program agenda

Auditorium

Auditorium Sources of Capital

Cinema Space Sources of Capital

Mainstream investors are increasingly applying Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) factors in their portfolio decisions. How effective is this investment practice in terms of financial returns? Do ESG investors change corporate behavior? How do investors identify material factors that both influence the long term sustainability of the business, as well as its impact on the environment or community in which they operate?

Room 555 Sources of Capital

There is a growing opportunity for returning veterans to launch their own ventures as a way to gain financial independence. What are the programs providing training and access to capital?

Broadway Uses of Capital

According to the McKinsey Global Institute’s Future of Work Report, the next wave of automation has the potential to displace jobs in office support, food service, transport, and logistics in customer service roles, which may farther increase the disparity in income inequality across the country. Great investment is needed in the education and training of young people to prepare them for ending careers. Gaining first-hand experience in the workplace is an essential step for making decisions about future career pathways. What would it take to guarantee every high schooler in America (14.4M) a paid internship?

Satow Uses of Capital

With the rise of impact investing has also come the growth of purpose-driven for-profit ventures. The greatest social problems of our time demand innovation at scale, so how do successful social ventures transition from startups to scaleups? Are there specific barriers to operating and raising funds at a double bottom-line company? What can we learn from successful for-profit social enterprises?

Cinema Space Sources of Capital

Venture capital funding has surged in recent years, with over $131 billion invested in the US last year, according to Pitchboard’s dashboard. However, female founders received only two percent of venture capital investment in this last year. If systems give us the outcomes they are designed to deliver, what are the flaws in the system? A growing network of funders, incubators, and accelerators see an opportunity and are trying to change that. How are they addressing the root causes? Is it really a pipeline problem? And, what does the future hold for funding female founders?

Broadway Uses of Capital

A recent poll by Citylab indicates overwhelming support across the United States for affordable housing to be a national priority.  More than 80 percent of Americans polled want the government to take major action to prevent homelessness. Is the solution to the housing crisis in NYC and other big cities simply allowing developers to build more housing – regardless of which income band it targets? What are the arguments for and against this approach? How would you accomplish this from a policy perspective and how would you overcome neighborhood objections? Additionally, what are the considerations for urban planning and design?

Room 555 Sources of Capital

How does traditional funding of medical research incorporate or exclude issues of women’s health? What are some new approaches that can help support the development of new treatments and diagnostics in women’s health? From the support of basic research to the commercialization of new technologies, there is a funding gap in both research and entrepreneurship for individuals looking to address women’s health issues and solutions. To close the gap, there is a need for specialized and targeted funding of medical research in women’s health, as well as building a pipeline of women entrepreneurs and professionals in the sector who are addressing the needs of women’s issues. What are the ways in which early-stage investors are allocating their capital in order to address the needs of women within the health care industry?

Satow Uses of Capital

Looking to learn about innovative startup ideas? Want to hear about the business models they are using to solve social and environmental challenges? Interested in joining a team or getting involved with a startup?

This session will have lightning round venture pitches from a variety of Columbia-affiliated social and environmental startups, as well as time to network with them and others in the audience. It’s fun, easy, and informal!

Auditorium Sources of Capital

Cinema Space Sources of Capital

From co-ops to memberships to blockchain, news is in a fight for its life. As media organizations grapple with social media, tech’s disruption of business models, “fake news,” and distrust by segments of audiences in society, how can they establish their role in democratic societies? How are they keeping themselves accountable the various actors in society, including itself? How can philanthropy, readers, and technology enable quality and sustainable journalism without narrowcasting and focusing on the silos that draw from fear and difference?

Room 555 Sources of Capital

Research shows that countries with deeper levels of financial inclusion — defined as access to affordable, appropriate financial services — have stronger GDP growth rates and lower income inequality. What role is fintech playing in bringing financial services to the underserved? What are the challenges to making these services accessible? What strategies are fintech ventures using to improve the financial wellbeing of lower income customers?

Broadway Uses of Capital

Globally, food and agriculture are responsible for over 20 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions and 75 percent of global deforestation. At the same time, climate change will profoundly impact our food and agriculture systems through changes in temperatures and growing seasons, extreme weather and water patterns, and ranges of pests and plant diseases.

What is the global food system’s role in climate change, and how are businesses tackling these issues? For companies that grow, make, and serve food, how are they taking into account climate change and the role that food, food waste, and agriculture play in this global challenge?

Satow Uses of Capital

The refugee crisis has displaced more than 28 million children globally. The trauma inflicted can have particularly negative and long lasting adverse effects on children. However, innovative partnerships have helped bring mobile classrooms and health clinics to many Syrian refugees. Can public / private partnerships alleviate this suffering for children living in refugee camps or in other displaced homes around the world?