Supported by Columbia University, eLab convenes an international cohort of like-minded, passionate leaders determined to have a major impact in education and workforce development by solving for equity, affordability and universal access. Since its inception in 2020, the fellowship has graduated 100 alumni from 11 countries. While other startup programs or accelerators focus on helping founders find product-market-fit and access to capital, eLab helps founders build a strong, resilient foundation by equipping them with skills to lead teams and create a thriving company culture.

What we do

Being a founder, especially in the education and workforce development space, can be extremely challenging and lonely

Outcomes are hard to achieve and take longer to come by, monetization is difficult and raising investment is extremely challenging. Our curriculum has been designed to equip and support entrepreneurs in navigating these challenges by:

Meet the eLab co-founders

eLab’s founders Sarah Holloway, Fernando Fabre, and Tania Luna, come from the world of education, entrepreneurship, and venture investing. Together, they have founded and invested in dozens of organizations in the education space, led industry-defining organizations, taught at top universities, and written multiple bestselling books. They developed eLab to address the equity and access divide in education.

  • Sarah Holloway, Co-Founder and Director, Serial EdTech Entrepreneur and Faculty at Columbia SIPA

    Sarah Holloway

    Co-Founder and Director

  • Fernando Fabre, Co-Founder and Director, Managing Partner at Matterscale Ventures and Adjunct Faculty at Columbia SIPA

    Fernando Fabre

    Co-Founder and Director

    Managing Partner at Matterscale Ventures and Adjunct Faculty at Columbia SIPA

  • Tania Luna, Co-Founder and Advisor, Chair of LifeLabs Learning, researcher, educator, and bestselling author

    Tania Luna

    Co-Founder and Advisor

    Chair of LifeLabs Learning, researcher, educator, and bestselling author

Our student fellows

  • Alexa Aalami

    Undergraduate Student Fellow

    BS student at Barnard College of Columbia University

  • Anke Ehlert

    Graduate Student Fellow

    MBA student at Columbia Business School