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Adam Franklin - Amy Gascon Get funding Annual Report FY26

Annual Report FY26

Catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship for all

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Impact on people

The Hurt Hub at Davidson College convenes innovators and entrepreneurs in the Davidson College community and the Greater Charlotte region to catalyze innovative solutions to critical problems through high-impact experiential learning and educational programming in a safe environment, an inclusive coworking space, a robust mentor network, access to startup capital, and innovation consulting.

Davidson Spring Break Trek to San Fran Stripe
  • 400+ people served by educational programming
  • 234 Coworkers
  • 11 Chimney Rock businesses rebuilding after Hurricane Helene received support from Davidson College Consulting Group

Six students. Six days. Sixteen meetings. Through the second annual Entrepreneurship Club Spring Break Trek, the Hurt Hub co-led a week in San Francisco that put students inside one of the country’s most important startup ecosystems. Made possible by the generosity of Ed Van Deman ’69, the trip connected participants with leaders across sectors, where they saw the real benefits and costs of venture-backed growth, the speed at which AI is reshaping tech, and the high bar top companies set for engineers at every age. Just as lasting was a firsthand look at the depth and diversity of the Davidson alumni network. The impact extends well beyond the week: past participants have found internships, mentors, and colleagues through these trips.

Impact on economic mobility

  • 40+

    Educational programs delivered

  • 28

    Small business consulting clients

  • 21

    Town of Davidson businesses served with innovative business consulting through Amplify Davidson

  • Techstars 2026 Group
  • BLSU Spring 2026
  • 26 Nisbet Venture Fund 100

Student to community
consulting

This fiscal year marked the Davidson College Consulting Group’s first full year of operation as a formal program, and the results exceeded every early projection. What launched in summer 2025 with seven students and a pilot model grew into a 36-student team by fall. Demand from both students and clients has been consistent and strong. More than 100 students applied to the program, and projects are booked approximately three months in advance.

  • 86 Clients in FY26
  • 43 Student Consultants
  • 3,665 Student Consultant hours billed
DCCG 2025-2026

$1,22,000

Startup Capital distributed to support new student and community ventures.

Students and young alums competed in our 4 competitions this year – Try It Fund, Avinger Impact Fund, Nisbet Venture Fund, and the R. Craig and Sheila Yoder Applied Research Fellowship. Our finalists and winners had ideas ranging from diagnostic test strips designed for the early detection of infections, to an AI-powered interview simulator, to a floating autonomous pool robot that continuously monitors water chemistry and dispenses chemicals and much more!

We also held our community focused CATS Pitch Competition in the 2025 fall season, where three entrepreneurs in our community were awarded capital, mentorship, access to talent, and space in our coworking facility. We are grateful for the generous support from the Charlie Hinnant ’72 Fund, the Avinger Impact Fund established in honor of Robert L. Avinger, Jr. ’60 and Professor of Economics from 1967-80, Marian Nisbet and Chip Nisbet ’86, Davidson alums, and other community sponsors for making this possible.

Dermalytixs Nisbet Venture Fund Winner

Testimonials

  • “As a first-time solopreneur, this course has given me the playbook for building my business model. A startup is constantly faced with uncertainty, but I can be intentional about using small experiments to figure out the best way forward.”

    Anonymous Fall 2025 Building a Lean Startup graduate
    Portrait of Anonymous
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Digital learning

Since its inception in 2014, 835,156 learners have engaged with our digital learning portfolio. These courses provide access to open education for ALL. Over 90% of learners accessed the courses at no cost. We launched one new course this year and have three others in production. Check out the Building AI Agents for Beginners course:

DavidsonX: Building AI Agents for Beginners

Master the tools redefining how work gets done. Learn to build, deploy, and automate AI agents that handle complex, multi-step tasks. No coding required.

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Other popular courses:

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