Age: 21
Company: Safety Scoop, a startup creating a patent-pending device that will minimize spillage of powdered supplements
Title: Founder and CEO
Hometown: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Resides: Lexington, Kentucky
Education history: Pursuing a degree in management and process engineering at the University of Kentucky
Hobbies: Powerlifting
Instagram: @devon.spande
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/devon-spande-2607b2203/
Favorite tech gadget: Wireless Bluetooth for my car. The car never came with it, so having that is nice and is used every day.
How did you get into the career you have today?
Since I’m still in school, I haven’t quite started my career, but there are a few things that led me to where I am.
In high school, I participated in a lot of pitch competitions that were sponsored by the governor at the time. Soon after that I was able to get into a summer camp in Kentucky called Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs where I learned a lot more about entrepreneurship. That is what made me want to pursue a degree in business. I then kept on with entrepreneurship-related activities and took classes and competed in pitch competitions at UK. I was even lucky enough to win a few of them.
What’s one thing Kentucky can do to improve its tech and/or startup ecosystem?
Introducing problem-solving and the thought process behind solutions would improve tech in Kentucky, specifically in school. The only reason I thought entrepreneurship was cool was because teachers asked me to do it in high school. If it weren’t for them, then I would not have done anything with it. Exposure is especially important as is accessibility. People want it to be easy and accessible to them.
What innovative company (other than your own) do you admire and why?
Awesome Inc in Lexington, I think, is a very innovative company, literally. They are an incubator company, so their job is to help with business owners getting their feet off the ground. I love how much I see them active in Lexington.
Who has been one of your top mentors? Why?
Plenty of my teachers in college have been mentors of mine, but if I had to pick one it would be Randall Stevens. He taught one of my honors engineering and management classes and it was a super valuable experience.
This was actually the class where Safety Scoop was born. The reason I think so highly of him is because he isn’t a formal teacher, but goes out of his way to teach entrepreneurship.
What’s something about you that people might not know?
Something that people might not know about me is that I am a state record holder in powerlifting and very soon to be a national competitor.
