Jason Bordainick (McIntire ’02) was delighted to win a $4,000 cash award as the only undergraduate representative in the April 19, 2002, Darden Business Plan Competition. “I was proud to represent McIntire,” says Bordainick.

Bordainick presented the plan for his student housing business, offGrounds, to a panel of judges and won yet another vote of confidence in his entrepreneurial abilities. In his second year, he finished as a finalist in a McIntire-sponsored business concept competition. Last summer he qualified for the financial and collaborative support of Darden’s Progressive Incubator, where he launched his Web-based housing venture. At the end of the summer, the Incubator’s review board passed Bordainick so that he continued to receive Incubator support for offGrounds’ development during the school year. 

New Strategy
Bordainick and his partner Trina Jones (A&S ’95, Darden ’01) are transforming offGrounds this summer from a stand-alone Web site into a software and services company focusing on the university off-campus housing market. Jones became interested in offGrounds when it was a member of the Progressive Incubator program, which provides fledgling businesses the opportunity to recruit Darden students.

“We plan to partner with three to five universities in the Mid-Atlantic region to take part in our pilot program, and we will solicit yearly memberships from realtors in each of these markets,” says Bordainick.

Bordainick and Jones recruited a senior executive with more than 30 years of experience selling to universities who will lead the expansion across the nation, once the foundation of the business is firmly in place.

Blueprint for Success
Bordainick credits the McIntire program with creating a family atmosphere that makes students feel comfortable approaching professors with non-class-related questions. “McIntire professors encourage their students to set high goals,” he says. “The McIntire environment fosters the development of hard-working, ethical, and analytical professionals.”

McIntire faculty offered Bordainick key advice and support as he developed offGrounds. “Professor [Larry] Pettit provided useful insight for what potential investors look for in a business,” says Bordainick. “I took an independent study with him last fall, and he gave me sound advice for structuring deals with both partners and investors. Professor [Elias] Awad has also been an adviser to the business. Professors Mike Atchison, George Overstreet, and Neil Snyder have given helpful advice along the way.”

Bordainick also gives high marks to the Progressive Incubator program. “The Darden faculty, including Faculty Director for the Progressive Incubator Robert Carraway, is determined to have successful businesses come out of the program and have provided significant support.”

Inspiration from Others
This past spring Bordainick took a class with Overstreet and John Griffin (McIntire ’85), President and Founder of Blue Ridge Capital, a successful hedge fund. “The class brought in several other successful alumni, many of whom also started their own fund or business,” says Bordainick. “Hearing the stories of other successful entrepreneurs makes you believe that it’s possible. Maybe one day, together with other successful McIntire entrepreneurs, I’ll return to U.Va. as a visiting professor to teach other students.”