One of the elements in the "secret sauce" of the Rhode Island tech and startup ecosystem is the state's uncommon abundance of world-class educational institutions. They benefit everyone — not just the students who go there — with resources, mentors and opportunities that enrich the whole community.
And? They provide opportunities for young entrepreneurs to develop and highlight their grand ideas, of which Rhode Island has a host.
That's an encouraging observation, especially when considering the aphorism that states the health of an ecosystem can oftentimes best be measured by the number of its youngest innovators. Sure, it's awesome that Rhode Island is home to big companies (Virgin Pulse, Upserve, Alex & Ani, Hasbro) burgeoning startups (Medley Genomics, Sproutel) and innovation entities (Social Enterprise Greenhouse, Rhode Island Office of Innovation), but it says something about the ecosystem's maturity that is has room for the freshest entrepreneurs to cut their teeth and succeed.
With Rhode Island Inno's first-ever 25 Under 25 list, we take a few moments to celebrate some of those entrepreneurs — the most illustrious members of the ecosystem's newest class. Some run startups, others foster entrepreneurial community or engage in progressive research. All are doing valuable work to drive change for the better in the community.
We list the 25 Under 25 below, in no particular order, after pouring over reader nominations, relevant news and other editorial insights, highlighting their age and accomplishments. You'll notice we made some exceptions for founders who just turned 25. Enjoy!
1. John Roderick, Founder (24) — Alternutive: This Rhode Island College alumnus used his tree nut allergy — and his frustration that he couldn't find a healthy snack as convenient as peanut butter that tasted good without making him sick — to develop Alternutive, a four-month-old startup that develops nut-free food products using sunflower seed butter. [Read more]
2. Michelle Petersen, Founder (22) — TextUp: 2018 Brown University graduate Peterson serves as co-founder and operations manager of TextUp, "a secure messaging and software platform that empowers social workers to be more efficient with their work and improve the professional quality of their life." She was was chosen from among five other finalists as the winner of the 2018 Rhode Island Pitch Competition, bringing home $15,000 in cash, a $30,000 bonus cash award and professional services valued at $41,650. Additionally, her win automatically makes her a finalist in Cox Communications’ Get Started Rhode Island pitch contest on Oct. 4, where the top prize is $50,000. [Read more]
3., 4. Andrew (19) and Ethan Binder (21); Founder/CEO and Content Strategist — GoPeer: Ethan Binder is a rising senior at Lafayette College and also a born-and-raised Rhode Islander, founded of GoPeer, a platform designed to connect high school students with local, college-age tutors. His brother, Andrew, serves as the startup's content strategist. GoPeer was recently named as a participant in MassChallenge Rhode Island's first cohort. [Read more]
5, 6, 7. Jack Roswell (20), Julian Vallyeason (20), Alex Zhuk (20); Founders — Cloud Agronomics: The trio founded and developed the startup Cloud Agronomics, which "collects and analyzes data to help identify early warning signs of specific diseases, [their] location within the crop, and the projected progression of the disease.” The Brown student's most recent accomplishments include nabbing finalists spots during this year's Brown Venture Prize competition and the forthcoming #GetStartedRI pitch competition.
8. (Mimi) Tomiris Shyngyssova, Founder (22) — Wearable Couture: A member of RISD's class of 2020, Shyngyssova is on the founding team of Wearable Couture, an "apparel experience that embraces more inclusive elements to make clothing meet the symbolic and functional needs of those that fall outside of the bell curve 'norms' that have historically dictated garment construction (the startup was in the 2018 cohort of Breakthrough Lab)." Additionally, Shyngyssova was an Innovation Fellow via Italia Innovation, was amongst the 6 percent chosen to participate in the CVS Innovation Challenge + Externship Program and participated in a bevy of area entrepreneurial groups and events.
9. Rose Mangiarotti, Founder (22) — ReliaBra: Mangiarotti is a 2018 graduate of Brown University. During her time at the school, she founded ReliaBra, a startup that develops "sticky bras that offer removable and replaceable adhesives." She participated in the Brown Venture Prize competition and is a finalist in the forthcoming #GetStartedRI pitch competition. Additionally, she's a member in the 2018 cohort of Breakthrough Lab — an 8-week accelerator program that involves founders from RISD and Brown.
10., 11. Saron Mechale — goTeff: Mechale and Ali, both Brown University students, are the founders of up-and-coming startup goTeff, a nutrition brand entirely based on an ancient super-grain, teff, that originated in Ethiopia. "goTeff is a nutrition brand that promotes the consumption of Teff grain, a super-food from Ethiopia," Mechale said in an email to Rhode Island Inno. "goTeff is a gluten-free super-grain consumed as the staple diet by some of the world's top endurance athletes —Ethiopian runners. goTeff's first product is a delicious and nutritious instant teff-meal that can be consumed for breakfast, added into a smoothie or sprinkled over a salad. [I], Brown University class of 2019, started goTeff with the dream of creating a positive narrative of Ethiopia on a global platform while supporting small-holder farmers in Ethiopia with market access and farming technology." The duo participated in the 2018 cohort of the Breakthrough Lab.
12. Adam Alpert, Founder & Entrepreneur (23) — Pangea: Alpert, a 2017 Brown graduate, is one third of the founding team of Pangea, an app that connects those with a “side hustle” (skills used to earn supplemental income) with others looking to benefit from those skills. The startup was a part of the 2017 cohort of Breakthrough Lab. Alpert also serves as the associate director of the Rhode Island Collation of Entrepreneurs, and is currently authoring "Reinventing the Free Market: The Rise of Digital Marketplaces." Pangea was also named one of Rhode Island Inno's 2018 Coolest Companies. [Read more]
13. Shivin Khanna, President (22) — E'Ship: Rhode Island School of Design's premiere entrepreneurship group, E'Ship, looks to galvanize those students with entrepreneurial pursuits at the crossroads of design and innovation. Khanna, a RISD student from the class of 2019, is at its helm as president. He writes that his job has him "working towards making entrepreneurship more accessible toward the art and design community on campus," adding that the E'Ship team is developing a seed fund for RISD student innovators.
14, 15. Shannon Hampton, Joey Genfi; Founders — Dialogue - Africa: Hampton and Genfi are the minds behind Dialogue - Africa, a unique language-learning program that teaches users African languages like Twi, Ga, Fante, Hausa and more "in a manner that is immediately useful" and culturally specific. The program is free and boats a social component, as well, allowing users to share stories and contribute to lessons. The two Brown students were also participants in the 2018 cohort of the Breakthrough Lab.
16. William Cedano, Entrepreneur — 2018 Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center graduate Cedano already has a lot going for him: He received the 2017 R.I. Treasurer Magaziner's Young Leader Award; he raised capital and launched the student-managed investment portfolio Rhode Island Equity Partners during his stint at The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and has met with directors of investor relations at companies like CVS and Hasbro. Also, the RIEP contains every publicly traded company in Rhode Island.
17. Amelie-Sophie Vavrovsky, Co-Founder (23) — Formally: Vavrovsky is the CEO and co-founder of Formally, "the intuitive form-filler for asylum, immigration and citizenship." She is a Brown 2018 graduate, studying international relations, and her startup participated in the 2018 cohort of the Breakthrough Lab.
18. Sree Dasari, Founder — Vadati VR: La Salle Academy senior Sree Dasari, founder of Vadati VR, won the first-place prize of $4,000 in scholarships at the first-ever Lt. Governor Entrepreneurship Challenge in August. She was one of five finalists in the last round.
19. Malitey Mullings, Founder — Loop & Knot: Mullings, a Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center senior, won the second-place prize of $2,000 at the first-ever Lt. Governor Entrepreneurship Challenge in August for her work as founder of Loop & Knot, a jewelry design company. She was one of five finalists in the last round.
20. Vishnu Dantu, Founder (21) — Predictive Optics: Dantu, a 2019 Brown University student of applied math and biology, founded Predictive Optics, a "a continuous imaging system to help surgeons better visualize brain vasculature." A participant in the 2017 Breakthrough Lab, Dantu also won the MedTech/life sciences award at this year's RI Business Plan competition. His prize? $15,000 in cash and $52,400 in professional services.
21. Brandon Kim, Founder (25) — Brevitē: Kim is part of the team behind Brevitē, a line of backpacks made specifically to safely stow camera gear, that has received press from USA Today, Gizmodo and more. He received a 2018 Masters of Industrial Design from RISD, and participated in the 2017 Breakthrough Lab.
23, 24. Philip Mathieu (23), Kevin Eve (23); Founders — Eve & Mathieu: Mathieu and Eve are two Brown students behind Eve & Mathieu, which "enables food service locations like college cafeterias and coffee shops to serve the variety of healthy, sustainable dairy alternatives their customers demand." Members of the 2018 Breakthrough Lab, the duo's startup is nearing the point of starting to raise their first round of fundraising.
25. ThankGod (TG) Ugochukwu, Entrepreneur (21) — Ugochukwu is a 2018 graduate of biomedical engineering from the University of Rhode Island. This past April, he received the Saint Elmo Brady Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science during the university's 21st-annual Black Scholar Awards ceremony. Ugochukwu is also a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minorities Participation program scholar and has completed a considerable amount of biomedical research — highlighted by his internships with 21st Century Fox in Los Angeles and Dell EMC.
