Building the next generation of founders — a year of impact across UVA's entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In 2025–26 The Foundry reached 1,850 students from 11 of UVA's 12 schools. That is more than any previous year, built from a footprint of two thousand square feet, three staff, and nine student workers. We fully opened the Elliewood Avenue space in fall 2025 after an extensive renovation throughout 2024.
The closer numbers: 430 students served directly, 272 ventures represented, 179 founders sitting down for structured advising. The Entrepreneurship Cup drew 355 competitors across Concept and Launch tracks and put $100,000 into student hands.
This report covers what the year produced: the competition, fifty-two events, the advising practice, and three founder stories that show the work better than any summary. It also covers what we did not finish, and what we think comes next.
Brian Breslin
Director of Student Entrepreneurship, The Foundry / UVA Innovates
All programs combined · AY 2025–26
Unique students reached through advising, events, workshops, and programs
Students competing across Concept and Launch tracks in the Entrepreneurship Cup
Founder teams supported across advising, programs, and the E-Cup
Cash prizes distributed to student founders · plus $100K in in-kind prizes awarded
Founders and teams that received structured venture advising sessions
Workshops, demo days, speaker series, and networking events throughout the year
One-on-one and small-group sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and investors
UVA schools whose students engaged with Foundry programming this year
Key achievements across programs
355 participants across 173 Concept (fall) and 48 Launch (spring) applications. Five finalists pitched at the CODE Building during Tom Tom Festival. $100K in cash prizes + $100K in in-kind prizes awarded.
179 founders and teams received structured venture advising, across 200+ one-on-one and small-group sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and investors.
Served students across 11 of 12 UVA schools — from Engineering and McIntire to Batten and Medicine. The only entrepreneurship resource with a pan-university mandate.
Introduced the Flip Pitch competition format, drawing 80+ participants in its debut semester. Veteran founders pitching ideas in a fast-format setting.
After an extensive renovation throughout 2024, fall 2025 was the first semester at full capacity — giving student founders a permanent two-thousand-square-foot home.
~73% of UVA students are Foundry-primary with no other entrepreneurship resource. ~90% have no other physical entrepreneurship space on Grounds.
Cambrient AI, DueFlow, and GoGood — three teams, three schools of origin, three different problems. What they share is the path: an idea, a room, a rubric, a mentor, a stage.
An AI-powered email security tool for small businesses — flagging suspicious messages, links, and attachments in real time, integrating with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Founders: Collin Togher & Armaan Chakrabarti
A financial platform for member-run organizations — clubs, chapters, and associations — giving them dues collection, budgets, and books that survive officer turnover.
Founders: Santiago Schmitt & Charlie Meyer
A platform modernizing how nonprofits manage volunteers — recruitment, scheduling, and retention in one place. The only venture this year to win both a judged prize and the audience vote.
Founders: Malorie Black
52 events · one building · a pan-university mandate
The Entrepreneurship Cup and Flip Pitch give students a structured path to test ideas, receive feedback, and compete for real funding — open to all UVA schools. The E-Cup is the only all-school venture competition at UVA.
One-on-one advising with experienced founders and investors helps students pressure-test their ideas, sharpen their pitch, and accelerate toward launch. 179 clients, 200+ sessions this year.
Workshops, Demos & Donuts, and Days on the Lawn — 52 events across three kinds of work: teaching, convening, and meeting students at the front door of entrepreneurship at UVA.
Momentum across all metrics
| Metric | 2025(selected) | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| E-Cup Participants | 355 | 275 |
| E-Cup Prize Value (cash + in-kind) | $200K | — |
| Flip Pitch Participants | 80 | — |
| Students Engaged | 1,850 | 1,600 |
| Clients Mentored | 179 | 40 |
| Ventures Supported | 272 | 190 |
| Funding Disbursed (cash) | $100K | $100K |
| Events Hosted | 52 | 3 |
| Mentor Sessions | 200 | 40 |
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