We are the starting point to all things Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital within the UW Foster MBA program. EVCC exists to serve you and your entrepreneurial instincts, serving as a connection to the wealth of resources across the entire UW campus and PNW ecosystem.
An entirely student-led organization, our goal is to create an engaging and immersive environment enabling fellow students to build connections, explore new opportunities, and hone entrepreneurial skillsets across the startup community at Foster and the wider PNW ecosystem. We hope to reinforce UW’s existing entrepreneurial strengths and create a strong community of entrepreneurially-minded students within the Foster cohort, to help each other navigate a traditionally uncharted career path.
A few events & benefits to look forward to:
Half-Baked Pitch Night Competition, held quarterly
Panels & Speaker series ranging from SaaS and Crypto related start-ups to Healthcare and CPG verticals.
Direct connections with Seattle's deep VC network through our partner program, Venture Fellows
Club member-only events to build pitch skills and entrepreneurship network within Foster
Aaron Altabet
President
Full-time Class of 2025
Aaron is a former science teacher and wilderness trip leader with a passion for the people side of scientific innovation. During his time in the MBA program at Foster, he has enjoyed his time as a Venture Fellow at Pioneer Square Labs and Pack VC, where he’s helped validate, build, and fund startups here in Seattle. In his free time, Aaron loves cooking for friends, hiking, and anything that has to do with boats.
Cera Kayli Laidlaw
Vice President – Evening MBA
Part-Time Class of 2026
Cera Laidlaw is the first admitted openly transgender woman to the UW Foster's MBA program. She is pivoting after two decades in entertainment technology to invest in others through early stage venture capital. A former accredited investor that is focusing on business development for startups to make sound investments.
VISWANATH CHILAKALA
Vice President
Full-time Class of 2025
Viswanath Chilakala, originally from Hyderabad, India, is the Vice President of the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club at the Foster School of Business. With a background in data engineering and venture management, he helps students navigate the startup ecosystem, engage in pitch competitions, and bring their ideas to life. Passionate about innovation, he collaborates with founders and mentors to drive impactful ventures forward.
Mateo Cornin
Board Member
Part-time Class of 2027
Mateo is a nature enthusiast, a proud father of two wonderful children, and part of a family with a strong entrepreneurial legacy. He has built a career in energy efficiency that couples his expertise in engineering with his values as a conservationist. As an MBA-candidate and representative of EVCC, Mateo is forging pathways for entrepreneurs and investors to catalyze climate action.
Valeriia Gill
Board Member
Part-Time Class of 2027
Valeriia “Ria” is passionate about emerging technology and people. She is a Program Manager at Web3 Institute within Ukraine’s Digital Ministry, a research fellow at Ethereum Foundation’s Next Billion initiative, and a Techstars Business Accelerator alumna. With a background in User Experience, she strives to bring innovative ideas to life.
Nicolas Picon
Board Member
Full-time Class of 2026
Nicolas Picon is a first-year MBA student with an engineering background and hands-on experience at a biotech startup. Passionate about entrepreneurship and venture capital, he is dedicated to empowering underrepresented founders and driving innovation in health tech. In his free time, Nicolas enjoys playing sports, trekking, and discovering global cuisines.
Interested in starting your own company? Looking for advice on how to write a business plan, or how to pitch to investors? Wondering where to find co-working space or IT help? Check out the following startup resources:
Resources compiled by the Buerke Center (Business plan writing, pitching, etc): http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/entrepreneurship/Pages/startup-resources.aspx
Geekwire’s Startup Resource Directory (service provider directory and advice from experts): http://www.geekwire.com/startup-resources/
Google for Entrepreneurs (developer tools, consumer surveys, etc): http://www.google.com/entrepreneurs/resources/
Want to find out the latest about Seattle’s startup scene? What about San Francisco? New York? Here are some great local and national news sites that we love:
Geekwire (Seattle’s Top 200 and many more): http://www.geekwire.com/ http://www.geekwire.com/geekwire-200/
Xconomy Seattle: http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/
TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/startups/
TechFlash (small and large tech): http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/
Gigaom (national coverage of tech firms and the occasional small and mid-size): http://gigaom.com/
I want to network! Looking to meet fellow entrepreneurs at UW as well as in the greater Seattle community? Follow the EVCC’s calendar to find out about events at UW and around town. Check out the following links as well:
From coffees to conferences:
http://startupseattle.com/events/
http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/local-events/
http://startupgrind.com/seattle/
http://www.meetup.com/SeattleTechMeetup/
http://seattle.startupweekend.org
http://www.impacthubseattle.com/calendar
What about competitions? Interested in competing for prize money and recognition? UW has several great student competitions, including:
The UW Business Plan Competition: http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/entrepreneurship/businessplancompetition/Pages/BPC.aspx
The UW Environmental Innovation Challenge: http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/entrepreneurship/eic/Pages/eic.aspx
The UW Venture Capital Investment Competition: http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/entrepreneurship/venturecapitalcompetition/Pages/VCIC.aspx
Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition: http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/gbc/globalsocialentrepreneurshipcompetition/Pages/GSEC.aspx
Ok, how about a poster that summarizes everything? Sure, right here: http://startupseattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Startup-Community-Guide.pdf