Campus
Fast Pitch Competition Puts Columbia Entrepreneurs in the Spotlight
Now in its fifteenth year, the annual Fast Pitch competition challenges students to showcase their ideas for a chance to win seed funding for their startup ideas.
The next cohort of Columbia entrepreneurs took center stage at Davis Auditorium on Nov.19 for the annual Fast Pitch competition, where contestants were tasked to deliver pitches for their businesses in under 60 seconds. Thirty-five teams of undergraduate and graduate students made their case for a chance to win up to $5,000 in funding — showcasing ideas ranging from novel AI tools to technological approaches to healthcare and sustainability.
Now in its fifteenth year, the Fast Pitch competition is designed to help participants perfect the classic elevator pitch – clearly communicating a problem, a solution, and a vision in under a minute.
Ivy Schultz, director of Columbia Entrepreneurship programs at the Engineering School, emphasized the value of the event as a platform for students to network, build teams, and prepare for the larger Startup Columbia competition.
“Fast Pitch is where many of our students take their first step in the entrepreneurship arena,” Schultz said. “It’s an incredible snapshot of Columbia’s ingenuity, and we encourage everyone to follow the progress of the students and teams.”
Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Undergraduate Winners
1st Place
Hearify: Enhancing communications for the hearing impaired; providing aural rehabilitation for those who need it. Team Lead: Veer Chopra ’29CC
2nd Place
NEUR: The future of law is accessible – NEUR empowers users to confidently face any legal challenge. Team Lead: Sikirat Mustapha ’25CC
3rd Place
O2-Matic: Automating ambu-bag ventilation for low-resource care settings. Team Lead: Andre Perez ’26SEAS with team members Kavita Murthy ’26SEAS, Daniella Uvaldo ’26SEAS, Kailyn Grant ’26SEAS, Mia Raneri ’26SEAS, and Flavia Bottai ’26SEAS
Graduate Winners
1st Place
Perpetua: Software for executors managing digital estates. Team Lead: Jacqueline Deprey ’26MBAxMS with team member Shruti Das ’26SIPA
2nd Place
HeraHealth: Digital health platform delivering actionable postpartum data for female confidence and medical autonomy. Team Lead: Aya Zaatreh ‘26SEAS
3rd Place
Votely: The most accurate, detailed, and sharable political quiz ever made. Team Lead: Jules Lemée ’26SEAS
Audience choice
Babble: One app for thinking, noting, and coding. Team Lead: Siwakorn Komolhiran ‘28SEAS (left), with member Sanay Sheth
Lead Photo Caption: Team leader Jacqueline Deprey ’26MBAxMS presents her 60-second pitch for Daia Diabetes.
Lead Photo Credit: Sirin Samman/Columbia Engineering