It's been a year of unprecedented growth in Chicago's tech scene, with at least a baker's dozen new unicorns minted in 2021 as venture capital pours into the city's startups.
But it isn't just the $100 million funding rounds that define a tech ecosystem. The next generation of successful tech executives are incubating their ideas in college dorm rooms and refining their innovations at student pitch competitions. They're securing early seed funding, working their way up the ladder at fast-growing firms, and helping shape the future of Chicago's tech scene.
In Chicago Inno's annual 25 Under 25 list, we set out to recognize young innovators who are already making their mark on the city's business community. Based on nominations from our readers, we've compiled a list of founders, fast-rising executives, investors, community builders and more who are 25 years old and younger. This year's list features venture-backed upstarts that are finding early customer traction, winners of university startup competitions, young go-getters working their way up the company org chart, and investors at local VC firms.
This year's list also includes the founding team of STIX, a financial technology startup led by University of Chicago students Juvencio Maeztu and Ananiya Neeck, along with the posthumous inclusion of their CEO Ilan Naibryf, who passed away tragically in the Miami condo tower collapse in June. You can read more about Naibryf and STIX in our profile of the company here.
Without further ado, here are this year's 25 Under 25.
Jason Lansing (22), Hunter Pomerantz (23), Austin Pomerantz (21)
Founders of The Players Trunk
With new rules in place in college sports that allow athletes to earn money from their fame, Chicago startup The Players Trunk is among the startups poised for growth with its platform that lets players sell autographs, branded t-shirts and sweatshirts, and game-used gear. Led by Jason Lansing and Austin Pomerantz, two former men's basketball managers at the University of Michigan, along with ex-Syracuse men's hoops manager Hunter Pomerantz, The Players Trunk has sold thousands of items on its platform since launching last year. Its profile rose quickly during the NCAA men's basketball tournament in March when the startup's #NotNCAAProperty t-shirts were worn by several basketball players during the tournament, furthering the conversation about the need for athletes to take ownership over their name, image and likeness rights. The startup counts Chicago VC firm Starting Line among its investors.
Hylton Irons (22)
Investor at Listen Ventures
At just 22, Irons is an investor as well-known Chicago VC firm Listen Ventures, a fund that invests in consumer startups like unicorn meditation app Calm and Chicago gift card marketplace Raise. Irons, a Brown University graduate, worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley before joining Listen in 2021. At Listen, Irons is the "go-to guy" for testing out new products.
Helena Kim (23), Camryn Ross (22), Seoyeon (Phoebe) Choi (23)
Co-founders of Fillow
Chicago startup Fillow is a period product for women that's leak-free, easy to use, long-lasting and mess-free. The company, led by Helena Kim, Camryn Ross, Phoebe Choi and MIT student Heekyoung (Mary) Woo, won first place and $75,000 at the University of Chicago's College New Venture Challenge in March. The startup was the first all-female team to win the school's CNVC.
Samantha Schwartz (24)
Director of Business Services at Workbox
Samantha Schwartz is the director of business services at Workbox, a new coworking space in Chicago. The company opened its first location last year at 420 N. Wabash Ave. and has since opened three other Chicago spaces. In addition to office space, Workbox also offers members mentoring, networking opportunities and access to investors. Schwartz, who joined the firm this year, oversees the services arm of the business and is helping implement a plan to scale beyond the Chicago. She's worked in the Chicago startup ecosystem for over five years, previously serving as the collaboration manager at TechNexus Venture Collaborative and as the VP of Fontenelle Art.
Erikc Perez-Perez (24), Peter Moeckel (23)
Co-founders of Resonado Labs
Chicago startup Resonado Labs has created slim and lightweight speaker technology that's catching on with some big names. The startup announced this year that it's designing the speakers for storied RV company Airstream’s 2022 Touring Coach model line. Because of its design, Resonado can place its speakers in ceilings, headrests and other small areas without sacrificing sound quality. It's led by University of Notre Dame grads Peter Moeckel and Erikc Perez-Perez, along with CEO Brian Youngil Cho, who's 28. The startup, which spent a summer in Silicon Valley participating in 500 Startups, has raised $5.2 million in funding from investors like Catapult Ventures, Queen City Angels and Lofty Ventures. Its most recent round was led by Crush Ventures, the VC arm of Crush Music, a talent management firm that manages artists like Lorde, Sia and Fall Out Boy.
Pitawat (Eng) Mahawattanangul (24)
Product Development Lead at NanoGraf
Pitawat (Eng) Mahawattanangul is the product development lead at NanoGraf, a Chicago battery materials startup. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2019, he joined NanoGraf as a product development engineer before being elevated to senior product development engineer and ultimately landing at his current role leading product development. NanoGraf is among Chicago's most promising deep-tech startups with funding from the Department of Defense and a consortium made up of Ford, GM and Fiat-Chrysler to make batteries for electric cars. The company makes powerful, patented lithium-ion batteries. The startup hit a major milestone this summer by creating what it says is the world’s highest energy density battery of its type at 800 watt-hours per liter.
Busayo Adebayo (22)
Co-founder of Voribe
Busayo Adebayo is the co-founder of Voribe, a Chicago startup that empowers future Nigerian-American leaders with the tools and connections they need to become successful professionals. The startup has created a mentorship community for Nigerians in the U.S. to network with industry leaders. Adebayo participated in the Future Founders Startup Bootcamp to help kickstart the business. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he participated in the school's iVenture Accelerator and also serves as a data analyst fellow at Medical Home Network.
Alex Pu (21), Yuyang Zhang (20)
Co-Founders of Baryl
Baryl is a Chicago startup that helps you easily plan your next trip. Its platform helps travelers create personalized itineraries based on your interests. Led by University of Chicago students Alex Pu and Yuyang Zhang, Baryl was part of the latest Future Founders Startup Bootcamp. The startup's goal is to take travelers off the beaten path and visit local gems that they'll love.
Mackenzie O'Connor (25)
Cameo product operations manager
Mackenzie O'Connor is a product operations manager at Cameo, a Chicago startup that lets you request video messages from celebrities that raised $100 million at a $1 billion valuation this year. O'Connor, a graduate of Columbia College, joined Cameo three years ago, holding roles within the startup's talent relations and marketing teams before joining the company's product organization. She's tasked with helping the company create new products that connect fans and celebs, and was recently honored with an employee spotlight award by contributing to projects that have moved the business forward.
Salvador Dueñas (25)
Startups Manager at Future Founders
Salvador Dueñas is the startups manager at Future Founders, where he helps 18- to 30-year-old founders in Chicago and across the country with recruitment and partnership development. He's also founded multiple startups including Prairy, a location-based social media app, and his latest venture Remix, which he has pitched at TechRise Chicago, a program to help minority founders land capital for their startups. He also volunteers as an advisor for Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Cities, an initiative designed to accelerate the representation and leadership of women in tech.
Founder of Iris Education
Sreya Parakala (21)
Sreya Parakala is the founder of Iris Education, an app she built alongside co-founder Vikas Jain that focuses on centralizing authentic insights on U.S. college culture for international students. A native of Australia and current Northwestern University student, Parakala was a participant in the school's VentureCat startup competition this year, and took part in The Garage’s Residency program. She's also studying entrepreneurship at the school's Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She's also a managing partner at the Door Room Fund, a national, student-run venture fund.
Charbel Bourjas (24)
Project manager at DoorDash
A 2019 graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in computer science, Charbel Bourjas has worked as a product manager at several well-known tech firms, including Groupon, Chowbus, and now currently at DoorDash. While at Northwestern, he served as president of EPIC, the college's entrepreneurship student group. A Lebanon native, he was inspired after high school to start a charity to help kids in war-torn countries.
Regina Morfin (22)
Co-founder of Lura
Regina Morfin is the co-founder of Lura, a fashion brand that promotes access to sustainable textiles. A current Northwestern University student studying manufacturing and engineering design, along with studying entrepreneurship at the school's Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Morfin launched Lura in 2019 and is part of The Garage, Northwestern's startup incubator. The startup is working to help brands rebuild their supply chain by digitizing the relationship between brands and manufacturers. Her additional work experience includes time working with Unilever’s Hellman’s Mayonnaise to implement plastic waste reduction initiatives in manufacturing.
Charlotte Oxnam (20)
Founder of Cue the Curves
Charlotte Oxnam is a current Northwestern University student and the founder of Cue the Curves, an online community for plus-size women and clothing brands. It gives a platform for users to discover and discuss their favorite brands, and find brands that fit their style. Its goal is to help make the shopping experience for plus-size women less isolating by connecting a community that can talk and bond over fashion. The company took the top prize at Chicago Startup Week this spring.
Annie Asai (25)
Head of operations at 2nd Kitchen
Annie Asai started at 2nd Kitchen, a Chicago startup that lets kitchen-less establishments like bars and breweries let patrons order food, as an intern from the University of Chicago. Joining as the startup's first non-founder employee, she worked her way up the company through multiple promotions before ultimately landing the role of director of operations, where she manages 15 people across operations and customer support.
Mona Fang (21)
Founder of Karma Trade
Karma Trade is a zero waste clothing swap service. Built with a shared closet concept in mind, the startup's mission is to make the fashion industry a closed loop system through redistribution and upcycling. Founded by University of Illinois student Mona Fang, the startup lets users bring in unwanted clothes in exchange for "Karma Points," which can be used to buy items at the store. Its goal is to reduce fashion's carbon footprint and help people maintain their dream closets without paying a premium.
Ilan Naibryf (21), Juvencio Maeztu (21), Ananiya Neeck (22)
Co-founders of STIX
STIX is a fintech platform that lets you to make payments by using your stocks as cash. It was co-founded in late 2020 by CFO Juvencio Maeztu and COO Ananiya Neeck, along with CEO Ilan Naibryf, who died tragically in the Miami condo tower collapse in June. STIX participated in the 2021 University of Chicago Polsky Accelerator Program and won fourth place in the school's College New Venture Challenge in March.
"Ilan was definitely a lot more than a co-founder to both of us," Maeztu said. "He was my roommate and my best friend."
