The list of competitors for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year award, after winning honors for the region that includes Oregon, features three women who've rocked Portland's business scene.
Alicia Chapman of Willamette Technical Fabricators, Sadie Lincoln of Barre3 and Kim Malek of Salt & Straw are finalists for the award after landing Entrepreneurs of the Year Mountain West awards. From here, they'll go against other regional honorees for one of the country's most-prestigious honors.
The program "recognizes the ambitious leaders of high-growth companies who are creating a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world for future generations." Regional winners are chosen by a panel comprised of previous award winners, CEOs and other business leaders.
Others capturing Mountain West accolades are:
- Greg Kunst of Aurion Biotech in Seattle
- Marco Campos of Campos Holding Co. LLC in Denver
- Adam Fife of CenCore Group in Springville, Utah
- Tyler Howells of Cozy Earth in Bluffdale, Utah
- Rich “Raz” Razgaitis of FloWater Inc. in Denver
- Derek Crain and Jessica Crain of Mindful Therapy Group in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.
- Adam Paul of NextCentury in Providence, Utah
- Tom Vice of Sierra Space in Broomfield, Colo.
- Breezy Griffith of SkinnyDipped in Seattle
From here, Chapman, Lincoln and Malek will be considered for Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be revealed in November.
The program was launched by Ernst & Young LLP in 1986.
Here's a look at some of the PBJ's coverage of Chapman, Lincoln and Malek through the years.
Alicia Chapman
- Chapman was a 40 Under 40 honoree in 2023.
- In early 2024, her company, which makes complex structural metals for transportation and clean energy projects, topped the PBJ's List of LGBTQIA+ businesses in the Portland region.
- In December 2021, Chapman appeared on a high-profile panel at the Oregon Leadership Summit, where she detailed the effects of “surging material costs, especially for steel.”
Sadie Lincoln
- Lincoln, who runs a fast-growing fitness and wellness company, was a PBJ Woman of Influence in 2023.
- That year, she detailed the company's growth in the digital and physical class realm.
- She also talked to the PBJ about how her 24 Fitness career informed Barre3.
- Here's one of our earliest pieces on Lincoln, in which she divulged her primary startup strategies.
Kim Malek
- Malek, just two months ago, revealed she'll open new locations in the Northeast.
- The Portland ice cream chain has high-profile fans, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
- Malek was a PBJ Executive of the Year in 2023
- She, and other entrepreneurs, talked to the PBJ's Malia Spencer for a stunning set of stories divulging how starting new businesses can exact a big toll.
- Going back five years, Malek landed more than $4 million to help her expand across the nation.
