Past Entrepreneur of the Year & Excellence Awardees

Since its founding in 2012, the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance (GEA) has represented the voices of entrepreneurs among Georgetown’s alumni community. The GEA is proud to confer the Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards — celebrating the contributions of alumni entrepreneurs that embody and exemplify the spirit of people for others and a passion for innovation.

Previous Awardees

2024

Athena Karp

Athena Karp (SFS’08)

Entrepreneur of the Year
HiredScore

BenMcKean

Ben McKean (C’08)

Best of Retail
Hungryroot

Claudia Naim-Burt

Claudia Naim-Burt (SFS’08)

Rising Star
Keep Company

Christine deWendel

Christine de Wendel (SFS’02)

Best of Technology
sunday

Rich Bennett

Richard Bennett (B’03)

Best of Hospitality
Epicured

Cheryl Contee

Cheryl Contee (MBA’04)

Best of Social Impact
The Impact Seat Foundation

Paul Hudson

Paul Hudson (C’01)

Outstanding Investor
Glade Brook Capital Partners

2023

grant pickering

Grant Pickering (MBA’97)

Entrepreneur of the Year
Vaxcyte

Caroline cotto

Caroline Cotto (NHS’14)

Rising Star
Renewal Mill

Patrick Sheridan (MBA’09)

Patrick Sheridan (MBA’09)

Best of Technology
Modus Create

Daniela Fernandez (C’17)

Daniela Fernandez (C’17)

Best of Social Impact
Sustainable Ocean Alliance

Neel Premkumar (B’02)

Neel Premkumar (B’02)

Best of Retail
Dyla Brands

Missy Robbins (C’93)

Missy Robbins (C’93)

Best of Hospitality
Grovehouse, Lilia, Misi, and MISIPASTA

Soraya Darabi (C’05)

Soraya Darabi (C’05)

Outstanding Investor
TMV

Marina Hadjipateras (C’05)

Marina Hadjipateras (C’05)

Outstanding Investor
TMV

2022

Daina Trout (NHS’03)

Daina Trout (NHS’03)

Entrepreneur of the Year
Health-Ade Kombucha

ryan wilson

Ryan Wilson (C’12, L’15)

Rising Star
The Gathering Spot

Sina Chehrazi (B’13, L’17)

Sina Chehrazi (B’13, L’17)

Best of Technology
Nayya

Melissa Bradley (B’89)

Melissa Bradley (B’89)

Best of Social Impact
1863 Ventures

chip malt

Chip Malt (C’10)

Best of Retail
Made In Cookware

Michael Brown (B’94),

Michael Brown (B’94)

Outstanding Investor
Battery Ventures

Jessi (C’00) & Joe (C’98) Baker

Jessi (C’00) & Joe (C’98) Baker

Best of Hospitality
Ole Smoky Distillery & Yee-Haw Brewing

2019

Reggie Aggarwal (L’98)

Reggie Aggarwal (L’98)

Entrepreneur of the Year
Cvent

Courtney Carlsson (C’08)

Courtney Carlsson (C’08)

Rising Star
Paradym

Bill Creelman (C’96)

Bill Creelman (C’96)

Best of Retail
Spindrift

Mary Giuliani (C’97)

Mary Giuliani (C’97)

Best of Hospitality
Mary Giuliani Catering & Events

Joel Montaniel (C’06)

Joel Montaniel (C’06)

Best of Technology
Sevenrooms

Michael O’Neil (L’02, MBA’02)

Michael O’Neil (L’02, MBA’02)

Best of Social Impact

2018

Doug Bouton (C’07)

Doug Bouton (C’07)

Entrepreneur of the Year
Halo Top

Luisa Santos (C’14)

Luisa Santos (C’14)

Rising Star
Lulu’s Ice Cream

Monica Ferguson (B’00)

Monica Ferguson (B’00)

Best of Retail
Solemates

Jake DeCicco (B’16)

Jake DeCicco (B’16)

Best of Hospitality
Sunniva Super Coffee (now KITU Super Coffee)

Luke Schoenfelder (C’12)

Luke Schoenfelder (C’12)

Best of Technology
Latch

Lynn Margherio (C’88)

Lynn Margherio (C’88)

Best of Social Impact
Cradles to Crayons

randy goldberg video

2017

Randy Goldberg

Randy Goldberg (B’00)

Entrepreneur of the Year
Bombas

Nora Gardner (C’07)

Nora Gardner (C’07)

Best of Retail
Nora Gardner New York

Luke Holden (B’07)

Luke Holden (B’07)

Best of Hospitality
Luke’s Lobster

Nick Miller (C’10)

Nick Miller (C’10)

Best of Technology
Parking Panda

Cherian Thomas (G’14)

Cherian Thomas (G’14)

Best Mobile App
Spotluck

Scott Beale (C’98)

Scott Beale (C’98)

Best of Social Impact
Atlas Corps

Drew Clark (C’00)

Drew Clark (C’00)

Fastest Growing
California Cowboy

Phil Wong (SFS’15) & Ann Yang (SFS’16)

Phil Wong (SFS’15) & Ann Yang (SFS’16)

Rising Star
Misfit Juicery (now Phil’s Finest)

2016

Amy Wright (MBA’92)

Amy Wright (MBA’92)

Macro Solutions

David Fogel (SFS’93, L’97, MBA’97)

David Fogel (SFS’93, L’97, MBA’97)

Indexiq

Tom Raffa (B’76)

Tom Raffa (B’76)

Raffa, Inc.

2015

Ted Leonsis (C’77)

Ted Leonsis (C’77)

Monumental Sports & Entertainment

2014

Dan Berger (MBA’10)

Dan Berger (MBA’10)

Social Tables

David McCourt (C’79)

David McCourt (C’79)

Granahan McCourt Capital

Craig Walker (MBA’91)

Craig Walker (MBA’91)

Uber Conference

2013

Catherine Cook (B’11)

Catherine Cook (B’11)

MyYearbook.com

Nathaniel Ru (B’07), Jonathan Neman (B’07), and Nicolas Jammet (B’07)

Nathaniel Ru (B’07), Jonathan Neman (B’07), and Nicolas Jammet (B’07)

sweetgreen