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Now open to new chapters
Make an impact.
Build your future.
Ascend connects ambitious students with VC-backed startups, to shape products for our generation, facilitate lasting relationships with founders, and accelerate your career.
Why Ascend?
Most clubs put you in a classroom. We put you in front of a founder.
1
Join
Selective. Fast. Worth it.
Chapters recruit through a competitive application and interview process — which means every member actually wants to be here. You'll go through a six-week training program designed to get you contributing to real product teams fast.
2
Build
Impact & Connections.
Every week you're gathering insights, synthesizing findings, and presenting directly to company leadership — the actual founder or executive team. The relationships you build here give you a real edge.
3
Lead
Run a team. Own the outcomes.
Step into chapter leadership and you're managing a team, mentoring new members, and serving as the direct point of contact for client engagements. It's the kind of experience that sets you apart when recruiting.
A Sample of What We Do
These are engagements with fast paced startups — browse the case studies to see the depth of the work.
Consumer Social
BeReal — New Feature Ideation
Sports Tech
PFF — Consumer Adoption
Fintech
Coverd — Product-Market Fit
Social Discovery
Find — UX Feedback
Our clients are backed by
and many more
A National Network of Driven Students
From UCLA to Northwestern, our campus chapters span the country — a community of ambitious students doing meaningful work with companies that are building something for Gen Z.
Ascend alumni go on to work at the most competitive companies across tech, consulting, and finance — from Google to McKinsey to J.P. Morgan, and many more.
Chapter Presidents
The students leading Ascend chapters nationwide.
What we stand for
Three things every Ascend member actually lives by.
1
Make an Impact
Every engagement is with an actual company on an actual challenge. The insights you surface shape product decisions — and the people you present to feel that directly.
2
Think Like a Founder
Take ownership. Ask better questions. Don't wait for someone to hand you a template. The students who get the most out of Ascend treat every engagement like it's their company.
3
Build Together
The people you work with at Ascend become your professional network for life. We win as a team, and the relationships you build here will follow you well beyond graduation.
Ready to get started?
Interested in joining or starting a chapter at your school? Applications open on a rolling basis.