With a curiosity and vibrance all its own, HarvardAE is where you can think about what could be. A place for great minds to come together.

Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HarvardAE) is a 501(c)3 non-profit and Shared Interest Group of the Harvard Alumni Association. Since our beginning, HarvardAE has served as a meeting place for entrepreneurial-minded alumni, students, faculty, and staff from all Harvard schools.

We are unique among Harvard’s alumni organizations - in global reach, diversity, inclusion, and academic degrees and the only university-wide, alumni organization focused on entrepreneurship officially recognized by the Harvard Alumni Association.

HarvardAE operates independently and is financially self-sustaining without any funding from Harvard University.


The History of Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs

It's been more than 25 years when a group of Harvard alumni entrepreneurs came together to support each other. HarvardAE has always been a place for entrepreneurs and friends to find community. Follow the chronology of HarvardAE's evolution and discover how we grew into one of the most influential alumni communities of entrepreneurs.

1990S: EARLY BEGINNINGS

  • Harvard Startups Yahoo Group: A group of alumni comes together and forms the Harvard Startups Yahoo Group, a peer-to-peer community to support entrepreneurs in both personal and business growth

2005 – 2008: A NEW BEGINNING

  • 2005: The Harvard Alumni Association approves HarvardAE as an official Shared Interest Group of Harvard University

  • 2005: HarvardAE incorporates

  • ~2,000-member community

2010 – 2014: GLOBAL GROWTH

  • 1st member survey informs long-term strategy

  • HarvardAE launches first chapters in Boston and New York

  • 3,754-member community

2015 – 2016

  • Chicago launches

  • 4,897-member community

2017

  • Denver and Buenos Aires chapters launch

  • 7,407-member community

2018

  • India, DACH, London, and Paris chap launch

  • 9,102-member community

2019

  • Washington DC, Australia, Seattle, and Southern California chapters launch

  • Mentoring platform HarvardAE Connect launches with 20 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

  • 11,300-member community

2020

  • MENA/GCC chapter launch

  • 122 events

  • HarvardAE launches HAE Invites podcast, Innovation Fellowship

  • Advancing Diversity and FinTech Series

  • HarvardAE virtual HQ

  • 15,373-member community

2021

  • Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Florida chapters launch

  • 119 events

  • Impact Investing Series, Pitch Feedback

  • Inaugural HarvardAE Accelerator powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures announced

  • 16,060-member community

2022

  • HarvardAE Accelerator powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures launches with 10 companies

  • Created Global Advisory Council

  • Created Crimson Founders Circle with 58 founding donors and sponsors

  • Thought Leadership Incubator Launched

  • Consolidated European chapters into HarvardAE Europe

  • Bay Area chapter becomes Northern California

  • HarvardAE develops program with BAU Istanbul Turkey

  • Partnership with Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

  • Regina Ryan, President, appointed Fellow, Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard

  • 18,329-member community

2023

  • 2023 HarvardAE Accelerator powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures selects 11 companies

  • Advisory Council

  • Created Crimson Founders Circle with 58 founding donors and sponsors

  • Thought Leadership Incubator Launched

  • Consolidated European chapters into HarvardAE Europe

  • HarvardAE Bay Area becomes HarvardAE Northern California

  • HarvardAE teaches a startup course for BAU Istanbul Turkey

  • Partnership with Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

  • Regina Ryan, President of HarvardAE, appointed Fellow, Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard

  • 2023 HarvardAE Accelerator powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures announced

From the beginning, our founders believed that Harvard entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on the world.