Meet the Class of 2021: Danya Sherman (MBA’21)

Danya Sherman (MBA’21)
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

What are your post-graduate plans?

I will be working full-time on my start-up, KnoNap, a cocktail napkin that is capable of testing for specific rape-drug presence. I work to combat the rising prevalence of drug facilitated assault and crime.

What is your favorite memory or proudest moment from your time at Georgetown?

My proudest moment from my time at Georgetown was pitching and winning the 2020 Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize from the Bark Tank pitch competition. I was honored to pitch my start-up alongside the fellow Hoya entrepreneurs, receive support from Georgetown’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR), and bring home the first place and Audience’s Choice Award. 

What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned while at Georgetown?

At any given moment, I am exactly where I need and deserve to be. 

Is there a particular person that helped shape your Georgetown experience into what it is today?

Howard Eisenberg was one of my Entrepreneurs-in-Residence for BarkTank and has since become an amazing mentor and friend. 

What was your favorite class?

Private Equity with Rory Smith. I watched his lectures numerous times to absorb every nugget of knowledge I could. 

What are you most looking forward to as an alumna?

This will be the first time since I founded KnoNap in 2017 that I will be able to dedicate all my time on the company. I started the company when I was an undergraduate student at the George Washington University. Since then, I have juggled my time between being a student and entrepreneur. Now, as an alumna, I am able to use my business training in growing my start-up full-time in preparation for our launch in 2021. Stay tuned!

Anything else you’d like to share about your story, an “about you”, fun fact, etc…

Through KnoNap, I have had the opportunity to represent the United States at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the Hague. I have also had the privilege of pitching in front of Armando Perez (Pitbull) and Ashton Kutcher. While entrepreneurship runs deep in my veins, I am also a chef at heart; I won a cooking television show a few years back. Since quarantine, I picked up cycling and cycled 1800 miles in 2020. Being in DC also enabled us to go to the Supreme Court following the announcement of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to pay our respects and honor her legacy of advancing gender-based equality in America.