OST 2020 – OST

Process

The outreach starts in April. OST program is shared across universities, regions and disciplines. Volunteer professors and student ambassadors organize Info days, classroom shout-outs…
At the end of the process 405 applications were registered from 13 regions all across the country. 72 lucky individuals and 5 wonderful teams are selected. We could not be happier.

Outreach and selection April-June

Bob Dorf (Professor of Entrepreneurship at Columbia University and Author of the best seller “The start-up owner’s manual”) offered a two-day mentorship training to 60 mentors in the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem (academia and practioners) in order to deepen their knowledge, share their experience and prepare the coaches of tomorrow.

TOT for mentors September

The bootcamp was organized in Carthage Thalasso. Participants worked, pitched and lived together for three whole days!! Several workshops were organized. We even had an energizing session with a sports coach to boost their energy!
Several Inspirational talks were organized to motivate and inspire our talents! At the end of the bootcamp, 16 teams were formed. A speed coaching contest helped to assign the coaches to the teams.

Day Bootcamp September

Time to work now with our talents on their projects. For each team, one academic and one professional coach are assigned. Teams work on their business models and develop precise ideas about their project. All what they need to do, is pitch, pitch and pitch!

Step 1 Coaching

A reknown jury from the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem selects the six best business ideas.

First round competition October

Teams selected at the first round get coached by Columbia MBA students. They work together on improving and detailing their business idea for 6 weeks.

Step 2 Coaching Columbia students

The final competition takes place in Tunis. The jury, composed of Tunisian and International participants in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, selects one business project to participate in Columbia Entrepreneurship Festival.

Final OST competition

And last but not least the winning team flies to New York to participate in CVC. This event brings together Columbia’s Startup Community in celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship. And guess what? This is the second time Columbia opens its doors to Tunisian entrepreneurs!

Columbia Venture Competition