Entrepreneurship with ambition
The best entrepreneurs dream big — then check their assumptions and test their ideas systematically. They network across sectors to build connected business ecosystems capable of rapid, agile growth. Students, faculty and alumni in the SC Johnson College community launch startups that solve problems, transform industries and shape economies. And those who don't start their own businesses cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset applicable to any ambition.
Entrepreneurship by design
Successful startups don’t arrive in isolation, fully-formed. Instead, entrepreneurs conceptualize ideas, solicit input from industry players, prototype products, seek diverse funding sources and continually refine their plans.
A scaffold for growth
Throughout their education here, students tap into a vast entrepreneurship ecosystem that spans the entire university. Students learn fundamentals in their courses, ideate with classmates who become business partners and participate in accelerators and intensives. eLab, a startup course, focuses on customer discovery, fine tuning business plans and networking, whereas the Johnson School Summer Accelerator is a 10-week intensive exclusively for MBA students. Programs like these and others build mentorship into the process of developing and launching a successful business.
Industry input
Alumni and other business leaders shape the next generation of Cornell entrepreneurs by offering mentorship and feedback. They engage with the Entrepreneurs in Residence programs at the Johnson School and the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship. Industry partners also participate as sponsors or judges in pitch competitions, where they share their expertise, offer honest feedback, encourage new talent and perhaps even spot their next investment.
Proving grounds for founders
Feedback is required for successful business planning. At these competitions hosted by Cornell, students deliver their pitches to industry judges and receive honest critiques.
Hospitality Business Plan Competition
This annual event, hosted by the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, begins at the start of the academic year when students form teams and deliver 5-minute pitches for their hospitality business concepts. The competition ends in early spring during Hotel Ezra Cornell, when finalists present their plans to judges. Prizes for the top three finishers total more than $37,000.
Cornell Mark Mobius Pitch Competition
This competition, hosted by the Cañizares Center for Emerging Markets, invites applications from entrepreneurs, students and recent graduates. Finalists who address challenges in emerging markets while creating new opportunities for growth and innovation present at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City. The winner receives a $30,000 prize, and each finalist team receives $10,000.
The BenDaniel Venture Challenge
The BenDaniel Venture Challenge is Big Red Venture’s Annual Pitch Competition. Five finalists pitch their business ideas to an investor panel during Entrepreneurship at Cornell Celebration. Winners earn a cash prize totaling $25,000 — plus an additional $25,000 match if the technology is licensed through Cornell — to push their idea forward.
Startup Awards at Cornell Tech
The annual Startup Awards offer an evening of pitches, demonstrations, and celebration of student-led entrepreneurship. Finalist teams present their startup companies as they compete for up to $100,000 in investment, along with office space and mentorship — the culmination of the rigorous Startup Studio program.
Entrepreneurship at Cornell
This university-wide program expands the college’s business ecosystem across campus and beyond, fostering the entrepreneurial spirit in participants from every every field and at every career stage. At the annual Eclectic Convergence in NYC, Cornell students and business executives network and find inspiration. In Ithaca, participants collaborate at eHub.
Enterprising faculty
SC Johnson College faculty specializing in entrepreneurship have scholarly knowledge and direct experience with ideating and launching successful enterprises.
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Gregory Chandler Ray
Associate Teaching Professor; Don & Margi Berens Professor of Entrepreneurship -
Imke Reimers
J. Thomas and Nancy W. Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship -
Lisa Chervinsky
Assistant Teaching Professor; Academic Director for MMH -
Tom Schryver
Visiting Lecturer; David J. BenDaniel Faculty Advisor for the BR Ventures Fund
Programs made for entrepreneurs
These programs offer core skills and scaffolding for students as they develop their business ventures and build networks to last a lifetime.
Undergraduates
Courses in entrepreneurship abound at Cornell. Dyson School students can choose entrepreneurship as a concentration, whereas any Cornell student can pursue a minor in entrepreneurship or apply to participate in the eLab startup accelerator.
MBA students
MBA students benefit from an entrepreneurship curriculum that supports the development of new business ventures. The Life Sciences Technology Innovation Fellows Program connects MBA students with PhD students to prepare them to launch their own startups. MBA students are also invited to give back to the local community by consulting with entrepreneurs through Big Red Microenterprise.
Master’s students
Students in the Master of Management in Hospitality program build foundational knowledge in leadership ethics, operations management, corporate finance, communication to support their entrepreneurial goals. Master’s in Real Estate students hone their skills in entrepreneurial development.
Cornell Business News
Johnson Cornell Tech MBA ranks No. 4 in entrepreneurship excellence
Startup bootcamps. Acquisitions. Millions in seed funding. Johnson Cornell Tech MBA graduates seize these opportunities and more.
Ithaca Hummus founder Chris Kirby named 2026 Cornell Hospitality Innovator
Chris Kirby ’15, founder of Ithaca Hummus, is named 2026 Cornell Hospitality Innovator and will be honored June 2 in NYC for leadership and impact.
Hospitality competition winner plans to expand restaurant into a chain
Master’s student Avery Sheppard won $25,000 to put toward her fish and chips eatery by winning the Nolan School’s hospitality business plan competition.
Students pitch startups at Autodesk Gallery
Students travel to San Francisco to pitch startups at the Cornell Silicon Valley: Student Startup Showcase at Autodesk Gallery.
Alumni connect through the Cornell Entrepreneurship Network.
Entrepreneurial Centers & Institutes
Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship
The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship engages leading industry experts and faculty to educate students and provide them with experiential opportunities to learn all aspects of entrepreneurship. To support these critical goals, the Pillsbury Institute offers students, entrepreneurs and faculty an expanding range of courses, programs and activities focused on advancing students’ entrepreneurship knowledge and mastery.
Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship
This center engages in research, education and outreach activities focused on improving the business of veterinary medicine. The CVBE leverages the strengths of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and thought leaders from across the veterinary ecosystem to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing animal health today.
Smith Family Business Initiative
The Smith Family Business Initiative is dedicated to supporting and strengthening the network of owners, leaders and alumni that work in, with or for a family business. Founded in 2014 from a generous gift from John and Dyan Smith, the Smith Family Business Initiative provides education, networking and new knowledge for family business owners, successors and students from across the globe.
Thrive with us, on campus and beyond
Industry leaders partner with the SC Johnson College through entrepreneurship programs, sponsored research projects, roundtables and centers and institutes.