Startup Studio

About This Course

In Startup Studio, you and a team of your classmates will develop your own new product or startup idea. You’ll experience the entire process, from developing your idea, to prototyping and testing, to pitching to investors. You can even apply for a Startup Award that will provide funding and other support to help you turn your Startup Studio project into a real business. (Prerequisite: Product Studio)

How It Works

1. Develop your vision. In the Startup Ideas course, you and your classmates will have developed, evaluated, and refined thousands of startup ideas. You will choose one of those ideas to pursue in Startup Studio.
2. Assemble your team. You and your classmates will find peers with complementary skill sets and shared passions. Then you will self-organize into startup teams.
3. Create your startup. Once your idea is chosen and your team is assembled, you’ll dive into the process of creating a startup: refining your idea and developing a pitch deck and prototype that you will test with users and present to members of New York City’s vibrant tech startup community.
4. Hone your product development skills. As you and your teammates develop your startup idea in the Studio, you’ll also participate in weekly Product Management sessions, in which you will learn and practice the many product management skills required to develop new technology products.
5. Work smarter. To accelerate your business development progress, you’ll participate in scrum, crit and Studio Sprints with active entrepreneurs, product owners and technical managers. They will provide practical feedback and instruction, encourage your weekly progress and help address any challenges your team is facing.
6. Take it with you. The primary goal of Startup Studio is to provide you with skills and experience that you can apply to the rest of your degree and new ventures after graduation. However, many teams turn their Startup Studio projects into real businesses. Cornell Tech supports that transition with Startup Awards, which consist of investment capital and one year of free co-working space.