By Lacie Blankenship
In early March, Vanderbilt University welcomed over 750 individuals to campus for the inaugural Convoy Conference. This transformative event featured various distinguished speakers and a comprehensive agenda focused on building meaningful businesses. Convoy Conference was designed to accelerate Vanderbilt’s entrepreneurship and venture capital momentum, strengthening the university’s business generation ecosystem for long-term success.
The Vanderbilt Venture Gala Dinner and Awards event, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
“It was incredible to see the Convoy Conference come to life after months of planning,” said Baxter Webb (MBA’13), Director of the Owen Center for Entrepreneurship, who spearheaded the creation of the conference. “The passion of our alumni to give back was truly evident, and the event provided an amazing platform for networking, education, and collaboration. I’m excited to watch how this conference will continue to grow and support Vanderbilt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Convoy Conference Highlights
The People: Keynote Speakers Included Mark Cuban, Jeff Rothschild, and Doug French
The 2025 Convoy Conference united a dynamic mix of Vanderbilt community members eager to exchange ideas and forge new connections. Attendees included alumni and students who are entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, founders, investors, and C-suite leaders.
The event featured panel discussions, keynote speaker sessions, pitch competitions, startup showcases, industry breakout sessions, and an awards gala with networking happening throughout. Esteemed Vanderbilt community members spoke at the conference, including keynote speakers Mark Cuban, Jeff Rothschild (BA’77, MS’79), and Doug French.
Dean Steenburgh joined Mark Cuban at the 2025 Convoy Conference
Other notable speakers included Michael Berolzheimer (BS’00), Founder and Managing Director of Bee Partners, Bruce Evans (BE’81), Former Managing Partner of Summit Partners, Carl Liebert (MBA’95), former CEO of several PE-backed companies and now Managing Director at American Securities, Oliver Luckett (BA’96), serial entrepreneur who created the first mechanisms for monetizing content, Adam Spector (BS’04) serial entrepreneur, noted angel investor, and host of the Entrepreneurial Excellence podcast, Brendan Synnott (BS’00) serial entrepreneur behind Bear Naked Granola, Revely, and Pact, and Emily White (BA’00), former COO of SnapChat and now Managing Director at Anthos Capital.
Key Vanderbilt leaders, including Cybele Raver, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Tom Steenburgh, Ralph Owen Dean, Padma Raghavan, Vice Provost for Research, Anders Hall, Vice Chancellor for Investments and CIO, and more, guided the event while highlighting innovation on campus. See a full list of the speakers and their titles here.
“The speaker lineup at the 2025 Convoy Conference was truly outstanding–visionary entrepreneurs, top investors, and industry leaders returned to campus to share their knowledge and engage with the Vanderbilt community,” said Webb.
The Topics: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities in Entrepreneurship
Building on the insights shared by the exceptional speaker lineup, the 2025 Convoy Conference tackled some of the most timely topics in entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment. With over 150 Vanderbilt founders, including seven unicorn founders, and more than 10 alumni from top accelerators like Y Combinator, Techstars, Neo, and Creative Destruction Lab–alongside over 80 investors, the event fostered in-depth discussions about the evolving business landscape.
Key discussions explored:
- Macroeconomic trends across industries and startups stages;
- Finding product-market fit and going from zero to one;
- Sourcing and developing startup talent;
- Laddering up leadership styles to grow with the organization;
- Leveraging AI to boost startup success;
- Resources at Vanderbilt and in Nashville;
- and opportunities for the Vanderbilt ecosystem to collaborate.
On the final day of the conference, in addition to the core conference, Convoy Conference attendees could stay for extra focus sessions dedicated to innovation in healthcare, including topics like AI in healthcare, digital health, life sciences, and more. Review the entire conference agenda here.
“The depth of expertise and engagement displayed at the inaugural Convoy Conference made it clear–Vanderbilt is not only producing top entrepreneurs and investors–it is shaping the future of innovation itself,” said Webb.
The Impact: Building on Momentum from Vanderbilt and Nashville
The inaugural Convoy Conference was more than a gathering–it served as a catalyst for future entrepreneurship, investment, and radical collaboration. By bringing together outstanding entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders, the conference reinforced Vanderbilt’s growing role in entrepreneurship and business leadership. The energy and connections forged during the conference are already creating ripple effects, opening new doors for founders and funders alike.
Building on Vanderbilt’s Strengths
With the notion that venture-backed startups built by Vanderbilt University alumni are twice as likely to reach unicorn status as startups launched by founders who graduate from other universities, it’s safe to say that Vanderbilt has long been a launching pad for successful entrepreneurs. The Convoy Conference highlighted the High IQ/High EQ leader produced by Vanderbilt and the fruits of those leaders within the Vanderbilt network.
The presence and support of university leadership emphasized Vanderbilt’s commitment to investing in research, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, and supporting students and alumni in their entrepreneurial journeys.
Nashville’s Innovation Ecosystem
Nashville is emerging as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment. With a thriving healthcare sector, a booming tech scene, and an increasing presence of venture capital, the city provides a strong environment for startups to scale. The Convoy Conference highlighted the intertwined web between Vanderbilt and Nashville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, encouraging local and national investors to take a closer look at the region’s growing opportunities.
Looking Ahead
The Convoy Conference has set the stage for even greater momentum in the Vanderbilt entrepreneurial ecosystem. Attendees left with new connections, insight from some of the best and brightest innovators, and a clear vision for the future of entrepreneurship at Vanderbilt and beyond. As the university continues to invest in innovation, the Convoy Conference is poised to become a cornerstone event that strengthens Vanderbilt’s position as a leading force in business, technology, and venture creation.
“Our goal is to make Vanderbilt a top 5 school for entrepreneurship by 2030,” said Webb. “The momentum from Convoy and the organization it will help us build around the ecosystem is crucial to hitting this goal.”
To see recap posts and photos from the 2025 Convoy Conference, view the Convoy Conference LinkedIn and follow the account to stay up to date for next year’s conference.
A Note of Gratitude
In closing remarks, Dean Steenburgh expressed gratitude to the Vanderbilt University administration for their extensive support, each speaker for their time and dedication, all attendees, and a special shoutout to Sam Hendrix, Event Specialist at Vanderbilt Business, for all her work executing the event details.
“I am excited for what the Convoy Conference will become for Vanderbilt University and how it can spark new ideas, foster collaboration, advance careers, and accelerate business generation across the Vanderbilt network,” said Webb.
