Since 2009, the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative has equipped students with the knowledge, skills, and resources to launch viable new businesses that create wealth and add value to society. As the initiative works to build a culture of entrepreneurship across the Georgetown community, the McDonough School of Business recognizes an opportunity to mentor and support our students and young alumni who have turned their passions into viable entrepreneurial ventures.

Aligning with the Jesuit values of Georgetown University, the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize honors and supports Georgetown students who have launched or are preparing to launch new business ventures that will address problems in the world around them. Each year, teams or individuals compete to win an amount determined from the annual limit of $100,000. Ultimately, the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize builds awareness around the innovation and accomplishments of Georgetown’s entrepreneurs and strengthens the university’s reputation as a place where ambitious students can turn their passions into entrepreneurial ventures.

Current Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Georgetown alumni within six months of graduation, are eligible for the prize and may be nominated as individuals or as teams. Georgetown’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence provide valuable mentorship to the Leonsis prize recipients as they develop and pursue their ventures. Recipients of the prize are selected through a rigorous nomination, application, and review process.

Stories of Georgetown Entrepreneurs & the Companies They've Launched
Venture Forward is a series of conversations with Georgetown entrepreneurs that explores the roads they’ve traveled to launch their companies, and the peaks, valleys, and unexpected turns that mark their paths. Venture Forward is a series of conversations with Georgetown entrepreneurs that explores the roads they’ve traveled to launch their companies, and unexpected turns that mark their paths. Season One features the stand out companies that won Georgetown’s most prominent pitch competition