eLab Applications

Secure your spot with some of the brightest and most driven students in the nation

Applications are now open for 2025-26. Stay tuned to meet the cohort!

eLab is a credit-bearing student startup accelerator at Cornell University that launches several real businesses each year. You and your team will develop your business plan, speak with potential customers, pitch to investors, develop a minimum viable product, and prepare for launch.

Juniors, seniors, graduate students, and PhD candidates are invited to apply. Applications close September 1st. 

Attend an upcoming information session to learn more about the program 🖇️ 

Apply for the 2025-26 eLab Cohort

Structure

  • Interviews will be held during the week of Labor Day and will include a 5-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A with program instructors.
  • All teams will be paired with an advisory board consisting of Cornell alumni entrepreneurs, instructors, and recent eLab alumni.
  • 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 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, a startup Trek to San Francisco, and Demo Day in Ithaca.

Who is eligible?

Cornell students on the Ithaca campus who are in the second half of an undergraduate degree, the later stages of a PhD, or the final year of a master’s program. 

Prerequisites

Competitive applicants will have completed one of the following prerequisites or 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 4144/6144 — Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • HADM 4130/6130 — Entrepreneurial Management
  • Other courses may be allowed with permission of program leadership  

What should I do after I apply?

Take an entrepreneurship class

If you are interested in founding a startup but have not yet taken an entrepreneurship class, take one of the many entrepreneurship courses offered on campus as soon as possible to prepare for applying to eLab.

Prepare to give a 5-minute presentation

Read our Preparing for eLab page

On the Preparing for eLab page, you will find a few resources to help you refine your concepts, strengthen your team, and improve your own entrepreneurial skill set.

Questions?

If you have questions or are interested in joining or working for an eLab startup, we would be happy to help.
Reach Out