Poets and Quants invited 45 business schools to nominate ventures with “the greatest potential for lasting beyond business school.”
These nominations included startups that have raked in substantive investment, created a unique business model or earned recognition in competitions. Of the 33 MBA programs that participated this year, UVA Darden had two students featured in the top 41 ventures. CoFund, founded by Maximilian Martin, MBA Class of 2025, and Acute XR, co-founded by Dominik Kirchdorfer, iLab Incubator graduate. Read more about all 41 startups here.
CoFund
CoFund is a microlending platform that connects borrowers with community-driven investors, offering small-dollar loans through individual and group options. CoFund is disrupting traditional lending by making it more accessible, personal, and community-oriented.
Martin told P&Q, “The Darden MBA program has been instrumental in advancing CoFund. It provided me with more than just classroom knowledge—it offered a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem. From faculty who challenged my thinking to hands-on entrepreneurship programs that pushed me out of my comfort zone, the resources were invaluable. I was also able to collaborate with talented students from across UVA, building a strong team for CoFund. The program’s focus on practical learning, along with access to a network of mentors and industry experts, gave me the tools and confidence needed to turn CoFund into a reality. Darden fosters an environment where startups like mine can thrive and grow.”
He said the class Effectual Entrepreneurship taught by Professor Saras Sarasvathy was instrumental in this venture. This taught him that entrepreneurs thrive on uncertainty and being flexible, resourceful, and willing to adapt as you go is most important.
UVA Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology works to enhance the strong entrepreneurial community in Charlottesville. For Martin, the Charlottesville startup ecosystem has been incredibly supportive in the development of CoFund.
“The ecosystem also provided numerous opportunities for pitch practice, allowing me to sharpen my communication skills and strengthen CoFund’s value proposition. Beyond that, the sense of community and willingness to collaborate made Charlottesville the perfect environment to grow a startup, and that support has been instrumental in CoFund’s early success,” said Martin.
Read more about his disruptive startup here!
Acute XR
Another startup named in the list of 41 is Acute XR. Dominik Kirchdorfer, student as Esade Business School, did an exchange at Darden. Acute XR creates fun, immersive and therapeutic video games for children and adolescents suffering from mental health conditions.
During his time in Charlottesville, he participated in the iLab Incubator, a summer program that guides entrepreneurs from idea to market readiness. Kirchdorfer’s experiences at Esade prepared him for the iLab where he and his team won the local Venture Capital Investment Competition, and Darden sent them on to New York for the regional competition. This was where he got to see and understand the process of investors doing their due diligence.
He cites Venture Velocity taught by Professor Jim Zufoletti as an influential class for his startup. Kirchdorfer told P&Q, “Everyone at Darden was incredibly friendly and welcoming, really making me feel like I was part of the family and turned me into a proud alumnus. I had the opportunity to fully immerse myself in everything the school had to offer from classes and clubs to competitions and the incubator program. This allowed me to extend my stay there way beyond graduation and eventually catapulted me into a US accelerator program. I cannot stress how important this particular path was for me. Esade gave me all the fundamentals I needed for entrepreneurship and Darden then allowed me to hit the ground running in the States and raise our first funds. I could not have asked for a better experience.”
Read more about his disruptive startup here!
