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Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA·College
At a glance
Indexed programs
5
5 currently active
Top direct funding
No direct cash prizes indexed
Equity
No equity on indexed programs
Program mix
4
Student Organization · Course · Curriculum
Research verdict
Included in our research index.
Known startups and winners
Competition winners and notable student ventures from our research.
Historical winners (research notes)
- Trilobio — Technology Venture Capstone alumni-founded company (synthetic biology robotics)
Olin College of Engineering
Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum / Catalyst
Olin College of Engineering's entrepreneurship ecosystem is distinguished by its deep curricular integration — every first-year student takes an entrepreneurship course as part of the AHSE (Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences & Entrepreneurship) foundation. The Catalyst student-run hub provides grants up to $1,000 and mentorship. The Technology Venture Capstone (TVC) offers a rigorous year-long startup-building experience taught by SolidWorks co-founder Scott Harris. The Design Justice Studio (DJS) creates social ventures with communities worldwide. The Greentown Labs Megawatt Partnership provides internship and career pathways into climate tech startups.
Key Details
- Size: ~400 undergraduate students
- Entrepreneurship Hub: Catalyst (student-run, no dedicated center)
- Seed Funding: Catalyst grants up to $1,000
- Startup Capstones: TVC (for-profit ventures), DJS (social ventures)
- External Partnership: Greentown Labs (largest North American ClimateTech incubator, 200+ startups)
- Network: KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network, 24 colleges)
- Cross-Registration: Babson College entrepreneurship courses available
- Faculty: Scott Harris (distinguished partner, SolidWorks/Onshape co-founder), Scott Miller (CEO Dragon Innovation)
- Facilities: No dedicated incubator/accelerator building; general project spaces and Olin Shops (machine shop)
- Address: 1000 Olin Way, Needham, MA
Assessment
Tier 3 (medium confidence) — Small emerging ecosystem at a tiny (~400 students) engineering college. Entrepreneurship is deeply integrated into the required curriculum (all first-years take an entrepreneurship course), which is unusual for an engineering school. Catalyst provides modest student-led funding ($1K grants). TVC offers a high-quality startup capstone taught by serial entrepreneur Scott Harris. DJS provides social venture pathways. The Greentown Labs Megawatt Partnership connects students to a 200+ startup climate tech incubator. However, there is no dedicated incubator/accelerator building, no venture fund, no significant pitch competition prize pool, and no formal entrepreneurship center with dedicated staff. Ecosystem scale is fundamentally limited by the 400-student population.
News & articles
5 news articles and official sources documenting entrepreneurship programs, winners, and activity at Olin College of Engineering.
5 sources
Official sources(5)
Catalyst - Olin College of Engineering Student-Run Entrepreneurship Hub
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Catalyst - Olin College of Engineering Student-Run Entrepreneurship Hub
Source: https://www.olin.edu/give-olin-areas-support-student-crowdfunding/catalyst Captured: 2026-06-25 Catalyst is Olin's student-run hub for entrepreneurship. Provides students with funding, mentorship, and a community of builders so they can turn ideas into real projects and ventures. Key details from page: Student-run hub for entrepreneurship Grants up to $1,000 Mentorship and office hours Workshops on validating ideas and talking to users Hosts speaker events and community gatherings Connects entrepreneurial people across Olin and meets Babson students Fundraising goal: $5,000 (crowdfunding) Contact: odcr@olin.edu
Read on Olin College of Engineering
Design Justice Studio (DJS) - Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Design Justice Studio (DJS) - Olin College of Engineering
Read on Olin College of Engineering
Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum - Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum - Olin College of Engineering
Read on Olin College of Engineering
Greentown Labs Partnership - Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Greentown Labs Partnership - Olin College of Engineering
Source: https://www.olin.edu/partnerships/greentown-labs-climate-action-work Captured: 2026-06-25 Greentown Labs is the largest ClimateTech startup incubator in North America. Olin is a Megawatt Partner. Key details: Somerville, MA and Houston, TX locations 200+ climateTech startups Olin became Megawatt Partner in Fall 2021 Interns: 2 (2021) → 7 (2022) → 12 (2023) Alumni at member companies: 3 → 16 SCOPE sponsors: SparkCharge, LineVision Faculty conduct office hours at Somerville location Professor Ben Linder provided Lifecycle Analysis workshop Professor Helen Donis-Keller integrates visits into Biomes, Biodiversity and Climate Change class Olin logo prominently displayed as Megawatt Partner
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Technology Venture Capstone (TVC) - Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Technology Venture Capstone (TVC) - Olin College of Engineering
Source: https://www.olin.edu/articles/story-year-long-entrepreneurship-course-helps-students-build-sound-startups Source: https://www.olin.edu/academics/capstone-programs Captured: 2026-06-25 Technology Venture Capstone (TVC) is a year-long capstone option for Olin students serious about building startups. Key details: Started in 2018 Taught by Scott Harris (distinguished partner in engineering and entrepreneurship, co-founder of SolidWorks Corp and Onshape Inc) Co-teachers have included Scott Miller (CEO of Dragon Innovation), Jon Stevenson, Abe Feldman '12 (director of product design for PTC) Students must apply and be admitted Students come in with an important problem to solve Covers market segmentation, pain points, value of a solution Uses faculty expertise and industry mentors Alumni company example: Trilobio (synthetic biology robots, founded 2021, 5 employees, multiple customer labs) Other startup ideas: carbon capture tracking, data integration for farmers, music synthesizer, ecommerce for LARPers
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This profile lists 5 programs for Olin College of Engineering. Some details may be outdated until a director verifies them.
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