These are the 2024 Fire Awards honorees in the Blazers category. Blazers are individuals at the forefront of Philadelphia’s innovation landscape. Read about all of this year's honorees here.
Mahe Bayireddi
CEO and co-founder, Phenom
Since co-founding Phenom in 2011 with Brad Goldoor and Hari Bayireddi, Mahe Bayireddi has grown the human resources platform into one of Greater Philadelphia’s few startup unicorns, classified as a company with a valuation greater than $1 billion. Phenom’s most recent $1.4 billion valuation in 2021 came following a $100 million Series D funding round. Since, under Bayireddi’s leadership, the company has hit a cash flow break-even point. In total, Phenom has raised about $162 million to support its platform, which uses artificial intelligence, data and machine learning to streamline the hiring process for both recruiters and candidates. It counts 700 of the 2,000 largest global companies as customers. This summer, Phenom made its latest move, acquiring India-based Tydy. The company’s fifth acquisition and its first in two years, it’s expected to expand Phenom’s capabilities to include the onboarding and pre-boarding processes. A serial entrepreneur, Phenom is Bayireddi’s fourth startup. He previously co-founded BHSP Nexus Software Consulting, BijaHealth and SnipSnap, which was acquired for $6.5 million by Slyce Inc. in 2015.
Antonia Dean
principal investor, Black Operator Ventures
Antonia Dean made her mark on the Philadelphia startup ecosystem during her time with Comcast’s Startup Engagement team and continues to be a force in the region after moving to Black Operator Ventures, where she’s been for the past year and a half. With Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs, Dean was the director of startup pipeline diversity and led investments in underrepresented founders. Prior to Comcast, she worked in executive positions for Venture for America and was director of marketing, brand development and strategy for the Estée Lauder Cos. At Black Operator Ventures, Dean works with a team at the 3-year-old venture capital firm to focus on investing in Black founders. The firm typically looks to lead seed rounds and has expertise in the software and tech space. A graduate of Florida A&M University and Harvard Law School, Dean has also been a board member at Philly Startup Leaders since 2022.
Donna De Carolis
founding dean, Drexel University Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship
Since its inception just over a decade ago, dozens of companies have been born or grown through Drexel University’s Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship. Even more entrepreneurs have benefited from its wide-reaching programs. Helming the school from its launch in 2013 has been Donna De Carolis, who previously spent years at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business. The founding dean, she has guided the Close School – described by Drexel as the first stand-alone, degree-granting school of entrepreneurship at a university in the nation – into a multi-pronged powerhouse. A former entrepreneur herself, De Carolis has overseen expansion of the school, which today includes undergraduate and graduate degree programs, graduate certificates and programs for students not yet in college. The school hosts various pitch competitions and works with entrepreneurs to further develop their businesses through the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, which has a dedicated incubator. Some of the businesses to come out of the institute have included Philadelphia-based convenience delivery platform Lula, Liberian banana bread company Sasas Mix, sustainable brand Aer Cosmetics, and Camden-based sports betting app Sporttrade.
Samuel Whitaker
co-founder and co-CEO, Mural Health
Sam Whitaker is no stranger to successful startups. In 2008, he launched Greenphire with the goal of enabling pharmaceutical clinical trials to run more efficiently. Its end-to-end software allowed companies to do just that, working with the majority of what it says are the top 30 pharmaceutical companies. In 2015, the company secured a growth investment from the global private equity firm Riverside Co. Shortly thereafter, Whitaker handed the reins over to industry veteran Jim Murphy. In 2021, after continued growth, Greenphire was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Whitaker has remained active in health technology, including being an angel investor. Most recently, in 2022, he launched his latest venture. Based in Berwyn, Mural Health has a similar goal to Greenphire in that it’s focused on clinical trials. The technology, however, is focused on patients participating in large clinical trials as well as their caregivers. Mural Health’s platform gathers feedback, offers a payment platform and provides a messaging service between participants and trial staff. In September, Mural Health raised an $8 million seed round that positions it for growth.
Tiffany Wilson
president and CEO, University City Science Center
Tiffany Wilson has been CEO of the University City Science Center since 2020, leading the nonprofit into an era focused on programming designed to get startups off the ground. The Science Center brings entrepreneurs in for programs centered on the intangible needs of startups: access to capital, resources to commercialize products and collaborative, idea-exchanging environments. Participants in the new Capital Readiness program, launched in early 2023, pulled in $13.8 million in funding. In total in 2023, the Science Center supported 81 founders and 68 startups that raised $17.8 million. Once a major real estate mover and shaker in University City, Wilson was handpicked to lead the Science Center’s charge toward startup development and commercialization. Prior to the University City Science Center, Wilson was the CEO of the Global Center for Medical Innovation in Atlanta. She is on the boards of Team Pennsylvania, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Penn Health-Tech strategic advisory board and was part of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s transition committee.
