An invitation to organizations supporting student founders
Meet 100+ Purdue student founders.
Entrepreneurship Kickoff 2026
When
Thursday, September 3
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Where
The HIVE
On the floor
20+ orgs
programs and funds
Coming
Open to everyone
Two hours, and it costs your org nothing. Questions first? Nandini Katragadda | buildp@purdue.edu
Our Offer
What you get
- A table on the floor.
- Setup time before doors, and help finding your spot.
- A briefing before the event: who is coming, and what the evening looks like.
What we ask
- Somebody at your table for the whole evening.
- A sign or poster with your name on it, plus whatever you want to hand out.
- A way for students to reach you afterwards — email, LinkedIn, whatever you use.
Cost to your organization
$0
How it works
Ask for a table
One short form. No commitment on your side until we confirm.
We confirm and brief you
You get your spot, the floor plan, arrival time, and the four questions students will ask.
Show up and talk
Two hours at your table. We handle the room, the students, and everything around it.
Who will be there
Premium Partners
Featured on the official Kickoff shirt
Premium partnerHIVE
Premium partnerbuildpurdue Cohort
Premium partnerMitch Daniels School of Business
Premium partnerCertificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Premium partnerFortitude Fund
Premium partnerNextBetter Ventures
Premium partnerAmplify Purdue
Partners
Purdue Innovates
Commercialization, licensing, and startup funding for Purdue innovators.
16Tech
Indianapolis innovation district — 300+ innovation entities, labs, and makerspace.
Elevate Ventures
Early-stage VC investing pre-seed through Series A.
Roll Tack Ventures
Venture firm, and a buildpurdue partner.
VisionTech
Indiana angel investing group, with chapters in Lafayette, Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Fort Wayne.
Venture X
Two-semester venture sequence. Up to $5,000 per team.
Anvil
Purdue’s home for student entrepreneurs. BoilerLaunch, the Forge, the Boiler accelerator.
Burton D. Morgan Venture Concept Competition
Purdue’s venture concept competition for student founders testing a business idea.
Springer Certificate
A Purdue entrepreneurship certificate program.
Hacking for Defense
Purdue course where student teams work real defense and national security problems.
Greater Lafayette Commerce
Greater Lafayette’s chamber of commerce and economic development organization.
MatchBOX
Coworking studio in downtown Lafayette.
Networking room
Purdue student clubs, in their own room alongside the main floor.
Humanoid Robotics Club
Purdue student club building humanoid robots.
ML@Purdue
Purdue’s machine learning club — projects, workshops, and mentorship.
Boiler Blockchain
Purdue student organization for blockchain and Web3 builders, researchers, and founders.
Purdue Venture Consulting
Student-led consulting for Purdue student ventures and local entrepreneurs.
Purdue Stack
Purdue Vital
Request a table.
Thursday, September 3, 2026 / 6:00 – 8:00 PM / The HIVE
Would rather come and meet students without a table? Come as a guest. Or email Nandini Katragadda | buildp@purdue.edu.
Builders you'll meet
Software and AI
Tools, apps, and models. The most common first build.
Hardware and robotics
Mechanical, electrical, and robotics students with a prototype on a bench.
Aerospace and defense
Aero and adjacent engineering students, including work that started as a lab project.
Agriculture and food
Ag tech and food systems, often by students who grew up around it.
Health and life sciences
Pharmacy, biomedical, and health students building around care and diagnostics.
Consumer and campus businesses
Brands and services that started by selling to other students.
Where they’re at
Students place themselves on this ladder and partners say which rungs they serve. The room skews toward the earlier end.
- No startup knowledge or experience
- Knows about startups, does not know where to start
- Looking for an idea worth building
- Building and iterating a prototype
- Early traction, first active customers
- Pre-seed and investment ready
Questions
What does a table cost?
Nothing. The event is free for partners and for students.
How many people should we send?
One is enough, as long as somebody is at the table the whole evening. Two makes it easier to take breaks and to talk to more students at once.
Do we have to present anything?
No. There is no stage and no slot. You get four questions students will ask in advance, and that is the whole of the preparation.
Who else will be there?
The confirmed partners are listed above, and the list updates as orgs say yes. Alongside them are invited guests: alumni, investors, and founders coming to meet students rather than run a table.
What if we can only come for part of it?
Tell us in the form, and we will plan the floor around it.
Anything not answered here: Nandini Katragadda | buildp@purdue.edu.
Not bringing a table?
Two other ways into the same night.