Back to blog

What is Sigma Eta Pi? UCI Entrepreneurship Fraternity

SEP at UCI

What is Sigma Eta Pi?

Sigma Eta Pi (ΣΗΠ) is a coed entrepreneurship fraternity, often called a startup fraternity or business fraternity. It brings students together to learn how startups get built through practice, iteration, and community. Founded at UCLA in 2010, it has expanded to campuses nationwide, including USC, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Carnegie Mellon, and UC Irvine. The national mission is to create environments where students develop creativity and problem solving skills with the support and accountability of a peer network.

Sigma Eta Pi Chapters Nationwide

Sigma Eta Pi was founded at UCLA in 2010 and has since expanded to campuses across the country:

Each chapter operates independently but shares the same mission: help students build real startups with the support of a peer community.

Sigma Eta Pi at UCI

Sigma Eta Pi at UC Irvine is the Kappa Chapter, launched in 2021. For students interested in UCI entrepreneurship, it was started by students who wanted something more concrete than speaker events and surface level networking. They wanted a place where people who care about entrepreneurship could actually build together.

The chapter's core program is Founders Education, a student run incubator that runs every quarter. New members form teams and take a startup from idea to launch:

  • identify a problem worth solving
  • validate it through customer conversations
  • build an MVP
  • iterate based on real feedback
  • pitch to experienced founders and investors

The goal is not a class project deliverable. Teams ship products intended for real users, and several ventures have come out of the program, including diBa, Soundsense, Cartello, empathica, Disko AI, Thrust Aeronautics, and Vango.AI, with working demos and traction.

Each quarter ends with Demo Day, where teams present to judges from the Orange County and SoCal startup ecosystem, including founders, operators, and investors who can give specific feedback on product, market, and execution.

Beyond the incubator, the chapter hosts fireside chats and workshops with people who have done the work. That includes founders who have raised, builders who have scaled products, and investors who have seen hundreds of early stage teams. The point is exposure to real decision making, how teams go from zero to one, what gets prioritized, and where most startups go wrong.

Track Record

In three years, Sigma Eta Pi UCI has grown to 40+ active members across 15+ majors, including Computer Science, Business, Biology, Design, Engineering, and more. Since 2021, members have launched 20+ startups through Founders Education and collectively raised $1M+ through VC funding, accelerators, and pitch competitions.

A few examples from the founding class:

Not everyone leaves to start a company, and that is part of the point. Many members take the same skills into roles at places like Google, Meta, Scale AI, and OpenAI. Learning how to validate ideas, talk to users, and ship quickly translates whether you are founding or building inside an existing team.

What Makes UCI Different

A lot of campus entrepreneurship groups revolve around events, panels, mixers, and inspiration. Useful, but optional. At Sigma Eta Pi UCI, building is the baseline. If you say you are working on something, the next question is usually practical: what problem, who is the user, and what did you learn from them this week?

The chapter also plugs into real campus infrastructure, including the UCI ANTrepreneur Center, UCI Beall Applied Innovation, and the Paul Merage School of Business. That means members can tap into mentorship, workshops, and funding opportunities, and the chapter actively pushes teams to use those resources.

And the network compounds. Alumni stay involved through brotherhood. They come back to mentor, review pitches, and make introductions when it is genuinely helpful.

Who Should Join

You do not need a business background. You do not need a startup idea. You do not need to code.

Sigma Eta Pi UCI is built for students who want to learn by doing, whether you are a biology major exploring healthcare, a designer building consumer products, or an engineer interested in deep tech. What matters most is:

  • willingness to build something real
  • comfort getting honest feedback
  • consistency, showing up for your team and the community

If you tend to notice problems and think "someone should fix that," and you would rather be part of the group that tries, you will probably feel at home here.

How to Join

The chapter recruits every quarter through rush. The next cohort starts soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sigma Eta Pi a business fraternity?

Yes. Sigma Eta Pi is a coed entrepreneurship fraternity focused on helping student founders build real startups. Unlike traditional business fraternities, the focus is on building products, not just networking.

Do I need a business major to join?

No. Members come from 15+ majors including Computer Science, Biology, Design, and Engineering. What matters is willingness to build.

How is Sigma Eta Pi UCI different from other chapters?

The UCI Kappa Chapter emphasizes building over events. Every member goes through Founders Education, a quarterly startup incubator where teams ship real products.

What is Founders Education?

Founders Education is SEP UCI's 8 week startup incubator. Teams identify problems, validate with customers, build MVPs, and pitch at Demo Day to real investors.

How do I join Sigma Eta Pi at UCI?

Apply during rush, which happens every quarter. No business experience required. Just a willingness to build and learn.