Athens Innovators Awarded Over $50,000 at Lab To Market Pitch Competition
How is Columbia University bridging the gap between innovation and entrepreneurship?
In July, Columbia Global Center Athens, in partnership with Columbia Engineering, the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Endeavor Greece, and HIAS, hosted the Lab to Market Pitch Competition at the Athens Conservatoire, bringing together 15 teams to compete for an over $50,000 prize pool and pro bono support from top consulting and law firms.
The competition marked the culmination of the inaugural cohort of the Lab to Market Initiative, an intensive program combining months of training and mentorship with a week-long immersion in New York's innovation ecosystem.
Maria Bakouli, Co-Founder and Market Lead of Wastechain from the winning team shared, “Six months of hard work turned into the most rewarding experience of my academic years. Sharing the stage with such inspiring professionals and promising young entrepreneurs pushed me to exceed my own limits. Thank you all for setting the bar so high.”
