On March 15th, local entrepreneurs joined both current and former Wahoos in celebrating a new community of student entrepreneurs: Works in Progress. The evening began with a speech from the Program Director, Alexander Zorychta, who welcomed attendees to the only workspace for student entrepreneurs on central Grounds: Thornton B218, dubbed “The Lighthouse”. The Lighthouse, where WIP members regularly meet and frequently pull all-nighters, has become a space for students to connect over project ideas, which often lead to successful startups.
Several WIP members have received University recognition for their work, including AgroSpheres founders Payam Pourtaheri and Ameer Shakeel, who won the UVa Entrepreneurship Cup in 2015 and again in 2016 for their outstanding work in bioengineering. But perhaps what’s most impressive about the members of Works in Progress is their willingness to collaborate rather than compete with one another.
