Annual Report 2024-2025

The Year We Made Anything Possible

Transforming entrepreneurship education at Washington and Lee University through innovation, collaboration, and values-driven leadership

60% Growth in Minor Enrollment
71 Student Pitch Teams
7 Alumni Internships
Students at Entrepreneurship Summit

Letter from the Director

The 2024-2025 academic year was nothing short of transformative. We set out to prove that a liberal-arts university can offer an entrepreneurship experience every bit as rigorous, hands-on, and values-driven as programs found at large research institutions—and we delivered.

As you read this report, you will see how our students "made anything" this year, and how they will "make something" even bigger next year. Thank you for believing in their potential and for investing in the ecosystem that makes their work possible.

Jayson Margalus
Johnson Professor of Entrepreneurship & Leadership
Director, Connolly Center for Entrepreneurship

Students collaborating at the Connolly Center

By the Numbers

Measurable growth across all key metrics

Enrollment Growth
AY 23-24 18
→
AY 24-25 33
+60%

Students in the Entrepreneurship Minor

Student Engagement
AY 23-24 12
→
AY 24-25 25
+52%

CES Society Members

Curriculum Innovation
6

New or Re-imagined Courses

Alumni Partnership
7

Student Internships at Alumni-led Businesses

Competition Success
71

Student Teams in Pitch Competitions

2025-26 Projections
36 Minor Students
15 Alumni Internships
85 Pitch Team Participants

2024-2025: The Year of Discovery

"Make Anything"

Curriculum & Classroom Innovation

  • Near-total curriculum overhaul will enable any major to minor in Entrepreneurship & Design, weaving research, prototyping, and market-launch skills across seven required/elective courses.
  • New flagship experiences—Design Thinking, Alchemy of Innovation, Makers' Workshop, and a fully redesigned Entrepreneurship Capstone—place students shoulder-to-shoulder with community partners and alumni judges at joint pitch events.
Students in classroom with W&L building on screen

Connolly Entrepreneurship Society: From Consulting to Company-Building

Entrepreneurship Summit networking
  • Student Board now functions as a micro-VC, issuing term-sheet-backed seed grants from the CES Venture Fund.
  • Launch of General Apparel (campus merch) and The Experience Exchange, both generating first revenues while providing multi-year learning platforms.
  • CES became an official chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), expanding students' national network of competitions and collaborators.

Connolly Center Refresh

New collaborative furniture, 3-D printers, laser cutters, evening/weekend staffing, and a part-time program manager transformed 109 S. Jefferson into the after-hours hub students asked for.

Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Relaunch

7 Alumni Leaders
25 Days on Campus
11 Guest Lectures

2024-2025 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Burr Datz Ben Worth Stephanie Lind Traci Elliott Greg Barrow Kelly Dyer Blair Garrou

Student & Alumni Spotlights

Roombly

A VR staging tool founded in our Alchemy of Innovation course, competed in hackathons and pitch competitions in the Bay Area, and is in conversations with notable alums in their industry.

Bay Area Innovation Tour

Alchemy of Innovation sent 20 students to tour venture studios and tech companies in the Bay Area while building 6 fully functioning software applications.

The Experience Exchange

Sofia Iuteri's company is now sold in the campus store, online, and in Lexington. She plans on developing a franchising model for the company next.

Dad's Breakfast

Anna Lee's company debuted at markets across the East Coast, with plans to start selling in grocery stores next.

Year in Pictures

Capturing the energy, innovation, and community that defines W&L Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Summit networking and collaboration

Entrepreneurship Summit

Students and alumni connect during our flagship annual event

Students in classroom with instructor

Interactive Learning

Hands-on education in the Connolly Center

Bay Area Innovation Tour group photo

Bay Area Innovation Tour

20 students explore tech companies and venture studios

Summit presentation and audience

Knowledge Sharing

Expert presentations and panel discussions

Students working together

Collaborative Innovation

Teams developing solutions in our modern spaces

Pitch competition or presentation

Pitch Competitions

Students present their ventures to judges and peers

Summit workshop activities

Workshops & Mentoring

One-on-one guidance from industry professionals

Students in learning environment

Design Thinking

Creative problem-solving in action

2 Major Events
200+ Participants
15 Industry Mentors
25 Venture Pitches

Looking Ahead to 2025-2026

The Year of Product Development — "Make Something"

1

Systemize Paid Internships

Launch the Entrepreneurship Internship Initiative—an internship funding model ensuring every minor completes at least one paid internship experience at an alumni-led company before graduation.

2

The Generator Incubator

Convert ground-floor Holekamp space into an incubator and rapid-prototyping studio, adding equipment to support interdisciplinary projects including those in engineering, computer science, sociology, environment studies, and more.

3

Patentable Work & Entrepreneurship Fellowship

Support cross-disciplinary IP through a new Entrepreneurship Fellow position and targeted at research clusters working on federal projects like the Department of Energy's intellectual property database.

4

Curricular Finish Line

Final vote on renaming the minor Entrepreneurship & Design, locking in an interdisciplinary assurance-of-learning plan and elective pathways.

5

Entrepreneurship Summit Growth

Increase student and alumni participation at this keystone event.

Signature Events in Development

Fall 2025

The Generator Grand Opening & W&L Hackathon

Live student demos, donor wall reveal

Winter 2026

W&L Entrepreneurship Summit & Pitch Competition

Panels in alt-energy, fintech, national security, food & ag, and more. First interdisciplinary cohort

Ways to Engage

Join us in shaping the future of entrepreneurship at W&L

Partnership for Impact

With your partnership, our students move from ideation to impact faster than ever. Together we will ensure that the next generation of W&L entrepreneurs not only build successful ventures, but also carry forward the values of honor, integrity, and liberal-arts inquiry into every industry they touch.