You've heard it before: That aphorism that argues that an ecosystem's health can oftentimes best be measured by the number of its youngest innovators.
Sure, it’s awesome that Greater Cincy is home to big companies (Procter & Gamble, Kroger) burgeoning startups (LISNR, Genetesis) and innovation entities (Cintrifuse, CincyTech, Hillman), but it says something about the ecosystem’s maturity that is has room for the freshest entrepreneurs to cut their teeth and succeed.
With Cincy Inno’s first-ever 25 Under 25 list, we take a few moments to celebrate some of those entrepreneurs — the most illustrious members of the ecosystem’s newest class. Some run startups, others foster entrepreneurial community or engage in progressive research. All are doing valuable work to drive change for the better in the community.
We list the 25 Under 25 below, in no particular order, after pouring over reader nominations, relevant news and other editorial insights, highlighting their age and accomplishments. You'll notice we made some exceptions for founders who just turned 25. Enjoy!
1., 2. Priscilla Kamwana (21), Sare Goitom (25); Co-Founders — Candidate Crate: This startup looks to make the connection process between businesses and those searching for jobs more "intelligent" via a robust network. The trio behind the 2016-formed Candidate Crate (including David Kamwana, 28) participated in UC's student incubator, StartupUC, for both its Ideation and Launch cohort.
3. Vinitha Thiyagarajan, Founder (25) — Salichek: Thiyagarajan is the founder of the 2017-established Salicheck, a startup that provided "rapid point-of-care sampling of saliva for ultra-sensitive detection of hormones." A participant in the StartupUC Student Incubator's Launch cohort and received $55,000 from the University of Cincinnati. Thiyagarajan is currently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Cincinnati.
4., 5. Michael Howard (23), Steven Brown (25); Co-Founder — Nichefire Inc.: Howard and Brown aren't the only members of the Nichefire team, but they're the youngest; Khalil El-Amin is also on board, but he's over 25. Nichefire is "the first contextual analysis and predictive analytics software for competitive analysis," which uses data from companies' social media and marketing data to gain insights into their strategy. The team raised $50,000 on their own, with $20,000 raised in grants from Google. Additionally, Nichefire Inc. participated in UC's student incubator, StartupUC, for its Launch Cohort 2017.
6. Yelitsa Jean-Charles, Founder (24) — Healthy Roots Dolls: Cincinnati-based toy and lifestyle company Healthy Roots Dolls won the grand prize and the people’s choice award at the American Underground’s Startup Stampede pitch competition in Durham, N.C., in May, as well as first place at the New Voices Pitch competition in June. Currently, its flagship product, the Zoe doll, has become so popular it sold out, with interested buyers having to get on a waitlist. Charles was also named one of Essence's 50 Founders to Watch in 2017 and participated in the MassChallenge accelerator. Additionally, Jean-Charles and Healthy Roots Dolls were one of Cincy Inno's inaugural 50 on Fire winners and 2018 Startups to Watch. Jean-Charles gave a TedX talk in 2016. [Read more]
7. Ariana Ross, Founder (23) — Actually Good: Ross, a Venture for America fellow in Cincinnati, founded Actually Good in 2017. It's a subscription service that supports comedy content creators without ads, giving the creators a budget to develop their comedy and subscribers exclusive access to their work. Ross has brought her company to the Y Combinator's Startup School, where she and her team is building up Actually Good's platform. Additionally, Ross implemented an Indiegogo campaign that raised more than $8,000 for Actually Good.
8. Peeyush Shrivastava, Founder and CEO (22) — Genetesis: Founded in 2013 with Ohio State student Shrivastava at the helm, Genetesis is a medtech company that provides a non-invasive, fast-working device that uses magnetic measurements to "visualize the hearts's multidimensional electrical currents" in an effort to discover and treat heart disease. The company has since raised $9 million in funding from investors like Mark Cuban and CincyTech, including others. Shrivastava himself has been featured on CNN and Tech Ohio, and gave a TedX talk in April.
9. Aman Tsegai, Founder (23) — Datazar: A 2016 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Tsegai founded Datazar, a collaboration platform where users can share and interact with research data. The company has raised $200,000 over two funding rounds, and Tsegai has been featured on the Future Tech podcast, at the JS.LA meetup and the #StartupCincy Spotlight.
10. Francie Ruppert, Co-Founder (21) — SaferSit: Ruppert is a third year Lindner Honors-PLUS scholar at the University of Cincinnati, and she is one half of the SaferSit team. SaferSit is an online booking service that facilitates connections between parents and sitters, giving students a flexible work opportunity in the meantime. SaferSit was in the inaugural Cincy cohort of The Brandery and gener8tor's gBeta accelerator, and won $1,000 at the UC IQUE Pitch.
11., 12., 13. Matthew Terry (21), Ryan Jordan (21) and Vincent Cevasco (21); Co-Founders — Natalus Inc.: The Natalus team is comprised of University of Cincinnati students who brought their startup to OCEAN Accelerator, where they received $50,000 in funding. Their startup "uses integrated LiDAR solutions to provide businesses with real-time geospatial insights by mapping significant spaces and places." Additionally, the 2017-born startup participated in StartupUC Student Incubator's Launch cohort.
14., 15. Tom Buchanan (25) and John Schroeder (25); Co-Founder, Chief of Product and CTO — Contact CI: Buchanan, along with Craig Douglass (26), founded Contact CI, a haptic hardware company. The startup has been integral force behind the Cincinnati VR Meetup. Considered a “convergence point for newbies, old hats, hobbyists, and professionals and anyone in between interested in the VR space,” the events allows tinkerers and experts alike to learn and develop their skills, experience new tech, share their pieces and network. Additionally, Contact CI was one of Cincy Inno's inaugural 50 on Fire winners and 2018 Startups to Watch. [Read more]
16., 17., 18. Connor Morris (24), Marcus Davis (24) and Austin Fenstermaker (24); Co-Founder — Apex Sports: These three Miami University grads created Apex Sports, a platform that gives users "the ability to learn directly from the pros" through educational resources created from partnerships with professional athletes. The 2018-founded startup is one of UpTech accelerator's portfolio companies.
19., 20. Michael Markesbery (25) and Rithvik Venna (25); Co-Founder — OROS apparel: These two Miami University grads started their entrepreneurial journey with a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for their startup OROS, an outwear company. Since then, the two were named on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, raised $4 million over three funding rounds and had their product featured on Mashable, Runner's World and Digital Trends, among other media outlets. [Read more]
21. Saketh Mylavarapu, Co-Founder (20) — Axizoun: The sole leader of Axizoun, which "helps streamline entry-level human resource recruitment," Mylavarapu is a UC class of 2019 student who oversees an outsourced team of eight individuals who assist him with his startup's software development. Additionally, Axizoun and Mylavarapu participated in StartupUC Student Incubator's Ideation cohort.
22., 23. Laura Mena (19) and Max Davis (22); Co-Managing Directors —Redhawk Ventures: Mena and Davis serve as co-managing directors of Miami University's student-led venture capital fund, which serves Miami students and alumni. The duo, along with the greater Redhawk team, oversees a portfolio of five companies.
24., 25. Chad Dennis (20) and Michael Supeck (21); Co-Founders — AddMe: Miami students Dennis and Supeck are the duo behind AddMe, a startup that allows users to easily swap social media handles by scanning a unique QR code. AddMe is one of Redhawk Ventures' (the aforementioned MU student-led VC fund) portfolio companies, and has raised $50,000 over three rounds.
BONUS! 26. Robert Hanes, Founder — The Game Haus: Hanes is CEO and head consultant of Game Haus, a startup that looks to bring innovative, holistic sports coverage (including e-sports) through a variety of mediums, including podcasts. A 2015 graduate of Miami University, Hanes lead his company to a spot in Redhawk Venture's portfolio, a student-led venture capital fund for Miami students and alumni.
