One of the best ways to gauge the future potential of a tech ecosystem to take a look at a region’s youngest entrepreneurs.
From the hallways of D.C. high schools to universities, coworking spaces, meetups and incubators, the newest generation entering the workforce has more startup resources than ever – and is making good use of them.
The DMV has launched fast-growing tech companies like Hatch Apps, SocialTables and TransitSceen, but there's no rest for the area's ecosystem. So to get a look at some of the D.C. region's most accomplished young entrepreneurs, we’ve reached out through our newsletter, social media and by contacting leaders at incubators and schools for nominations. We've trimmed that to a list of two-dozen local innovators who are 25 years old or younger.
Here are DC Inno's 25 Under 25:
Sahaj Sharda – 20 Founder, Dynos
Sahaj Sharda is equal parts author, entrepreneur and student. After interviewing Nobel Laureate George Akerlof and Priceline co-founder Scott Case, he published his first book in April, "The Extinction of the Price Tag," which details current shifts in pricing strategy that was a category best release on Amazon. His startup, Dynos, helps over 30 local restaurants dynamically price goods through its mobile marketplace app. To top it off, Sharda is currently filming a video series called "Iconoclast" that tracks how companies are reimagining old industries.
Param Jaggi – 24 Founder, Hatch Apps
Param is the CEO of Hatch Apps, a company working to democratize the software development industry by helping businesses create no-code apps. Before Hatch, he invented and sold a patented device that reduces carbon dioxide emissions from the exhaust pipe of a car. Param has been listed twice in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, named to CNN’s “The Next List” and is a 2016 Y Combinator Fellow.
Blake Richardson – 22 Creator, CryptoPets
Blake Richardson is a GW graduate and Alley Powered by Verizon member developing blockchain-based game CryptoPets. The game's characters are built on the blockchain, making them all individually verified and unique. Richardson describes it as a video game exploring the limits and practical applications of decentralized technology through engaging online battles, rewards, and game mechanics. He also amassed a team of young developers around same age to create CryptoPets.
Jasmine Snead – 23 Founder, Aurora Tights
Jasmine Snead graduated this year from UMD as a government and politics major, but started entrepreneurial work before then. After founding Aurora Tights in December and expanding the team to three in January, she has worked with the school's entrepreneur program, Dingman Center, to grow the business. So far, it has taken on some outside seed funding, created its MVP and worked with regional ambassadors to test and promote the product. Aurora Tights also participated in the Pitch Dingman Competition showcase and the first cohort of Ladies First Founders.
Katie J. Kiewel – 25 Principal, 1776 Ventures
Katie J. Kiewel leads the investment team focused on seed-stage investments in education, smart cities, transportation, fintech, health, food/agriculture and energy. Prior to 1776 Ventures, she was a junior analyst at The Carlyle Group based in D.C. She received her B.S. in finance and management from Lehigh University. Kiewel serves on the Associate Board of BUILD, a youth entrepreneurship and college readiness organization, and also on the Ventures Committee of The Vinetta Project, a nonprofit organization focused on female founders scaling their businesses.
Sanna Taskinen – 24 Manager, Alley Powered by Verizon
Sanna Taskinen runs Alley's operation of office space and connecting members to each other as manager of the coworking space. The GW graduate is originally from Orange County, Calif., and previously had a pair of sales internships in Finland before a position as finance associate for HireStrategy. Taskinen's also known by colleagues as a talented musician: She's performed at several embassies in D.C. and will be part of an upcoming NPR Tiny Desk concert.
Sarah Menicucci – 24 Program Manager, Union
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, by way of Austin, Sarah Menicucci is known by colleagues as an instrumental leader at startup network platform Union Global, as she runs Challenge Programs that help corporations run innovative programs with specific business initiatives. With a concentration on customer service, she has worked closely with Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority and Dubai Tourism to develop programs allowing them to work closely with innovative startups.
Previously, Menicucci ran Capital Factory’s mentor program in Austin, expanding the network from 130 to 190 mentors in just over a year. While there, she implemented a software service allowing it to grow and scale to multiple offices.
Melissa Chenok – 25 Program Manager, IBM Global Business Services
Melissa Chenok is a senior consultant and program manager at IBM, spearheading a project aimed at leveraging AI to reduce the rate of veteran suicide in the U.S. They are responsible for all aspects of solution development, program management and project delivery, leading a team of over 30 people. Previously, Chenok served as the director of the Public Sector Emerging Leaders Program. Chenok founded two big data startups in college, and also leads efforts to promote diversity and inclusion at IBM around gender, race, class and sexual orientation.
Patrick Hoban – 25 Founder, Parvenu
Patrick Hoban is a co-founder of Parvenu, a startup that is using machine learning to help retailers connect with shoppers through charitable giving. Previously, Hoban was ranked one of the top fundraisers in the nation while raising for Save the Children and The Nature Conservancy.
He has authored two books that have topped some Amazon charts, including "Road of the King," a book on strategy that he developed during his journey to becoming the No. 1 ranked player in Yugioh, a competitive card game played by millions globally.
Alex Harter – 18 CEO, H&K Capital
Our youngest candidate and a JMU first-year student from Ashburn, Alex Harter went to school as the CEO and CIO of H&K Capital, an asset management company specializing in cryptocurrency. He has experience investing in a variety of digital assets and other commodities, building a diverse portfolio of more than $50,000 for H&K investors. While starting the business and applying for college, Alex was a high school lacrosse goalie helping his team win state championships two years in a row.
Alex Wirth – 25 | Jonathan Marks – 25 Co-founders, Quorum Analytics
Alex Wirth and Jonathan Marks started Quorum out of their Harvard dorm room. Wirth wanted to address the problems he encountered while running an advocacy campaign on Capitol Hill, and Jonathan used his experience in computational biochemistry to find a solution. The algorithm evolved into a full software platform offering solutions in stakeholder engagement, legislative tracking and grassroots advocacy.
Wirth, CEO, is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and sits on the Government Relations Executives Council, the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council, and the board of directors of the Forum for Youth Investment.
Marks, CTO, has been recognized for his work on the platform as a Model of Excellence by the InfoCommerce group. They both were named by Washingtonian as two of D.C.’s 100 Top Tech Leaders.
Joshua Hone – 24 Managing Director of Growth, Advoc8
Josh Hone leads growth at D.C.-based creative brand and experiential marketing agency Advoc8, which was recently named a top-100 event agency by EventMarketer. Prior to joining, he built the business development function at Quorum, a bootstrapped public affairs software startup that has two founders on this list.
Originally from Albuquerque, Hone worked on a U.S. Senate race in his home state during the 2012 cycle and was named to the National Advisory Board of the Young Americans for Romney coalition. After moving to D.C., he spent a year at political consulting firm Townsend Group before joining the Quorum team.
Ann Yang – 25 | Phil Wong – 25 Co-founders, Misfit Juicery
Ann Yang and Phil Wong both lead Misfit, a food maker that turns supply chain inefficiencies into delicious products. Their first product is a line of cold-pressed juices made from ugly fruits and vegetables and scrap waste from fresh-cut production. They say they're fighting the 20 billion pounds of produce that go unharvested or unsold every year in the U.S. Misfit, which Yang and Wong started in a Georgetown University kitchen, has been featured in Fast Company, Vogue, Good Morning America and was in the inaugural class of the Chobani Food Incubator.
Yang is a Gates Millennium Scholar, and Wong is a Halcyon Fellow. They both were named to the 2018 list of Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs.
Max Friedman – 23 | Liran Cohen – 22 Co-founders, Givebutter
Max Friedman is the CEO of Givebutter, a free fundraising platform for events, crowdfunding and donations. In his spare time, he writes and speaks about student entrepreneurship and the future of philanthropy, and his work has been featured in national publications including Fast Company, Inc. and The Washington Post. He is originally from New Hampshire and lives in D.C.
Liran Cohen, CTO, taught himself to code at age 13 by picking up various freelancing projects, and has since designed and developed more than 20 apps, websites and games that have been featured in the Washington Post, Inc. and Fast Company.
Danya Sherman – 21 Founder, KnoNap
Danya Sherman is the creator of KnoNap, a discreet, disposable device that detects selected dangerous chemicals within a beverage. Prior to establishing KnoNap, she worked on Capitol Hill and in NGOs addressing women’s issues and human rights. As a GW student, Sherman’s studies focus on security policy and entrepreneurship. In 2017, she competed with team KnoNap in the GW New Venture Competition, becoming a finalist and winning the Audience’s Choice Award. She's also a Vinetta Project Venture Challenge finalist.
David Engle – 24 | Jackson Geller – 24 Co-founders, Upright Labs
David Engle is the CEO of Upright Labs, which launched in December 2017 and currently works with 400-plus secondhand retail stores across the U.S. to list inventory online to resale marketplaces. Engle built his first nonprofit, Carnivals for Children On Wheels, at age 14. Since graduating from UMD, he has built a handful of businesses with successful exits, including an entrepreneurial housing concept (Startup Village) at the University of Maryland, a quesadilla food truck (The Q Truck) and other businesses in the secondhand resale space.
Jackson Geller has been programming and building businesses since age 15. He sold his first business, focused on golf, as a senior in high school. He then attended UMD, and left early to pursue working in tech full time. He worked at D.C.-based BraveUX as a web developer, then moved to New York City to work at SeatGeek as web engineer. While at SeatGeek, Geller and Engle worked nights and weekends building out software and operating in the resale space which eventually led them to found Upright Labs.
Brianna Queen – 21
Founder, BeeQBox Cosmetics
Brianna Queen, an Arlington native who's slated to graduate from UMD College Park next May, turned a Twitter post into BEE-Q-BOX, a successful vegan, alcohol-free, silicone-free and cruelty-free cosmetics brand. She's seen sales go through the roof recently, especially for her signature product, F*ckboy Repellent. In February, Queen walked into the 2018 Pitch Dingman Competition at UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with more than $100,000 in sales already on her books; she walked out with the second-place prize, which she applied to marketing expenses to grow her brand.
Darius Baxter – 24 | Troye Bullock – 23 | Daniel Wright – 25 Co-founders, GoodPartners and GoodProjects
In 2016, Darius Baxter, Troye Bullock and Daniel Wright began GOODPartners and GOODProjects, a nonprofit working to end poverty in D.C. Their newest venture, GOOD Ventures, was just seed funded $1 million to reinvest into local entrepreneurs.
Baxter is President and Chief Engagement Officer of GOODProjects. Prior to joining, he was elected as a Delegate to the DNC after serving as a strategist for a leading presidential candidate. Before that, he was a community organizer, mentored youth offenders and built out a reading program for elementary school students near Georgetown University, where he earned his BA.
Prior to co-founding GOODProjects, Wright worked at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a graduate student. He also volunteered at local sports camps, environmental service projects and as a Park Ranger along the Anacostia River. Also a Georgetown alum, he later obtained graduate certificates in Occupational and Environmental Health.
COO Troye Bullock also went to Georgetown, where he ran three juvenile mentorship programs. While there he also interned with Representative Joe Kennedy III, later joining Teach for America where he taught special education English and government at KIPP DC.
Richard Kong – 20 Co-founder, Gravity Tales
Richard started out at UMD already owning Gravity Tales, a company that translates Chinese and Korean light novels. A sophomore in the Clark School of Engineering, he is an associate at 301 Ventures – a student-run seed fund that invests in entrepreneurs affiliated with UMD. Gravity Tales was the third-place winner at the university's Pitch Dingman Competition, raking in a total of $30,000 in seed funding.
