Big Month for Darden Students’ Startup 1Degree
By Jay Hodgkins
It’s been quite a run for Second Years Sam Boochever and Max Huc and their startup, 1Degree, which they founded as students at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business with support from the W.L. Lyons Brown III i.Lab Incubator program. The 1Degree app allows users to bid on opportunities to speak to celebrity influencers face-to-face via Facetime.
First, Boochever and Huc traveled to Austin, Texas, in March for the South by Southwest conference, where 1Degree was one of three incubator ventures featured by the i.Lab in its first appearance at the innovation-themed trade show.
Less than a month later, they were winners of two pitch competitions — the UVA Entrepreneurship Cup: Launch! competition (plus a $20,000 top prize) and the Tom Tom Festival Crowdfunded Pitch Night.
Wa-hoo! i.Lab venture @1Degreeapp won both @UVA ECup & @TomTomFest Crowdfunded Pitch Night this week. On a roll! pic.twitter.com/4zRUSRXdZA
— iLab @ UVA (@iLabAtUVA) April 11, 2017
With the momentum building, 1Degree drew a slew of media attention, drawing coverage in UVA Today, Charlottesville Tomorrow and Charlottesville’s NBC29.
So, sliding in the DMs is over? Maybe… thanks to the new @1Degreeapp on the rise. Created right here in Central VA! pic.twitter.com/6hLmHt7QsX
— Madison Carter (@madisonlcarter) April 19, 2017
Impressive work from the Darden students less than a month away from graduation.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press Contact
Molly Mitchell
Associate Director of Content Marketing and Social Media
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu
