Georgetown Entrepreneurship runs on a simple conviction: anyone can be an entrepreneur. Its pitch competitions, incubators, and mentorship network exist to empower students to become change makers for good, helping them turn early ideas into ventures built around a real social mission. This year, a growing group of student founders is proving how far that conviction can travel, carrying their ideas from the Hilltop to stages in New York, Texas, and Silicon Valley and going head-to-head with teams from across the world.

Meet The Petition Co., Ketsu, and LetsHelp — three startups that differ in what they build and who they serve, but share an important Georgetown origin story. Each began as a student idea nurtured through the university’s pitch competitions, incubators, and mentorship network, and each is now competing, and winning, well beyond campus.

A Civic Tech Startup on the Rise

First stop: Texas. The Petition Co. walked away with the top $40,000 prize at Texas Christian University’s Values and Ventures Competition in Fort Worth — one of the nation’s premier undergraduate social-entrepreneurship competitions, where students from around the world pitch ventures that solve real problems while turning a profit.

Founded by Michael Korvyakov (BGA ’27) and Krish Malik (C ’27), The Petition Co. builds AI-powered software that scans voting documents (such as petitions) and validates signatures, streamlining verification for elections and ballot initiatives, and making civic processes faster and more accessible. The team has worked on the company for roughly a year and a half, securing contracts in multiple states and partnerships to help validate elections abroad, in Malawi and Honduras.

The Fort Worth win capped a breakout year. Months earlier, in November 2025, The Petition Co. took home top honors at Georgetown’s own Bark Tank, the competition made possible by the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize. “Winning Bark Tank was absolutely amazing,” Malik said at the time. “This is just the beginning.” The $40,000 prize suggests the beginning is well underway.

For Korvyakov, the trajectory traces straight back to Georgetown’s entry-level programs. He first got involved through Rocket Pitch, the elevator-pitch competition where, as he puts it, “you could have an idea yesterday and pitch it today,” and credits Georgetown’s Summer Launch incubator, which provides funding, mentorship, and space in downtown Washington, D.C., with turning his early experiments into a real venture.

Reimagining Pediatric Diabetes Care

Across campus, a different team was solving a different kind of problem. Founded by Mona Miraftab (MBA’26), Aaron Brown (MBA’26), and Natalie Costa, Ketsu is a digital companion designed to help children manage type 1 diabetes. Built to be far more approachable for kids than conventional glucose-monitoring tools, the app pairs a friendlier interface with educational features that teach healthy habits. The team has a beta version in the hands of early testers.

From Rocket Pitch finalist on campus to a win in New York, Ketsu’s rise has been quick. In April 2026, the team carried their idea to the Fordham Foundry Pitch Challenge where they competed in a Jesuit Schools track, part of the Jesuit Entrepreneurship Centers Alliance, placing first.

For Miraftab, the value of the experience went well beyond the result. “…the experience of pitching to industry-savvy judges was invaluable,” emphasizing that “presenting in front of knowledgeable professionals is an essential step for anyone aspiring to reach the venture capital level.”

A First-Year Founder Takes Silicon Valley

LetsHelp followed a similar path, starting at Georgetown pitch competitions before heading to Silicon Valley. Led by Elaine Chu (B ’29), an undergraduate first-year, LetsHelp makes sure no senior gets left behind by technology, pairing aging adults with around-the-clock support. The model runs on two tracks: a business-to-business offering for senior living communities, and a growing business-to-consumer side aimed at adult children who want peace of mind and 24/7 backup for their parents.

Chu first put her idea in front of judges at Rocket Pitch, standing out as one of the newest founders in the room. She was also a finalist in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service Global Impact Pitch Competition and won the “Best in Technical Innovation” Award at Georgetown Entrepreneurship’s H2AI Hackathon. The momentum didn’t stop on campus. Georgetown Entrepreneurship later flew her across the country to compete at Santa Clara University’s Business Pitch Competition. There, she pitched to a panel of working venture capitalists and seasoned entrepreneurs, taking second place.

A Pipeline, Not a Lucky Streak

What ties these teams together isn’t a single win; it’s a system designed to lower the barrier to starting. Rocket Pitch invites students to share ideas at their earliest, roughest stage. Summer Launch Incubator gives founders the funding, mentorship, and space to turn those ideas into products over a focused summer. Bark Tank puts them in front of seasoned entrepreneurs and investors. Along the way, coaches, Entrepreneurs in Residence, and a community of fellow student founders and alumni keep pushing the work forward.

“That’s our ultimate goal: to help everyone develop that entrepreneur mindset,” said Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative. “No matter what career path you choose, you’re going to need to learn how to be a creative problem solver”

According to Korvyakov, the lesson is simpler still, and it’s the same one he offers any student on the fence: start before you feel ready. “The only certain way to know that your startup won’t work out is just to not do it,” he said. From the Hilltop to competitions across the country, it looks like plenty of Hoyas are already taking that advice to heart.