The 7th Annual Entrepreneurship Summit will include keynotes, panel sessions, ideation and mentoring sessions, an alumni pitch session and student pitch competition, several networking sessions, and opportunities to interview current students for internships or jobs.
Keep scrolling for the event schedule, speakers, hotel information, the Alumni Pitch Session application, and more!
Alumni registration is now closed. Questions? Email Taylor Bryant, Communications and Programs Associate, at bryantt@wlu.edu.
The 7th Annual Entrepreneurship Summit will include keynotes, panel sessions, ideation and mentoring sessions, an alumni pitch session and student pitch competition, several networking sessions, and opportunities to interview current students for internships or jobs.
Keep scrolling for the event schedule, speakers, hotel information, the Alumni Pitch Session application, and more!
Alumni registration is now closed. Questions? Email Taylor Bryant, Communications and Programs Associate, at bryantt@wlu.edu.
Successful alumni in the private equity space share the entrepreneurial nature of their work.
Host: Greg Barrow '87 (Business Administration), General Capital Partners
Geoff Veale '99 (Business Administration), Outrider Capital Partners
Tim Lavelle '79 (Commerce), Hawthorne Capital Partners
Stephen Welker '05 (Bus. Admin & Acct.), Sherborne Investors
Entrepreneurs share the good, the bad, and the ugly of their exits.
Host: Doug Burns '95 (Business Admin. and Acct.), Free Union Partners
George Boras '87 (Economics), Potomac Aviation Services
Ted Elliott '94 (History), Bullhorn
Marc Ottinger '80 (Sociology & Anthropology), RecoverMD, LLC
Mike Wilner '13 (Business Administration), Propeller
FinTech is changing the landscape of the financial industry. Learn how these W&L entrepreneurs are helping shape the industry.
Host: Reid Thompson '04 (Spanish), University of Virginia Darden School of Business
Steve Allocca '94 (Economics), LendingClub
Eiland Glover '96 (German Literature), CEO and Co-Founder, Kowala
Molly McGregor '99 (Economics and Politics), Hanweck
Patrick Mooney '84 (Bus. Admin. & Acct.), Morgan Stanley
Catherine Tobin '11L, Fundation
We're assembling this panel in response to our attendees' desire to know more about what's coming in the future. Our diverse panel will hopefully include alumni from big data, artificial intelligence, energy, biotech, financial markets, and clean technology.
Host: Al Dominick '99 (Politics), DirectorCorps
Elizabeth Polanco Aquino '09 (Economics), Entrepreneur
Tim Brooks '80 (Economics), World Wide Technology
Drew Denbo '95 (History), Amazon Digital Music
Todd Denbo '97 (Business Administration), LendingClub
Tim Gallagher '92 (Business Administration), PhosphoGam, Inc.
Tom Pearce '85 (History), MAXEX
*Interviews arranged by the Office of Career Development. Contact careers@wlu.edu with questions.
Wondering what business ideas the next generation of W&L entrepreneurs will pursue? The Pitch Competition brings student business ideas to the forefront in this exciting session.
Chair: Bridget Washington '21
Venture Club Student Organizers: John Ahn '19, Bri Karpowich '20, Maggie Nolan '19, Anna Lee Riccio '19
The session will begin with updates from alumni who previously pitched their businesses. After the updates, alumni entrepreneurs have the opportunity to pitch their startup or startup idea to our audience of experienced entrepreneurs. Each year the alumni pitch session provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to make valuable connections with alumni who are help them move forward.
Chairs: Max Weis '20 and Max Hanamirian '19
Venture Club Student Organizers: E.C. Meyers '20, Griffin Noe '21, Max Weis '20, John Wickham '20
Leveraging Social Media and Data Analytics Skills
Entrepreneurs often rely on social media and data analytics to gain competitive advantage. W&L entrepreneurs share their insights on both as well as key skills needed for careers in these fields.
Host: Bridget Washington '21
Panel: Dan Birdwhistell '01, Tani Greenspan '16
A Road Less Traveled:
The Entrepreneurial Path
In recent years, more and more W&L students are choosing an "entrepreneurial" career path. Panelists will share their insights, including the pros and cons of this career path and how they got their first big break.
Host: Catherine Latour '20
Panel: Jay Flowers P'18, Lindsey Hanau '17, Moody Heard '16, Ali Greenberg '13, Christian von Hassell '16, Eric Pelnik '15
From Liberal Arts or STEM Graduate to Successful Entrepreneur
Many W&L alumni major in the liberal arts and STEM fields and go on to become highly successful entrepreneurs. Panelists will share the path they took from a liberal arts/STEM degree to the world of entrepreneurship.
Host: Griffin Noe '21
Panel: Darren Douglas '16, Kelly Dyer '98, Alan Gibson '70, Gordon Meeker '98, Dan Silberberg '72
Ideation Lab
(Connolly Center - 109 S. Jefferson)
Do you have an idea you're working on? Have you already launched but looking to refine your idea? This is the session for you. Designed as a collaborative workshop, session leaders will help entrepreneurs take their idea to the next level.
Gavin Fox, Christian Martine '14, Shelby Stephens '05
Demystifying Blockchain
Blockchain articles abound in the popular press, yet so many people don't really understand what blockchain is or how it will change so many parts of our lives.
Host: Jeff Schatten, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, W&L
Panel: Elizabeth Polanco Aquino '09, Eiland Glover '96, David Valentine '92
Chip Mahan '73
CEO, Live Oak Bank
Chip is the founder, CEO and chairman of the board of directors of Live Oak Bank. He is a founding member of nCino and serves on nCino’s board of directors. Prior to Live Oak Bank, he was the CEO and chairman of the board for S1 Corporation and founder of Security First Network Bank, the world’s first Internet bank. Under his leadership, S1 Corporation grew to become a $234 million software and services provider in only six years, averaging more than 200 percent growth year over year. At its peak, S1 had a market capitalization of $7.8 billion. During his term as CEO, Chip was ranked as one of the 10 Most Influential Personalities in Financial Services by FutureBanker magazine.
Prior to founding Security First Network Bank and S1 Corporation, Chip launched Cardinal Bancshares, where he served as chairman and CEO. He built Cardinal into an institution with $800 million in total assets and took the company public in 1992. Before launching Cardinal, he spent several years with Citizens Union National Bank & Trust Co., serving as president, COO and vice chairman, becoming chairman and CEO in 1984. In 1986, Chip formed an investment group that purchased Citizens Union and subsequently sold it to BankOne Corp. of Columbus, Ohio. He began his career in 1973 at Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. in Winston-Salem, NC, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics from W&L.
Amy Bohutinsky '97
COO, Zillow Group
Amy is COO of Zillow Group, a portfolio of the world’s largest real estate and home-related brands, including Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, StreetEasy, OutEast and Realestate.com. Amy was part of the founding team at Zillow in 2005, and as the company’s marketing leader, built the Zillow brand from startup into a household name. Amy served as Chief Marketing Officer through the company’s 2011 IPO and 13 acquisitions, and in 2015 she became COO with the formation of the Zillow Group and its portfolio of brands.
Amy has been named the “Most Powerful Woman in Real Estate” on the Swanepoel Power 200 list for the past two years. She also lends her expertise on the Board of Directors of HotelTonight. Prior to Zillow Group, Amy ran communications for Hotwire, a discount travel site. She started her career as a broadcast journalist, working for various NBC and ABC affiliates. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from W&L, and today sits on the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics Board of Advisors. Amy lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
Washington and Lee alumni with a startup business-or even an idea for a startup business-are invited to come back to campus and pitch the concept to a mixed audience of students and alumni. There's no better place to solicit feedback on your idea and even generate funding.
Applications will be reviewed by W&L's Venture Club. If you are selected to participate in the pitch, you'll be given more details regarding timing and content.
The Alumni Pitch Session application is now closed.
The Student Pitch Competition is open to all undergraduate students. Students have two minutes to present their pitch before answering a series of questions posed by the judges. Their pitch might be an improvement to an existing product, an entirely new product, a website, app, or anything else that has the potential to become a profitable enterprise.
Alumni judges will act as potential investors, and the goal is for students to convince them to invest in the idea.
Teams may enter but only one student can present on stage. The first place winner receives $1,000, second place receives $500 and third place receives $250.
The top eight applicants will be chosen to participate. Please hold the morning of Saturday, September 22 for the event.
The Robert E. Lee Hotel
30 S Main St, Lexington, VA 24450
$199/night plus tax
To reserve your room, call (540) 461-8484 and refer to the W&L Entrepreneurship Summit or visit The Robert E. Lee Hotel website, click "Book Your Stay" and enter group code "ESUM18."
