ENTREPRENEURS: A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
At the University of Virginia’s McIntire School, Emil Benli has started Emil’s Vintage, a digital thrift enterprise. Long-term, he pictures starting a clothing line using vintage textiles. In the meantime, he is living in the moment – learning, modifying, scaling – while looking to his peers for ideas and inspiration.
“People say you’re shaped by the five people you spend the most time with,” Benli observes. “In my case, I get a whole local startup ecosystem that has expanded beyond that circle. Everyone is chasing something big, but time is made to form a community and bounce ideas off one another. Being around people who are all building their dreams into reality – hearing their passion through conversation – keeps you accountable and inspired.”
MOST DISRUPTIVE BUSINESS SCHOOL STARTUPS OF 2025
| Student Startup | Business School | Founders | Industry | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRTY GUT | Babson College | Daniel Berlin | Food & Beverage | $200,000 |
| Basics | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | Akeil Smith | AI Infrastructure / Learning Layer | NA |
| Silent Storm Foundation | Cornell University (Dyson) | Luca Drago | Healthcare / Alternative Medicine Research | $14,000 |
| The Petition Co. | Georgetown University (McDonough) | Michael Korvyakov | Political Tech / GovTech | NA |
| PropertyPals | Georgia Tech (Scheller) | Amanda Chen and Anna Wylly | Property Management | $5,000 |
| Aztec Contractors Houston | University of Houston (Bauer) | Valeria Serenil | Construction & Real Estate Development | $600,000-$800,000 (Annual Sales) |
| Grupo Zentir | IE Business School | Eduardo Podoswa & Karen Rosales | Health and Wellness | $0 |
| InvoGenix | University of Illinois (Gies) | Sofia Marin, Alex Kim, Alex Cerullo, Krutang Thaker, & Ananya Kavatekar | Healthtech | $20,000 |
| Plainfield | Indiana University (Kelley) | Joshua Grinberg | Consumer Product Goods – Dairy | $5,000 |
| Alcclear | University of Maryland (Smith) | Rachel Snow | Safety & Consumer Products | $4,000 |
| Altrix | University of Michigan (Ross) | Hector Benitez Ventura, Jake Zur, Yashraj Patel, Ihsaan Yasin, Noah Alexander | Healthcare & Hospitals | $300,000 |
| Echo Learn, LLC | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | Gurasis Singh, Isaac Porter, Samra Bojcic | Education Technology | $3,000 |
| Degree2Destiny | Northeastern University (D’Amore McKim) | Anjali Laddha | Education Technology / Artificial Intelligence | $35,000 |
| AssisTech SmartShower | Rice University (Virani) | Sasha Ovalle | AssistiveTech, AgeTech, HealthTech | $22,000 |
| Globana | University of San Francisco | Chibuike Nkemere, Datis Shoushtary, Jake Abendroth | Fintech (Payments) | $5,000 |
| LÉOA | Santa Clara University (Leavey) | Ari Martin and Gavin Brunsman | CPG, (Wellness Energy Drink) | $25,000 |
| FrontRow Notes | University of Texas (McCombs) | Avery Neale, Aarushi Lakhi, Kailer Laino, Riya Chalke, Miranda Rinaldi, and Aubin Miles | EdTech | $20,000 |
| BUFFS | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | Beckett Kitaen and George Zhou | Consumer Packaged Goods | $300,000 |
| Quilly | U.C.-Berkeley (Haas) | Hannah Wissotzky | Social Networks | $3,500 |
| Emil’s Vintage | University of Virginia (McIntire) | Emil Benli | Fashion and Retail | None |
| Brain Battle | Washington University (Olin) | Joe Poole | EdTech | $20,000 |
| Serpent Robotics | Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) | Margaret Zhu, Steyn Knollema, Jason Li, Yiran (Kevin) Xuan | Robotics | $39,000 |
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