About the Center

The Apex Center for Entrepreneurs inspires and empowers Virginia Tech students to turn their passion, purpose, and ideas into action. 

Our portfolio of programs is inter-disciplinary and provides any Hokie, from any major and any year the opportunity to engage in all phases of the entrepreneurship and new venture development process, and encourages alumni to interface with the next generations of entrepreneurs.

History

Meet Our Founders

The Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is named in recognition of a joint commitment of $5 million by four Virginia Tech alumni, Brian Callaghan, Ted Hanson, Win Sheridan, and Jeffrey Veatch.

Our namesake, Apex Systems, is the information technology staffing and services company that Callaghan, Sheridan, and Veatch founded in 1995, which Hanson joined as chief financial officer in 1998.

Apex Systems, which was acquired by ASGN Incorporated in 2012, has trailing 12-month revenue of more than $1 billion. In 2013, it placed more than 20,000 professionals while serving more than 1,200 clients across a variety of industries.

They say it takes a village to raise a startup. And the Apex Center is no different. Beginning in 2014, motivated by a simple vision to create a University-wide platform for entrepreneurship, our Advisory Board and Venture Mentors consist of alumni highly committed to supporting student founders and launching the Center on a trajectory for rapid growth.

In 2018, the Apex Center was named one of the best emerging entrepreneurship centers globally by GCEC (the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers).  In 2021, Virginia Tech was named as a Top 25 program nationally for entrepreneurship by the Princeton Review. In 2022, Virginia Tech was ranked a top 25 program nationally for entrepreneurship by The Princeton Review for the second year in a row. In addition, in 2022 Virginia Tech was ranked No. 4 in the South East region by Entrepreneur Magazine. These awards make Virginia Tech the only ranked school for entrepreneurship in Virginia.

“From their personal experience, these four donors have shown how you can be successful entrepreneurs, and I’m delighted they want to share what they’ve learned, inspire others and be models for current students, faculty and alumni. This gift ensures that our Center is a long-term success and has the resources to transform entrepreneurship at Virginia Tech and beyond.”

— Pamplin College of Business Dean Robert Sumichrast