Class of 2023: How a date that ended badly led Jack Oppenheim to a business venture and, ultimately, VCU’s da Vinci Center
Master of Product Innovation student is taking Tow Ninja to new markets.
Call it a goodnight kiss-off. Jack Oppenheim’s car was towed during a date.
It’s fair to say he rebounded quickly. Then a junior at James Madison University, majoring in history, Oppenheimer found inspiration in the moment and started Tow Ninja, a company that eases some strain of the experience by connecting vehicle owners with tow companies. The moment also set him on the road to Virginia Commonwealth University’s da Vinci Center for Innovation.
“I thought that it was a really cool space to be in, making some of the world’s latest and greatest products and services,” the Master of Product Innovation student said of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “There is no other program like the da Vinci Center.”
As an undergraduate, Oppenheim had won $5,000 for Tow Ninja in JMU’s Bluestone Seed Fund competition in 2021. At VCU and da Vinci, he has been able to nurture its growth.
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