Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. For Commerce alumnus and global entrepreneur Justis McEvilly, that meant taking what he learned at McIntire and subsequently working in finance to build his own companies. He made the jump, relocating from the U.S. to the U.K., where he launched successful startups, scaling a top barbering academy and his latest venture, Label Source, a growing luxury fashion resale platform.
What ties the chapters of his story together? An irrepressible curiosity, adaptability, and a drive to turn ideas into action.
Having been based in London since 2007, five years after walking the Lawn, he was “driven by a desire to see life through a different lens outside the U.S. and for the culture, the adventure, and the chance to travel across Europe from a global launchpad,” he says. “London has since become home in every sense.” There, he advanced his career, met his wife, with whom he began raising two daughters, and found himself part of a tight-knit community. However, he has designs to move back to the U.S. to be close to his family and to take Label Source to its next logical development stage Stateside.
A Foundation in Finance
McEvilly grew up in Fairfax County, VA, where his entrepreneurial instincts manifested early. He teamed up with his older brother to mow neighborhood lawns at $30 a pop; the siblings then ran collectible sports card tables at memorabilia tradeshows. By his own admission, he was always busy building something. That business interest led to a desire to study at a top-tier program: “When I learned UVA offered one of the best public business programs in state, with a compelling ROI, McIntire became the obvious target,” he says.
As a Finance concentrator, McEvilly was inspired by Professor John Griffin and his Behavioral Finance course. “What struck me most was his relentless intellectual curiosity: constantly questioning assumptions, surfacing biases, and updating his views,” he recalls. “He recommended eclectic reads. One that stuck with me was The Tao of Pooh, which reinforced the idea of following your natural curiosity wherever it leads.”
McEvilly also credits the Comm School’s collaborative culture for preparing him to lead. “McIntire’s team-based projects fit me perfectly. Learning to listen, contribute, and place people where their strengths shine helped me later as a founder.”
That lesson of questioning the norm and pursuing fulfillment has shaped his life and, by extension, his career. “I didn’t end up running a hedge fund,” he says, “but that mindset became a life compass: Question the norm, stay curious, and keep pushing until the path you’re on feels genuinely fulfilling. That spirit is a big part of why I ultimately moved to London.”
The Entrepreneurial Leap
For McEvilly, entrepreneurship is an ongoing adventure and the arena where he found he could best “lean into collaborative problem-solving, organized input, and building processes that maximize ROI, effectiveness, and happiness across a team.”
Those aspects are what excite him about being a founder. “It’s the mental-math sprint similar to being dropped into a new city with a 24-hour mission: Make sense of the map, choose the best routes, and optimize every move,” he says. “I love the shift from observation to action—spotting trends, testing ideas quickly, and iterating based on real-time feedback.”
He’s applied that mindset to Label Source, where he’s found a fresh challenge in scaling a consumer-facing platform. “Taking something with traction and turning it into a nationwide platform has been the most rewarding part,” he says. “Awareness of what we do has grown massively, and social media has been a huge accelerant,” he notes, crediting the foundations they’ve established through robust technology, clear-cut processes, and consistent delivery to customers as they increase their range of services and products.
But success isn’t only about size for McEvilly: It’s about systems and people. “The accomplishment isn’t just scale,” he says. “It’s the team, the tech, and the operational backbone. And it still feels like the beginning. The market is huge, and I can see this consuming me happily for the next decade or two.”
Clearly that approach is coming through in his leadership style that emphasizes clarity and motivation. “I can’t manage people’s internal feelings, but I can transmit energy and clarity,” he says. “I can spell out the opportunity, the plan, where they fit, and the few key drivers that matter. That either resonates or it doesn’t, and that’s okay.”
Defining Success and Giving Back
Despite his drive for advancing Label Source, success starts at home for McEvilly. “Family first,” he says. “My proudest work is raising two kind, confident humans and giving them the best environment to learn, believe in themselves, and grow while maximizing time with them. Entrepreneurship’s flexibility is a gift here.”
He measures his progress through business metrics and personal balance. “There’s the figurative mirror test,” he says. “Did I put in an honest effort across work, family, partner, self, friends, and community? Only you know your effort. If it’s genuine and balanced, that’s success.”
McEvilly remains deeply connected to the UVA community, pointing out how pivotal it was in supporting him early in his career. Before moving to London, he reached out to the alumni network and found guidance from John Birkhold (Engineering ’86, M.S. in Engineering ’89), “who had enough belief in me as a fellow Wahoo to give me a job and make London a reality.”
He continues to pay forward that spirit. “Anytime I spot a UVA cap on the street, I stop and say hello,” he says. “If I can help someone believe in themselves, I want to. Every time I’ve reached into the UVA community, something good has come back, so giving back feels natural.”
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
“You don’t have to leap on day one,” McEvilly advises. “I didn’t. I spent my 20s in the corporate world, earning, learning, and valuing the predictability and benefits. Entrepreneurship will still be there when you’re ready.”
His guidance is practical: “If you thrive in ambiguity and enjoy creative approaches, taking action, collaborating with other doers, and channeling energy into something at any hour, this might be your arena. Focus on results. If a well-thought-out process isn’t working, try the next thing.”
McEvilly sees entrepreneurship as both discipline and art. “Treat it like a sport: Show up daily, practice, play the match, and accept the outcome as data,” he says. “Most of all, remember that being a bit uncompromising about your vision is often necessary. Not everyone will see what you see, and that’s okay. Push when it matters, protect the downside, iterate fast, and keep going until the signal gets loud.”
Persistence, he says, is key. “One quirky advantage I have is a ‘short memory.’ Losses don’t stick long enough for me to dwell or hold grudges, especially against myself. That helps me try the 47th time, which is sometimes where the breakthrough lives.”
