Charlottesville was named the fastestgrowing venture capital ecosystem in the United States by the National Venture Capital Association.
Incubating an Ecosystem of Startups and Venture Capital
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harlottesville, Virginia: A quaint, historic town packed into a scant 10.3 square miles, surrounded by rolling countryside, known for its … bustling community of startups. Not the first thing that comes to mind when picturing Charlottesville? The city’s image is getting a reboot with a burst of recent economic growth. It was named the fastest-growing venture capital ecosystem in the United States by the National Venture Capital Association earlier this year, and startups nurtured by the i.Lab at UVA and Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation played a starring role drawing investments. The i.Lab Incubator program, operated by Darden, looks to continue the upward trend, recently graduating a strong 2015 class, announcing a new 2016 class of more than 20 ventures and bringing on a new director. Jason Brewster joined the i.Lab as program director of the incubator in January after previously serving as an i.Lab entrepreneur-in-residence. Brewster brings a strong background in tech as a former CodeX Fellow at the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics and a co-founder of three startups. To read about the full i.Lab Incubator 2016 class, visit www.ilabatuva.org. JASON BREWSTER
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THE DARDEN REPORT
New ventures founded by Darden students and alumni 1787fp, founded by Jean Jacques Borno (EMBA Class of 2017), offers cutting-edge mobile and web technologies for financial planning, investment management and insurance services. ■ Janus.io, founded by David Maruna (GEMBA ’16), Isaac “Jon” Pomeraniec (MBA ’16) and John Greenfield (MBA ’16), is a data collection and visualization platform focused on radically improving the care of movement disorder patients. ■ Kinect, founded by Class of 2017 students Sam Boochever and Maximilian Huc, allows users to video chat directly with influencers like celebrities, athletes and musicians. ■ MyPallay, founded by Cristina Velez (Class of 2017), sources fashion brands that incorporate a social impact into their business model and connects them with consumers looking to shop with a conscience. ■ Respit Solutions, founded by Seth Hooper (GEMBA Class of 2017), provides a revolutionary approach to managing humanitarian crises and displaced people. ■ Rhoback is a high-end brand of activewear for men founded by Kristina Zambelli (Class of 2017) and Matt Loftus (MBA ’16). ■ The Daily Demand is a corporate concierge platform founded by Dani Bchara (MBA ’16) and Neil Ferrini (MBA ’16) that enhances the lives of busy people by bringing products and services to them. ■
FACULTY AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Professors Casey Lichtendahl and Yael Grushka-Cockayne were named Graduation Faculty Marshals. Professor Tim Kraft received first place in the POMS College of Sustainable Operations 2015 Student Paper Competition and second place for Best Working Paper in behavioral operations management from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Professor Jeanne Liedtka received the Distinguished Contributor award from the Academy of Management. Professor Saras Sarasvathy was awarded the Jubilee Professorship in Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Professor Sankaran “Venkat” Venkataraman was cited for an Outstanding Author Contribution in the 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. Professor Raj Venkatesan and a co-author won the inaugural ISBM-David T. Wilson-Sheth Foundation Award for long-term impact in B2B marketing for their 2004 paper, “A Customer Lifetime Value Framework for Customer Selection and Resource Allocation Strategy.”