UCSC Startup Club: Practical, Ambitious, and Built to Launch
I believe the UCSC Startup Club to be the best entrepreneurship group of the university.
It's open to all majors to build an actual company, not just ideas.
The UCSC Startup Club is backed by UCSC's Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurial Development (CIED), Crown College, and a local startup network like Santa Cruz Works.
They provide mentorship, workshops, people, and real-world pitch practice aimed at launching an idea into action.
Pitches, Prizes, and Proof
The club hosts the campus's biggest startup events:
Fall Ideathon, Slug Tank, and Santa Cruz Launchpad.
These are not faked. Winners walk away with thousands in seed funding, investor connections, and sometimes even jobs. In 2025, prizes topped $10K at Ideathon and pending 50 thousand + at "Launchpad".(no other club does anything of this caliber)
Some winning projects include AI tools for care, leak technology, math tutoring, and packaging startups.
How to Join
They host meetings every week, stay up to date through their instagram or discord.
The meetings are casual yet focused: practice, feedback, and guest talks from local founders or VCs.
