The saying goes, ‘the youth are the leaders of tomorrow’, or something like that. One of the best ways to measure a startup ecosystem is look at where it’s headed, and what better place to look than at the up-and-coming entrepreneurs and innovators?
From the halls of the many college campuses that dot the Metroplex to the boardrooms tucked away in office buildings and strip malls, and to all those in accelerators, the North Texas tech and innovation scene is no longer just in the hands of the old guard. Some sold businesses off before graduating high school, others are recent grads.
To highlight some of these young entrepreneurs and leaders under the age of 25, NTX Inno has put together a list of some of the best and brightest of the region’s young, innovative minds. They were chosen based on nominations and Inno’s editorial-selection process. Check them out below:
Hamiz Mushtaq Awan, 24 Founder & Partner, Plutus21 Capital
Coming to the U.S. in 2014 from Karachi, Pakistan, Awan came to pursue the American Dream. Just a few years later, he has achieved more than that. In 2016, while still a student at Southern Methodist University, Awan founded Plutus21 Capital in Dallas – an investment firm focused on blockchain technology and digital assets.
In his short time here, Awan has bounced from one investment firm job to another, crossing state lines along the way, as he has worked for JPMorgan Chase in New York in addition to Texas jobs with Pearigee Partners and Provasi Capital Partners. After starting Plutus21 as a student organization while at SMU, he has since taken the company through the school’s incubator program, as well as Stanford University’s Future Leaders Program. According to Awan, the company has raised more than $5 million.
Ryan Bostick, 23 Analyst, Trinity Private Equity Group
Before even attending SMU for finance, Bostick has already earned his Eagle Scout badge and had some practice working with the Red Cross as a volunteer. While attending the university, he co-founded BLVD Bicycles, which created RFID bike locks and a plan for on-campus bike sharing. The company won the $1,000 prize at SMU’s 2017 Big Ideas Pitch Competition.
Bostick now works as analyst for Trinity Private Equity Group, a Southlake-based investment firm focusing on above average risk adjusted returns in the private equity, real estate and energy markets with holdings exceeding $2 billion.
Monica Gonzalez, 24 CEO, Blu Creative Agency
Gonzalez was a business owner before she even received her bachelor’s degree in advertising and brand management from SMU. While attending the university, she helped co-found La Botana Taco Bar, a food truck and catering company, which has a nearly two-year run before closing in 2018. However, that was just the beginning for her and where her career in marketing began to take off.
After working with companies like North Carolina-based AroundCampus Group, where she developed marketing campaigns for SMU and led her team to more than $45,000 in sales in about four months; and with the Dallas-based TDC Agency as a managing partner. Her most recent endeavor takes her to the forefront of the business as founder and CEO of Blu Creative Agency, a branding and marketing firm opening soon in Dallas.
James Griffin, 22 CEO, Invene
Winning an OZY Genius Award at 21 would be an accomplishment in itself, but for Griffin that was just the beginning to a, so far, short, but explosive career. The award and the $10,000 prize came from his company RamifAI, an AI-based college advising app for students, which he founded while attending UT-Dallas. He was only 16 when he entered college.
While still attending UTD, Griffin worked as an intern for Gallup, the D.C.-based research and analytics firm. In just a few years, Griffin has gone on to become CEO of Dallas-based Invene, a boutique software development firm that creates mobile and web applications.
Brian Hoang, 22 CEO & Cofounder, SURVIVR
Being one of the first people in your family to be raised in a new country can be tough. So can starting your own business. By the age of 18, Hoang had done both. Two years later, he started another one.
Hoang’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam. He attended UT-Dallas to study software engineering, where he founded his first company, Immosis – a Richardson-based AR/VR content creation company. Continuing his passion for AR and VR, he went on to co-found SURVIVR last year, which he helps train first responders with VR technology.
Karianna Barreto, 20 President, UT-Dallas Student Sales Board
Barreto’s thing is sales and marketing, and she is excelling in her field. Still an undergrad in marketing, Barreto already has some experience with some big names in the area under her belt, including intern stints at the IBM Global Solutions Center in Coppell and Irving-based LP & Associates. She has since taken that experience into her current role as president of the UT-Dallas Student Sales Board
Mohammad Badar, 25 Founder & CEO, LocuMatch
Throughout his young career, a theme starts to emerge – helping others through medicine and technology. While an undergrad at UT-Dallas, Badar worked for KRK Medical Research and Cardiovascular Physicians of North Texas. However, he saved his largest endeavor to begin while working on his MBA.
In 2017, Badar founded LocuMatch, where he also serves as CEO. The company has created a platform that connects physicians and other healthcare professionals with facilities needing temporary shortage. Badar said he hopes it will help alleviate the need for health services in rural areas of the country. Earlier this month, LocuMatch was added to the 2019 cohort of the Health Wildcatters Accelerator.
Farhaj Mayan, 23 CEO, Kanna
According to his bio, Mayan is a “UI/UX designer, product owner and passionate storyteller,” which is all true. However, it leaves out the fact that he’s also an incredibly successful entrepreneur. All while attending UT-Arlington, Mayan has founded two companies, in addition serving in leadership roles on a number of tech-related campus organizations.
His first company, founded in 2017, was called FADE, which created a booking platform for barbers. While serving as CEO until earlier this year, Mayan landed the company a $10,000 Maverick Business Pitch prize, as well as navigating it to become a MassChallenge Texas finalist in 2018. After leaving his first endeavor, Mayan went on to help start and become CEO of Kanna, a platform that connects vetted individuals with part-time gigs in the cannabis industry. He was back for the 2019 MassChallenge awards, where Kanna was named a finalist. In addition, the company was part of the 5th cohort of Austin’s DivInc Accelerator.
Ayodele Aigbe, 21 Founder & CEO, Hangio
Before even graduating from with an associate’s degree in physics and math from Texas Tech, Aigbe had already started her own business, which quickly gained attention, along with tens of thousands in investments.
Since co-founding Hangio, a company redesigning the way hangers are made to allow one hanger to be used for almost every clothing type, in 2017, she has begun studying electrical engineering at Texas Tech. There, as CEO, she led the company as it became part of the second cohort of the school’s Accelerator Grant Program, as well as leading it to the finals in the global MassChallenge accelerator. Hangio has since relocated to Sherman.
Michael Lewellen, 23 CEO, Tarski Technologies
While the rest of us are still trying to figure out what blockchain really means, Lewellen has mastered it and turned it into a successful career. Earning his bachelor’s in computer science from UT-Dallas, Lewellen worked as a web developer for the school as well as a stint at Thomson Reuters as a consulting blockchain developer. However, that was all after he had already founded Cryptocurrency Consulting in 2104, which in addition to providing professional consulting services, offers research and blockchain development.
To add to his resume, Lewellen has expanded his blockchain scope to include advising and consulting with companies on how to implement blockchain tech to improve their business with his organization Tarski Technologies. He also serves as CEO for the company.
Pablo Peillard, 25 Founder, Hashing Systems
Peillard has been on the cutting edge in his career from the beginning. In addition to stints in product development at Livid Lobster and Dripthat, he also has worked with Snowfall Technologies as a Watson developer and as a marketing lead for GridPlus. However, that was before he decided to strike out on his own co-founding Thread AI, a company that provides analytic software in 2018. Less than a year later, he founded Hashing Systems, a Hedera Hashgraph production studio.
“Pablo is a total ninja - so quiet and unassuming, but devastatingly smart,” said Steve Guengerich, former executive director for UT-Dallas’ Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “He's like a Chilean, blockchain version of the younger Mark Zuckerberg.”
Ngan Nguyen, 24 Founder, Code Blue Jewelry
While getting her undergrad in molecular biology and healthcare management, a confluence of situations propelled her into entrepreneurship. When she was diagnosed with a medical condition that required her to wear a bracelet, she decided to turn it into an opportunity. Nguyen founded Code Blue Jewelry in 2017 with a $5,000 Innovate(her) Award at UT-Dallas’ Big Idea Competition. The company makes stylish bracelets for people living with conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. The company took off through word of mouth, when others online began asking if they could make them similar bracelets to the one she made herself. Now, the company has grown to the point where it is able to give back through a partnership with the Malaria Consortium to provide diagnostic tests to children in Africa.
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.
Lindsay Caudill, 25 Social Media Coordinator Intern, Team Envy
As a model and a student at UT-Dallas, Caudill breaks stereotypes as an esports analyst and a devastatingly good player herself. Currently studying marketing at the university, she interns as a social media coordinator for Envy Gaming, which owns Overwatch esports team Dallas Fuel, while taking on others as part of UT-Dallas’ esports squad. At the intersection of analyst and athlete, she gathers data from gameplay to help coach other players and teams on campus for the game Overwatch.
“Lindsay is a model and also a hard-core esports gamer...one of only 2-3 women who made the UT Dallas nationally-ranked squad,” Guengerich said. “She will have a very bright future.”
Think we missed someone on this list? Or just want to connect with the NTX Inno team on future editorial projects? Email KCummings@AmericanInno.com.
