Notes From the Field: Startup Summit 2024

On April 19th, 2024 at 4:30pm, I was offered the Entrepreneurship Intern position at the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard.
 
On April 19th, 2024 at 4:31pm, I performed Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey for my two dogs while I paraded around in victory (Journey would be proud).

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The Athena Center office was exactly the fast-paced, fun, and supportive environment I was hoping for. Right from the start, I was being copied on large emails, designing marketing graphics, triple-checking every detail, hopping on back-to-back Zoom calls, and meeting the team. A bonus: delicious tikka masala for lunch whenever I wanted it, thanks to House of Kajaana and its founder Sabah Ashraf ‘96 and Athena alum Lili Cohen ‘19, who had generously stocked the Athena freezer.

That tikka masala was so good, in fact, I decided to reach out and share my love with Sabah and Lili themselves — leading to an amazing virtual coffee chat where I learned about their journey and how they’ve been hard at work developing the company. It felt incredibly empowering connecting with Barnard alums who want to help other Barnard alums succeed.

This practice of connecting with Barnard alums who are working on amazing startups and events with the community continued as I conducted more and more outreach, inviting folks to the Celebration of Entrepreneurship, our post-Startup Summit reception — folks like the founder of LaunchBreak, Philippa Portnoy ‘86, who was happy to schedule a coffee chat and speak about her endeavors, welcoming me with open arms to the alumni community and her peers. 

Elisa Miller-Out ‘97, a managing partner at Chloe Capital, was another accomplished alumna I reached out to. On our call, she invited me to the Founder Showcase that her company was putting on the following week. Getting to watch founders pitch their companies at that showcase was an incredible learning experience for me — I even got to watch my friends Vienna Sparks ‘26 and Skye Lam present their own multi award-winning startup, MabLab.

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Over time, those messages, zooms, and coffee chats led to actual relationships. I’ve never felt a stronger bond to Barnard alums, and these connections, and the perspectives and opportunities they brought, meant so much to me. As people I can reach out to for career guidance or interview advice now, these alums not only serve as professional help, but personal support. 

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April turned to May, May turned to June, and before I knew it, June 7th arrived and I headed to the office to start setting up for the summit with Lauren Carr, Senior Programs Assistant at Athena, and Jennifer Perusini ‘10 — whose brainchild this entire initiative was. Stickers, journals, and tote bags filled the space, along with the snacks I grabbed from the Fried Frank pantry. 

Following a brief introduction to the day from Jennifer and Athena’s Director Umbreen Bhatti ‘00, Yashreeka Huq dove right into things, with a presentation to participants about the intricacies of forming a company (who knew Delaware was so essential to startups?). She was followed by Samantha Greenspan ‘21, who gave insight to her own startup, Skolay, and the journey she took to get there (including a critical stop at the Columbia Startup Lab, where she was supported by the Athena Center). 

Over lunch, I moderated a fireside chat with Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti ‘91 — a real highlight for me since I was able to ask Eva about various aspects of her journey. Eva shared wisdom from 33 years in the field, providing insight on all that she had experienced — my favorite, paraphrased: the ones who succeed in the entrepreneurship space are fearless and insane.

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After lunch, Fried Frank attorney Katelyn Katsuki gave the cohort a quick introduction to IP law. I loved hearing about how funky AI laws are — and where they may be going. Alumna Elise King, Pooja Sinha, and Jennifer Perusini presented next, giving the cohort some great insights about how to fund one’s startup. The summit concluded with an upbeat and interactive elevator pitch workshop led by Alexandra Ruiz, Athena’s Entrepreneur in Residence.

It felt exhilarating to see all the hard work and planning we had conducted turning out so successful. From speaking with alumni working on their own startups and inviting me to see their progress like Rafat Nigar ‘16 and her startup Lemon Juice, to learning how to perfect my elevator pitch from Alex, and seeing this community come together and celebrate each other’s presence, the whole event was an absolute blast!

After hearing pitches from fellow students and alumni, we headed out of the conference room to the Celebration of Entrepreneurship. The brie cheese and strawberries were a highlight, but even better was seeing people filter into the space - people I had personally reached out to and invited. While going around the room and shaking hands, I was frequently recognized from my LinkedIn profile and the cold messages I had sent. I was like a brie and strawberry-loving celebrity! 

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Even after the event ended and I began to head home, the excitement and pride I felt never truly ceased. That was just so cool! I want to do it all again! 

Looking back at the Summit and where I was when I first entered the office, I can really see how much I’ve grown. Through extensive fun networking, coffee chats, professional emailing, data organizing, and graphic designing, I’ve made so much progress in my own personal abilities, alongside the amazing connections and relationships I’ve built along the way. 

I am grateful to the Athena Center and BEnet for having me this summer and letting me into this supportive community. I am part of  the most amazing and friendly team, and I cannot overstate how much I’ve learned just being around them. 

I can say with certainty that this won’t be my last experience with Barnard entrepreneurship and the startup space. In fact, I’m heading off to another event later today as I write this. I hope there’s good food there as well. And people, of course. 

Thank you to all those who attended the summit, it was such a pleasure having you. I am looking forward to new events and experiences, and I hope to see you there!

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