- Interviews will take place during the first days of the fall semester and consist of a 5-minute presentation and 10-minutes of Q & A with the instructor team.
- Teams are paired with an advisory board consisting of investors, operators, eLab alumni, and instructors.
- Fall Semester, teams enroll in NBA 6230 – Actualizing your Startup I, a 1.5-credit course consisting of bootcamps, customer discovery report outs, mentor meetings, and a pitch event in NYC.
- In December, teams are re-evaluated on progress made throughout the fall semester and 12 teams are invited to continue into the spring semester.
- Spring Semester, teams enroll in NBA 6330 – Actualizing your Startup II, a 3-credit course consisting of weekly lectures, bootcamps, instructor office hours, mentor meetings, and two pitch events (one in San Francisco, one in Ithaca)
Pre/co-requisites:
Competitive
applicants will have completed one of the following prerequisites or be positioned to complete the requirement concurrently
during the fall semester:- NBA 3000 – The Business of Entrepreneurship (undergraduate)
- NBA 5640 – The Business of Entrepreneurship (graduate)
- NBA 5070 – Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers
- NBA 5645 Dilemmas in Founding New Ventures
- AEM 3249 – Entrepreneurial Marketing and Strategy
- MGMT 5640 – Entrepreneurship
- NSF I-Corps Regional Course
- HADM 4130/6130 — Entrepreneurial Management
- HADM 4144/6144 — Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Applications Close: 11:59 pm August 30, 2026