Fall 2026 Entrepreneurship Kickoff

Every way to build at Purdue, in one night.

buildpurdue and The HIVE are hosting the Fall 2026 Purdue Entrepreneurship Kickoff. 100+ students and 20+ organizations, in one building, for two hours.

Purdue has more support for student founders than almost anyone realizes. The problem is that it's scattered across a dozen offices, programs, funds, and clubs. Most students find it by accident, junior year, one program at a time.

So we put all of it in one room for one night.

Who you'll meet

Purdue Innovates. 16Tech. Elevate Ventures. Venture X. The Anvil. Mitch Daniels School of Business. The HIVE. The buildpurdue Cohort. The Certificate in Entrepreneurship. The Springer Certificate. The Burton Morgan Competition. Roll Tack Ventures. Greater Lafayette Commerce. Plus student orgs including the Humanoid Robot Club, Amplify Purdue, Purdue Stack, and Purdue Vital.

Between them: a $100,000 total prize pitch competition, commercialization and startup funding, a two-semester venture program with up to $5,000 per team, early-stage VC, makerspace and accelerator access, an Indianapolis innovation district, and the founder community you'd actually build with.

How the night works

You check in and get a color. Your color is your group, and your group decides which room you start in and who you meet first. Two rooms, three rounds, everyone gets time with everyone.

There's also a game running all night, and there are prizes. Worth more than an NFT, less than a Tesla.

Who it's for

Any Purdue student. You do not need an idea, a team, a cofounder, or any startup experience.

If you've never thought about building anything and are curious what that even looks like, this is the best night of the year to show up. If you're already building and looking for money, space, or a first hire, the people who can help are standing in one room.

Undergrad, master's, PhD, any major. Free and open to everyone.

This room comes together once a year. If you're not in it, you spend the semester meeting these people one at a time, if you meet them at all.

Questions: buildp@purdue.edu