All the young honorees in Inno Under 25’s class of 2023 do work stemming from their personal experiences and interests, and are passionate about creating new products, driving innovation and making the planet a better, healthier place.
Now that nominations are open for 2024 Inno Under 25, we thought we’d check in with some of last year’s winners to see how they’re doing now:
Founder Samuel Baker of WriggleBrew just auditioned for "Shark Tank," he said. He’ll be featured on Spectrum News 13 on April 18 in a story about his breakthrough fertilizer product.
Since he was named one of our six Inno Under 25 honorees last year, a lot has happened. His sales have doubled and WriggleBrew’s production facility is now fully operational. The company has launched its first major ad campaign, and the startup has won two federal grants for a total of $400,000 in funding. He and his team figured out how to make soil out of plastic waste and successfully grew turnips in it.
WriggleBrew now is being supported by Rally, an Orlando-based social enterprise accelerator whose list of mentors is a who’s who of top professionals in the region.
Rachel “The Tampa Mermaid” Flasterstein has kept swimming with her side hustle, performing as a mermaid. Her latest gig was a children’s birthday party, and she was just asked to do a Pride party in June, which will feature Flasterstein in costume, sliding down a waterslide, among other feats.
Flasterstein said she’ll probably always perform, but she’s just been through a series of interviews for University of Central Florida’s Professional Selling Track, a specialized program accepting a maximum of 35 exceptional students each year. Her plan? A successful run as a corporate sales rep after she graduates in 2025.
When we last spoke to propulsion design engineer Jovani Vidal of Cocoa-based Vaya Space, he was working on the design for an ignition system. Now, he said, he's developing a more efficient fuel formula using Vaya’s recycled plastic fuel with some additives for the company’s igniter systems. Vidal said this will allow for a more compact ignition system.
Orlando Inno is set on recognizing the best of the best again in 2024, and we’d like you to nominate a top founder, entrepreneur, innovator or leader who is age 25 or younger in Central Florida.
The deadline is Thursday, May 23. Check out the eligibility requirements here.
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