Perhaps Albus Dumbledore of “Harry Potter” fame said it best: “Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth.”
He’s right! But don’t merely take it from a fictional master wizard. Instead, consider this roundup of (some) of our writers’ favorite Inno Under 25 winners from all 14 American Inno markets — cities (and states!) across the country. The winners are doing incredible things, all before they turn 26.
It’s an impressive list. And not only does it speak to the health of entrepreneurship in general, but it also illustrates that major hubs of startup energy are robust at all levels. Sure, it’s cool to have established thought leaders, entities that support innovators, startups and big companies alike. But it says something special about an ecosystem that there’s enough room for younger entrepreneurs to make huge moves (although something tells us that they’d be making them regardless).
Below, you’ll notice a pick from each market’s Under 25 list. For each piece, writers and editors chose the winners from nominations, relevant news sources and their own reporting.
Enjoy!
MADISON // ATLANTA INNO
Shahar Ben-Dor, 19 | AuxBox
Ever battled your friends over who has control of the music or the aux cord? The problem is solved with AuxBox, a platform users can link to an Apple Music or Spotify account and invite friends to create a playlist. The idea was originally a hackathon project submitted to HackGT and placed among the top eight out of around 200 projects. “People tend to tell each other about songs and music that they enjoy in social situations when they are both listening to music. We wanted the sharing experience to be seamless and enjoyable,” Ben-Dor said. The startup was selected to join Georgia Tech’s Create-X program. AuxBox plans to implement a subscription model into the app and start generating revenue in the near future.
[Read Atlanta Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
BRENT // AUSTIN INNO
Katherine Allen, 23, and Atreya Misra, 23 | Flo Recruit
After being on this list last year, Flo Recruit pitched at Y Combinator and landed $
150,000 in funding from the prestigious accelerator. Prior to that, she co-founded The Genesis Fund, a $1.2 million fund that backs student startups. Meanwhile, her company has also spotlighted some of the young interns who are helping the company grow — some of whom may one day wind up on this list.
[Read Austin Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
ROWAN AND SRI // BOSTINNO
Nikin Tharan, 21 | CEO of Medsix
As a 9-year-old in Bangalore, India, Tharan fell into good graces with his neighbor who worked an electronic labs affiliated with the Border Security Force. After helping with a few of the lab’s pilot programs, he skipped two grades and landed at Northeastern University at 16 with a full scholarship.
Tharan is no stranger to overachievement. He has won six hackathons, co-founded an experiential learning nonprofit called WISE and worked at Guardion on radioactivity detection and nuclear safety initiatives. Now, he heads up Medsix, a medical device startup that is revolutionizing patients’ postoperative recovery. Any leisure time he has is spent mentoring young entrepreneurs in MIT’s LaunchX program and nurturing his love for history.
[Read BostInno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
Courtney // CHARLOTTE INNO
Lorena James | Z Spools
James, a Davidson College student in the class of 2021, is the founder of Buffalo, N.Y.-based startup Z Spools. The company uses zebra and quagga mussel shells, which are the two most prominent invasive species in the Great Lakes, and turns them into biodegradable 3D printing filament. Her work has earned her both the High School Erie Hack 2017 Grand Prize and the Davidson College Avinger Scholarship Award, as well as some press.
KATHERINE // CHICAGO INNO
Alexander Hejazi, 23 | Founder & CEO, BallBox
A graduate of Michigan State University, Hejazi moved to Chicago in 2016 to pursue his startup dreams. He initially worked at Chicago startup Paro as a financial consultant. But in 2018, he quit to launch BallBox, the maker of electronic locker kiosks that allow consumers to rent sporting equipment and leisure items.With a kiosk at North Ave. beach and another in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Hejazi is gearing up to launch in a third city— Denver.
[Read Chicago Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
COURTNEY // CINCY INNO
Timothy Jordan, 23 | Total Applications, JellyFish
Jordan’s list of accomplishments is lengthy. A recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he participated in the Bearcat Launchpad Accelerator and StartUpUC incubator for his work with Jellyfish, a video-based communication tool. He’s a Cintrifuse member and is the client of such organizations as Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Cincinnati Minority Business Collaborative and J.C. Baker & Associates Inc.
NICK // COLORADO INNO
Melanie Zhou and Mia Hayden, 17 | Co-Founders at Oasis Mental Health
After a series of personal tragedies impacted the ThunderRidge High School community in Highlands Ranch, Zhou and Hayden were looking for a way to address mental health. The duo created Oasis Mental Health, a nonprofit organization that destigmatizes mental health conversation, generates funding for mental health services and builds physical “Oasis” safe spaces for students struggling with mental health. Within six months of these tragedies striking the community, they opened the first physical Oasis space at ThunderRidge High School and negotiated with the school superintendent to expand their reach across the district. The high school seniors recently took part in Denver Startup Week’s Youth Pass Pitch Challenge and won the 2019 Denver Startup Week Pitch finals.
[Read Colorado Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
KIERAN // DC INNO
Zach Oschin, 21 |Founder, Elenas
Zach Oschin’s business Elenas, a social commerce startup for Latin America, has enabled tens of thousands of women across Colombia to build an online store and earn extra income. The company is taking on the direct sales market by connecting lifestyle brands with a network of ambassadors to promote and sell products over WhatsApp and social media. Elenas has raised over $1 million in seed funding and is backed by Polymath Ventures, Alpha4 Ventures and the Georgetown Angel Investors Network. It was a TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Latin America finalist, Georgetown Entrepreneurship Challenge winner and top undergraduate prize winner at the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Competition.
[Read DC Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
MADDY // MINNE INNO
Enzo Vinholi, 20 | Like It Was Yesterday
Enzo Vinholi started his company, Like It Was Yesterday, as a senior in high school. Now a junior at St. Thomas, Vinholi spends most nights continuing to build his company, which designs virtual reality programs for senior citizens living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The company offers more than 1,000 hours of virtual reality programming for users seeking to recreate a variety of memories and life experiences. Users can revisit favorite vacation spots, cities where they used to live, even the place where they had their first kiss decades earlier.
Kevin // NORTH TEXAS INNO
Luke Escudé, 25 | Founder & CEO, PrimeVox
Luke Escudé was an entrepreneur, setting up an IT business before he even graduated high school in Richardson. And all his practice from tinkering with cell phones and computers in his room is paying off as his most recent venture, PrimeVOX Communications, is growing rapidly.
Escudé founded PrimeVOX in 2015, while attending UT-Dallas. Like all good startup stories, his starts in a garage. But the company has quickly outgrown the space and moved into a Farmers Branch office, in addition to nearly doubling revenue every year. The company is on track to break $1 million by the end of 2019. With the company currently developing a 2.0 version of its cloud-based phone system technology, Escudé promises customers no dropped calls – ever.
[Read NTX Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
COURTNEY // RHODE ISLAND INNO
Francesca Raoelison, Brown University | Omena
Raoelison, a Madagascar native, is developing an educational platform that teaches children between the ages of 6-12 about both emotional awareness and healthy relationships in an effort to better identify and extricate themselves from abusive situations. The inspiration for her work, which she further developed in Brown University’s B-Lab, was realizing through her peer educator training that abuse is more than just physical, and that it often begins with emotional manipulation.
[Read Rhody Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
KIERAN // RICHMOND INNO
Juliana Keeling, 23 | CEO, Terravive
Julianna Keeling is developing solutions that improve the lives of people and their environment as the co-founder and CEO of Terravive. Her green packaging company has produced marine degradable and home compostable products since 2016. Keeling studied chemistry and environmental studies at Washington & Lee University, where she was awarded the Earle Bates Prize in Environmental Citizenship. She holds six patents in plant-based materials and finished products, and this summer was one of eight startups in Target’s new accelerator program.
[Read Richmond Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
LAUREN // TAMPA BAY INNO
Ingrid Harb, 25 | Founder, Women Ambassadors Forum and Aligned Creative Agency
Credit: Vadim Davydov
She has long had the entrepreneurial spirit. At 6 years old, she began selling her friends candy during sleepovers. At 13, she created her own jewelry and sold it at school. And at 19, while she was a student at Trinity University in San Antonio, she founded the Women Ambassadors Forum. The company, started in 2015, helps “rebuild women to go beyond: beyond statistics, doubt and fear.” The platform has women from more than 150 countries and launched more than 10 five day programs, one-day summits and online webinars.
Harb realized a majority of the women she was working with at the Women Ambassadors Forum wanted to start their own business, so in 2019 she founded Aligned Creative Agency. The digital agency helps women create their brand before even launching the company, working on branding, strategy and website design.
“My story can inspire others to start young and never let anyone tell you that your are not experienced enough or smart enough to accomplish your goal,” she said. “I have been able to find my purpose and I want to share how I was able to do this with others.”
[Read Tampa Bay Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
JIM // WISCONSIN INNO
Jack Pawlik, 23 | Founder, Drip
At just 23, Pawlik is already somewhat of a serial entrepreneur, having helped start four businesses in Madison including LineLeap, an app that helps you skip the line at popular bars and nightclubs at 21 cities across the U.S. LineLeap took part in the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator earlier this year.Pawlik’s main focus today is Drip, a Madison startup that looks to be the Starbucks app, but for local coffee shops. Drip allows coffee shops to offer their customers mobile order ahead features and connect them on a shared rewards program. The startup won Transcend, the largest student run innovation competition in the country, and was awarded $15,000. It was also accepted into gener8tor’s gBETA accelerator and participated in its spring 2019 cohort. He graduated from UW-Madison earlier this year.
[Read Wisconsin Inno’s full 25 Under 25 list here.]
