{"id":238005,"date":"2025-11-17T07:15:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T12:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=238005"},"modified":"2025-11-17T14:35:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T19:35:49","slug":"uconns-entrepreneurship-ranking-climbs-in-2026-princeton-review-findings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/11\/uconns-entrepreneurship-ranking-climbs-in-2026-princeton-review-findings\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn\u2019s Entrepreneurship Ranking Climbs in 2026 Princeton Review Findings"},"content":{"rendered":"

UConn\u2019s reputation as an entrepreneurship academic powerhouse climbed significantly in the 2026 rankings released Nov. 12 by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur.<\/em><\/p>\n

The results were based on 40 data points including academic offerings, faculty credentials, experiential learning, mentorship, and more.<\/p>\n

The University was ranked No. 4 in New England for undergraduates and No. 6 for graduate students. UConn\u2019s overall ranking was No. 29 for graduates (up from No. 34 last year) and No. 31 for undergraduates (up from No. 45). The rankings primarily included U.S. colleges and universities, but some international schools were also included.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last ten years, there has been tremendous growth in the number and quality of programs and resources available to entrepreneurs at UConn,\u2019\u2019 said Michelle Cote, interim director of UConn\u2019s Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation<\/a>, established in 2017 thanks to a $22.5 million gift from pharmaceutical entrepreneur Peter J. Werth.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunities to explore and practice entrepreneurship and innovation are embedded in schools and colleges across campus, and students are making huge leaps in launching market-ready ventures as result,\u2019\u2019 Cote said. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see that progress reflected in this year\u2019s rankings.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Professor Kevin Gardiner, director of UConn\u2019s Innovation Quest<\/a> (iQ) program says the ideas and the commitment from students are exceptional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had over 200 registrants for Innovation Quest<\/a> in 2025, from over 60 majors, and they included freshman up to Ph.D. candidates,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cWhat was particularly impressive to me was the strength of some of the younger students. In fact, one of the top five teams that was invited to the Summer InQbator was made up entirely of freshman. It was not just the strength of their idea, but the team\u2019s poise and confidence when presenting that shocked the judges when we learned that they were freshmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

OCHI Clothing Company: Intentional, Purposeful<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gustavo Malpica Sotomayor ’26 (BUS) came to UConn planning to become a doctor, but he will graduate in May as the CEO and co-founder of a unique clothing company called OCHI.<\/p>\n

OCHI clothing was designed to combat surface-level images, curated half-truths and fleeting moments dominating social media, by presenting deeper messages. Designed with inverted text, it forces potential customers to question the image, the reflection, and even themselves.<\/p>\n

\"A
A model holds a sweatshirt from the OCHI collection. Gustavo Malpica Sotomayor co-founded the business during an entrepreneurship class at UConn (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t just clothing, it\u2019s a message, a mindset, a rebellion against the expected,\u2019\u2019 Malpica Sotomayor says. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique form of self-expression.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Malpica Sotomayor found a career foothold in an undergraduate entrepreneurship class when he had to build a prototype of something to sell online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in fashion, but I wanted to do something different,\u2019\u2019 he says, of his clothing line, which is sold online and sometimes at pop-up events at UConn Storrs. He and four business partners are working on their business, trying new ideas and testing their grit. \u201cWe want to be intentional and purposeful,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my life I\u2019ve been surrounded by people who own their own businesses,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cIt occurred to me that maybe business was ingrained in me. I decided to try it and it has been really, really fun.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

OCHI won a School of Business\u2019 Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation\u2019s<\/a> (CCEI) Get Seeded pitch and a $1,000 first prize. \u201cBut more than that, we gained valuable connections and good, honest feedback,\u2019\u2019 he says of the peers, professors, and alumni he worked with. \u201cSo many people here want to help you.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really grateful that I came to UConn. I\u2019m getting the most value that I can from my education. I\u2019m ready to branch out and go on to see what the rest of the world can offer me,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

SedMed Is Helping Hospitals Keep Patients Safe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeremy Bronen \u201820 (BUS) founded SedMed<\/a>, a toilet-lift assist device serving the elderly and the disabled, as an undergraduate.<\/p>\n

\"Four
Jeremy Bronen, (second from left) creator of SedMed poses with some medical business associates. As an undergraduate, Bronen was working on his innovation to improve safety for elderly and disabled people. To date, the company has raised more than $2.3 million (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cCurrently we are working with hospitals all over the country and retrofitting their bathrooms in inpatient rehab, post-op, and orthopedics,\u2019\u2019 Bronen says. \u201cI keep remembering the CCEI Summer Fellowship accelerator I attended and [then instructor] Michelle Cote telling me I should pilot the device, and I said, \u2018Where would we get $50,000?\u2019 So far, we\u2019ve raised $2.3 million and more is coming.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The company was a top five finalist at the Wolff New Venture Competition in 2020 and a CCEI Accelerate UConn program participant.<\/p>\n

\u201cSedMed would not exist without UConn\u2019s entrepreneurship programs. Absolutely not,\u2019\u2019 Bronen says. \u201cUConn gave me the education, the money for a prototype, and the network to raise funding.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m optimistic about the future. We\u2019re at a major inflection point now. We\u2019ve found our market fit, we\u2019ve got capital, and we\u2019ve got the ability to make a difference,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

SedMed customers share stories with Bronen about how the mobility device allowed them to care for their loved ones at home. \u201cThe best part of this business are the stories about the people benefiting from our innovation,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThose are the things that keep me motivated through the challenging days.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Shark Tank, Start-up Capital Highlight Recent Achievements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jennifer Mathieu, executive director of CCEI, said in the last decade CCEI leadership has experienced tremendous momentum as entrepreneurship has become woven into the fabric of UConn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2025, we\u2019ve celebrated many major startup milestones such as \u2018onewith\u2019<\/a> swimwear securing a deal on ABC\u2019s\u00a0Shark Tank. Alumni have raised more than $250 million in startup capital raised this year, including the largest single raise by a CCEI alum and dermatology drug company, Veradermics,<\/a> at $150 million,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cAs our programming and the entrepreneurial ecosystem continue to strengthen, our founders are better equipped than ever to take their ventures to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

(see related article: Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Recognized as a Global Leader in Venture Creation – UConn Today<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Professor Travis Grosser, interim director of the Boucher Management & Entrepreneurship Department, says the entrepreneurship ranking reflects much more than student success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis recognition validates our commitment to entrepreneurship education that goes beyond the classroom. Our faculty’s innovative approach\u2014blending world-class research with real-world practice\u2014ensures our students are prepared to launch ventures that will fuel Connecticut’s economic future,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cAt UConn, we’re not just teaching entrepreneurship; we’re cultivating the entrepreneurs who will shape tomorrow’s economy.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Startup Tackles Student Housing Availability Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ayana Walters \u201828 (CLAS) had a tough time finding off-campus housing during her freshman year, and that experience eventually inspired her to create her own company.<\/p>\n

She founded HuskySHARE this year to ease the process for students looking for off-campus housing, or looking to sublease their apartment when studying abroad or pursuing internships or co-ops. Last year, 36% of UConn\u2019s almost 20,000 undergraduates in Storrs lived off campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, amenities, price, and location are very important,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI also want to know if the landlord will shovel snow.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"A
Ayana Walters won a Get Seeded award for her plan to help UConn students find off-campus housing. Her business, called HuskySHARE, will pilot next semester (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond solving her own housing challenges, Walters says she created HuskySHARE because she did not want other students to experience the same stress that she did. She recognized that many other students were also struggling to find reliable housing. Searching across different platforms could be confusing, and raised concerns about whether the information was accurate or if reaching out was safe.<\/p>\n

As a Werth Innovator, she brainstormed business ideas with peers. She enjoys being surrounded by like-minded student founders who not only supported and collaborated with her, but motivated her to help the aspiring entrepreneurs following in her footsteps.<\/p>\n

She also credits UConn\u2019s entrepreneurial community and David Ouimette, executive director of First Year Communities, for helping her pursue her interest. Ouimette \u201cwill stop at nothing to help you,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still pursuing a degree in economics with an eye toward pre-law, but becoming an entrepreneur has been very insightful for me. Entrepreneurship is not something I thought was possible until now,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

Today she is partnering with a software developer to create a HuskySHARE website or app for the company, which she hopes to pilot by the end of spring semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I won a Get Seeded award, a lot of graduate students and past winners reached out said they were interested in what I was doing,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI think UConn\u2019s entrepreneurship community is unmatched.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Reef-to-Table Keeps Oysters Fresh for Landlocked Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keegan Jalbert \u201925 will tell you nobody wants days-old seafood on their dinner plate. That\u2019s why Jalbert, now pursuing a master\u2019s degree in nutritional science, who is passionate about seafood- and land- farming, is debuting his food trailer soon, called Reef-to-Table.<\/p>\n

The mobile food service will debut in Tolland and Windham counties initially for fairs and for catering private events. But long-term, he hopes to serve fresh oysters to land-locked locations where few customers get to enjoy fresh and delicious shellfish.<\/p>\n

\"Raw
Grad student Keegan Jalbert plans to bring fresh oysters to shellfish enthusiasts who live far from the ocean with his Reef-to-Table business (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe want to be the mobile oyster hub, and unlock new geographic markets,\u2019\u2019 he says about oysters, which rack up nearly $400 million in sales annually in the U.S., almost entirely in coastal communities. \u201cFreshness and safety are top priorities when selecting seafood. It must be high quality, that\u2019s part of our value proposition.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Jalbert has developed a trade-secret shellfish feed that keeps live oysters thriving during transportation. He received strong support from CCEI\u2019s Get Seeded and Innovation Quest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money I won allowed me to work on the technology and take steps toward my first retail oyster hub. Just a few days ago, we were invited to another entrepreneurial program, called VentureWell. These things would not come along without CCEI and the School of Business,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cIt\u2019s tough bringing innovation to an industry founded in tradition, but better distribution of fresh shellfish can really boost sales for sustainable coastal farmers, and improve access to healthy seafood \u2013 a win-win.”<\/p>\n

Jalbert said being an entrepreneur fills something within him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about being able to realize my vision of what can improve the world. To me, that\u2019s about sustainable seafood distribution and access,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cEntrepreneurship is the only way to do that in my eyes. I think it is the same for my peers. We all have a vision of what can be better in the world.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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