Pitching Small Business Plans

RENAISSANCE SCHOOL STUDENTS DEVELOP AND PITCH SMALL BUSINESS PLANS

Students mentored by Small Business Association (SBA) partner organizations, including SCORE and CIC

The 2024-25 Renaissance School MicroMBA Business class culminated in business pitches to the Community Investment Collaborative, a non-profit financier that provides small business loans to start-ups in the greater Charlottesville area. Students shared their 15-page business plans and delivered 3-minute pitches for feedback from financiers who invest in businesses like theirs every year.

Coached by SCORE Retired Executives

Throughout the year, students were coached by SCORE mentors Cathy Taylor, Ross Gulotta, and Michael Rodbell. SCORE is a service of the US Small Business Administration where retired business executives volunteer their time to advise new entrepreneurs.

Connected to Tom Tom Conference Networks

Students found the opportunity to attend a professional conference after a year of hard work to be rewarding. “What I learned will definitely impact parts of my life other than just business. I … now have a better understanding of how to adapt, both personally and within an organization, to changes such as new technologies. I also have gained knowledge about issues impacting our communities and the variety of ways people came to understand and now try to solve these issues,” said Abby C ’28.

Taught by UVA Darden School of Business Prof

On Friday, April 18, 2025, students got to learn from Dr. Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Vice Dean of the UVA Darden School of Business, and Academic Co-director LaCross Institute for AI & Special Advisor to the Provost on AI. Dr. Grushka-Cockayne emailed after the conference to say, “Thank you so much for attending my talk and bringing the RS kids. I was honored to have you all in the audience.” Students took a lot away from the session as well. “I learned that AI could be used for many different companies and not just tech or websites. I also learned that if you are going to use AI make sure you think about what it will be helping with and not just putting it in for the sake of having it,” shared Eliza S ’28.

Inspired by Alumni & Parents

Business students had the chance to learn from business people within our community. Local entrepreneur Jake Zarnegar walked the students through the case study for one of his start-ups, Silverchair Learning Systems (which was subsequently acquired by Relias). This helped to refine students’ thinking about what problem their business ideas where solving, and for whom. Renaissance School alum Alex Zuffoletti ’20 came to the class to talk about his journey at the UVA Darden School of Business, and his new start-up, SRGE. Alex did Distinction in Business while at Renaissance, as well as his Senior Thesis!

Curriculum Augmented by CFA Institute

The Renaissance School Business curriculum is taught by Bethany Farris, CFA. Ms. Farris earned her CFA charter in 2003, and has worked in both institutional investment consulting for some of the largest investment pooled funds globally, as well as in business consulting to the financial industry and private wealth management. The convenient location of the CFA Institute – just blocks from the school – has provided many opportunities, including direct access to the CFA Investment Foundations curriculum. This year, this was instrumental in building financial statements, budgets, financial projections, and company valuations of the students’ start-ups.

A Comprehensive Finance Curriculum

The Renaissance School Business curriculum is a 4-year program designed to help students look at finances from all sides. This includes the perspective of a business owner (sometimes referred to as “sell-side”), and from that of an investor (“buy-side”). This approach encourages students to think about how to protect their intellectual property and monetize it, as well as considering personal finances strategically.

Renaissance School is Charlottesville’s college preparatory school for academically and artistically advanced high school students. Founded in 1999, the school’s comprehensive liberal arts program is ranked the Niche #1 high school for the arts in Virginia for 2025, as well as top 9% nationally in STEM.