Darden Expands Batten Founder Fellows Program to Fuel Post-Graduation Venturing

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business is fortifying its commitment to student entrepreneurship with an expanded Batten Founder Fellows (BFF) program, offering substantial grant funding and post-graduation support to MBA students launching ventures.

After a successful pilot in 2024, the program — led by the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology — has grown to support three founders from the Class of 2025, providing not only financial backing but also a powerful endorsement of their entrepreneurial journeys beyond Darden.

“The Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology is a true advantage that entrepreneurially minded Darden students have. With this program, our aim is to get resources directly into the hands of promising founders upon graduation,” said Omar Garriott, executive director of the Batten Institute.

Many student founders are eager to continue building their ventures after graduation, but a variety of factors, notably financial constraints, often push them toward more traditional career paths, said Jason Brewster, Director of Venturing Programs at the Batten Institute.

“We recognize how difficult it can be to walk away from a high-paying job offer to pursue a startup,” Brewster said. “The Batten Founder Fellows program is designed to provide critical funding and a strong signal of long-term support for those who are sincerely committed to entrepreneurship.”

While Darden students benefit from a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem — including courses, competitions, and the i.Lab Incubator — they’re also juggling the demands of a top-tier MBA program. “The BFF program gives founders who’ve already gained traction the opportunity to go all-in,” Brewster said. “It’s also validation and a chance to see what’s possible when they can dedicate themselves fully to their ventures.”

Applicants must meet a range of criteria and outline their plans for the four months following graduation. “The program is deeply aligned with Darden’s ‘entrepreneurship through Effectuation’ philosophy,” Brewster added. “Effectuation is a decision-making framework that encourages entrepreneurs to start with the resources they have, take small steps, and remain flexible as new opportunities emerge — a mindset that’s especially powerful in the early stages of a venture.”

Grace Collins (MBA ‘24), co-founder of one of the two ventures in the inaugural cohort in the Class of 2024, said the Fellows program proved to be a critical link between running a venture as a student and formalizing a post-Darden occupation.

“The program was extremely impactful for us. It smoothed the transition from student-founder to founder,” said Collins, who founded the emerging racquet sports brand Play Henry with Ellie Jamison (MBA ‘24) while both were Darden students. “That funding allowed us to take two months and really stand up our business operations, professionalize what we had already made, and build a system for the future.”

The company recently came off its best quarter to date, is sold nationally at Free People, and is launching in a second multi-billion dollar retailer in fall of 2025.

Collins, who remains enmeshed in the Darden network and has offered feedback to the latest cohort of Fellows, said the program was an example of the way Darden makes a point to meet the needs of its founders on a human level.

“It’s very nice to be in a community where there’s this more intimate, hands-on experience with founding,” said Collins. “Starting something was less intimidating, and we never felt like we had to fit a mold. We were able to pursue what we wanted to pursue and create our own path.”

Below is a snapshot of the Class of 2025 Batten Founder Fellows, including where their ventures stand now and why they opted to pursue entrepreneurship after Darden.

Ben and Paige Foote founded Noogs, a sports nutrition company.

Ben Foote and Noogs

Ben (MBA ‘25) and Paige Foote have been building and growing Noogs, their sports nutrition company focused on energy chews that taste like sour gummy candy, since shortly after Ben started at Darden. Like the other Fellows, Foote fully immersed himself in the Darden entrepreneurial ecosystem during his two years, enrolling in the i.Lab summer incubator, entering various pitch competitions, taking a leadership role in the Entrepreneurship Club and refining Noogs in the “Venture Velocity” course.

Mentally committed to being all-in on Noogs post-graduation, the Fellows program was a “no-brainer,” Foote said, offering a valuable grant but also an enduring connection to the Darden community and endorsement of Noogs’ future as the company begins to experience rapid growth.

Noogs, which is sold in watermelon, apple and lemon flavors, is now in 40 retail locations across the U.S. The couple will soon close a Series A investment round with investors they met through the Darden network and are projecting revenue of $500,000 to $700,000 for the coming year. Foote said he’s drawing upon the contacts he’s made and skills developed through his entrepreneurship journey, as well as the Darden MBA in general.

“I can’t imagine a better place to start a business than business school,” Foote said, citing accessible faculty members committed to his development, supportive peers, and fellow founders eager to collaborate and share best practices.

One recurring refrain from the 2025 founders: the UVA and Darden community demonstrates its commitment to supporting founders in multiple ways throughout the student journey and beyond.

“They put so many resources into helping entrepreneurs here,” said Foote. “Sometimes people think Darden is a consulting or investment banking school, and it’s obviously very strong in those areas, but it also has this blossoming entrepreneurial ecosystem, with this wonderfully supportive atmosphere.”

Kelly Okun (Class of 2025) golfs in Australia. (Contributed photo)

Kelly Okun and Fairway to Green

Kelly Okun (MBA ‘25) applied to Darden knowing she wanted to create and grow a business, and the former collegiate athlete and professional golfer began working on Fairway to Green from the outset.

With a goal to help girls and women in sports, Okun initially launched Fairway to Green as an “equitable sports media company.” The venture evolved to include a college recruiting platform and forthcoming educational courses to help athletes and their parents navigate the process, as well as the rising pressures around social media and NIL. Okun believes more visibility, funding and participation in women’s sports helps women become effective leaders wherever they eventually land.

With her venture showing momentum, additional support at graduation represents a valuable push forward, Okun said.

“It’s a substantial amount of grant money, plus just the continued support from Batten, which has always been invaluable,” Okun said. “It’s a really great opportunity for those of us pursuing our ventures full-time after Darden to really hit the ground running.”

The recent alumna now has a partnership with golf equipment brand Callaway and is using the grant money to work toward additional milestones that may unlock a deeper relationship with the company.

Okun is laser-focused on building her business but also clear-eyed about the fact that she has additional opportunities in her future as a result of earning a Darden MBA. Moreover, her decision to put so much effort into building a venture over the past two years hasn’t precluded opportunities; if anything, it has enhanced them.

“When people are all-in on pursuing their own venture, they develop qualities that a lot of companies are looking for, and opportunities pop up along the way,” said Okun. “Darden has opened doors and instilled mindsets like effectuation that make me feel confident I’ll end up exactly where I want to be.”

Whether it’s her fellow female founders in the “KPI Club,” Darden classmates, professors or alumni, Okun said she has a vast new network of supportive future business partners.

Matt Rafferty (far left) celebrates pitching VuGru at Demo Night at Darden’s i.Lab Incubator.

Matt Rafferty and VuGru

Matt Rafferty (MBA ‘25) came to Darden as the founder of both a successful drone videography company and creative agency, with plans for a new venture focused on a project management platform for videographers. After working on the company for months, he began to realize the platform was technically unwieldy and faced a questionable market reception. Retooling his vision as various artificial intelligence tools became increasingly accessible and powerful, Rafferty, who had previously worked in real estate, launched VuGru, a tool for real estate agents and sellers to turn listing photos into professional video clips.

Since the relaunch, the site has nearly 600 users around the world who have created roughly 8,000 clips. Always intending to pursue entrepreneurship full-time after Darden, Rafferty said the Fellows program offers “a little bit more runway” for VuGru and eases the need “to make money right away.” He’s also using the time to help determine how the new venture complements his existing creative agency, which continues to produce revenue.

Like the others in his cohort, Rafferty praised both the grant funding and continued connection to the Darden and Batten network.

“Grant money with no strings attached really is incredible for an early-stage startup, and it’s a meaningful amount for us right now,” Rafferty said. “But the ability to still feel plugged into the Darden entrepreneurial community is huge.”

Rafferty said he’s benefited from formal and informal check-ins, ongoing chats with the other Fellows, and connections with the new group of i.Lab ventures, among other touchpoints.

Programs such as the Batten Founder Fellows are a reminder that while Darden may not have the sheer number of students pursuing entrepreneurship compared to other top business schools, what the School does offer is uniquely high-touch, Rafferty said.

“If you are interested in entrepreneurship, at Darden you’re going to stand out a lot more, get access to way more resources, meet more mentors and have more opportunities to hone and pitch your idea,” said Rafferty. “For me, it was a great program for entrepreneurship alongside a great MBA in general.”