Startup Studio: AI-Accelerated Building & Validation

Columbia University | Spring 2026

Instructors: Ken St. Clair

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Quick Links

• Course Syllabus — grading, required readings, policies
• Class Schedule — weekly topics, dates, and readings

Course Overview

Startup Studio is a hands-on course that immerses you in the full cycle of technology entrepreneurship: from concept development to AI-assisted product building to real-world validation. You'll form teams, build products using modern AI tools, and validate your ideas with real users through paid advertising and UX interviews.

Repository Structure

├── classes/
│   ├── class_schedule.md          # Primary schedule with all dates and topics
│   └── yyyymmdd_c[n]w[y]_topic/   # Individual class folders
│       ├── slides_*.pdf           # Presentation slides
│       ├── slides_*.html          # Interactive slides (open in browser)
│       └── exercise/              # In-class exercise materials
│
├── course_syllabus.md             # Full syllabus
│
└── resources/                     # (empty — reserved for future materials)

Class Folder Naming

Class folders follow the pattern: yyyymmdd_c[n]w[y]_[day]_[topic]/

• yyyymmdd — date of the class
• c[n] — class number (1-23)
• w[y] — week number
• [day] — day of week (tue/thu)
• [topic] — brief topic description

Example: 20260203_c4w3_tue_team-formation/ is Class 4 in Week 3, on Tuesday Feb 3rd, covering team formation.

Viewing Slides

Each class includes slides in two formats:

• PDF — for printing or offline viewing
• HTML — interactive version with animations; download and open with your browser

For the HTML slides, use arrow keys to navigate. Press S for speaker notes, F for fullscreen.