Luke  Burgis Headshot

Academic Area

  • Entrepreneurship
  • School

  • Busch School of Business
  • Expertise

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Mimetic Theory
  • Human Ecology
  • Luke Burgis is Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After a brief career in investment banking and private equity, he started his first company at age 23 and was named a “Top 25 Entrepreneur Under 25” by Business Week for growing it into one of the most innovative food access businesses in the country.

    Luke is also the founder of two more startup companies that he led as C.E.O. to high growth and sustainability. Fit Fuel, the e-commerce company that he founded, has been recognized as having an outstanding company culture. He formed a close partnership with Zappos.com.

    Luke is recognized as a principled entrepreneur whose ventures have a strong social and cultural mission. He’s Managing Partner of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator that he founded to build, train, and invest in people and companies that contribute to a healthy human ecology.

    Luke is co-author of the book Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person. He is also a recognized expert in René Girard's mimetic theory and author of the book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life (St. Martin's Press, 2021). He has a B.S. from the Stern School of Business at New York University and an S.T.B. in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

    “We can only be as good as we want to be. Understanding the fundamental role of desire in a healthy human ecology is the primary responsibility of every leader.”
    Luke Burgis