The Innovation Club is off to an exciting start at Colby!

Launched at the beginning of the spring 2024 semester, the new Innovation Club at Colby is on a mission to build a vibrant student community around entrepreneurship and innovation. Led by Jack Richard ’25, Dave Boku ’26, Carter Friese ’27, and guided by entrepreneur-in-residence Josh Kim ’24, the club has already hit the ground running with a series of engaging events. 

Since its inception, the Innovation Club has hosted four major events so far:

Innovation Club Launch: This warm introductory meeting brought together entrepreneurs and creatives from across campus. The event featured a fun competition with great prizes, setting an energetic tone for the club.

Student Founder Social: A social gathering for students working on their own ideas, passion projects, or startups. Founders from diverse disciplines shared their startup journeys, celebrating wins and troubleshooting roadblocks together.

Match Madness: The biggest event yet! Match Madness used a speed-matching format, allowing participants to connect with over 40 student founders in rapid 3-minute sessions. The event sparked numerous potential partnerships and collaborations.

Office Hours with Eric Paley: Students had the opportunity for a casual conversation with Eric Paley, the Managing Director of the Founder Collective. This time gave the students a shot for unfiltered feedback on their ideas from a highly successful venture capital investor.

The highlight of this semester has definitely been the Match Madness event. The lightning-fast matches created a buzz of excitement, facilitating connections between like-minded innovators and allowing fresh ideas to take root through potential partnerships.

To stay up-to-date on the Innovation Club’s upcoming events and announcements, be sure to follow their Instagram account @colbyinnovationclub. The club’s innovative spirit is already making waves on campus, and this is just the start to building entrepreneurial culture at Colby!