A Look Back at the 2017 i.Lab Incubator
By Jay Hodgkins
The i.Lab Incubator, housed at the W.L. Lyons Brown III i.Lab and operated by the University of Virginia Darden School of Business‘ Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, recently wrapped up its intensive, 10-week 2017 program.
More than 20 ventures, founded by students from schools across UVA as well as members of the local community, completed the program. Aside from receiving grant funding, legal support, access to mentors and UVA’s entrepreneurial network, work space and host of other resources, the founders also participated in countless workshops based on Darden’s entrepreneurship curriculum, pitch practice sessions and even field trips to visit the operations of local entrepreneurs.
Meg Greenhalgh (Class of 2018, founder of Brandefy and a participant in the 2017 incubator, described the experience in a new behind-the-scenes look at the summer program.
“The i.Lab program was invaluable to me and Brandefy because it helped us test consumer motivation. That’s one of the first things you need to test in building a business,” said Greenhalgh. “It also made me question a lot of my assumptions and, ultimately, led to a much stronger position for Brandefy.”
Read more about the progress the 22 ventures made in the incubator on the i.Lab at UVA blog.
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.
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