The Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2024 is out! It’s buzzing with young leaders who are making waves in the world—we couldn’t be more proud of the many many DRFers who made the list this year (and to our very own GP, Molly Fowler for helping out as a judge)! Let’s take a look at this cohort’s amazing achievements.
30 Under 30 – Education
Archika Dogra
Archika Dogra founded Innoverge in 2017 to promote STEM education for social good and address educational inequity. The nonprofit partners with community centers, schools, and libraries to provide STEM and humanities programs to over 10,200 underrepresented students in 14 countries through 75 youth-run chapters. Dogra’s innovative curriculum covers diverse topics, including the use of computing in nonprofits and ethics in neuroscience. She has secured over $15,000 in grants and sponsorships from organizations like Disney, The Hershey Company, and Ann Taylor.
30 Under 30 – Consumer Technology
Aavia
Aavia, founded in 2017 by Alexis Wong, Aya Suzuki, and CEO Aagya Mathur, is a hormone health app designed for Gen-Z and individuals with ovaries. It goes beyond being a period tracker, offering insights into the impact of ovarian hormones on daily life, cycle trends, and educational content. The app has secured over $7 million in funding from investors like Seven Seven Six, Asset Management Ventures, and Meridian Street Capital.
Amira
Amira, co-founded by MIT researchers Loewen Cavill, Emilio Sison, and Felipe Radovitzky, has developed a patent-pending sensor bracelet to address sleep disruption caused by menopausal hot flashes. The bracelet uses biometric data and AI to predict and alleviate hot flashes in real time by connecting to a cooling pad that adjusts body temperature. With backing from DeltaV, Matter Health, MIT Venture Mentoring Fund, and others, the startup has raised $3 million in funding.
30 Under 30: Venture Capital
David Ongchoco
David Ongchoco and team co-founded Comma Capital, a venture capital fund focused on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in founders with operational experience. They have supported over 50 startups, including Airplane, Nitra, and Dukkantek. Additionally, their 50-plus member community, known as The Comma Collective, actively contributes to sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support. The collective also organizes monthly events and programs in New York and San Francisco.
30 Under 30 – Healthcare
Ellen Rudolph
WellTheory originated from Ellen Rudolph’s personal health journey, during which she was bedridden for two years before finally receiving a diagnosis for an autoimmune disease at the age of 25. In 2021, she co-founded WellTheory with the mission to offer nutritional and lifestyle coaching to individuals dealing with over 50 autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The company has secured $7.2 million in funding, with leading investors being Accel.
30 Under 30 – Enterprise Technology
Flo Recruit
Katherine Allen and Atreya Misra founded Flo Recruit while students at the University of Texas at Austin to assist law firms in hiring legal talent and law schools in facilitating student placements. After participating in Y Combinator, they now lead a 30-person team in Austin, partnering with 200 legal organizations nationwide. They have raised $7.5 million from investors like LiveOak Venture Partners and Alumni Ventures. Flo Recruit’s platform offers applicant tracking, a proprietary video chat platform for interviews, and event management to streamline talent acquisition.
30 Under 30 – Manufacturing & Industry
Bluedot
Ferhat Babacan and Selinay Parlak co-founded Bluedot, a single-payment platform designed for electric vehicle (EV) drivers and fleets. This early-stage startup, which is a graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator program, secured $5 million in funding from notable supporters such as Ford and Porsche. Bluedot introduced its Bluedot card in December 2022. Leading the company as CEO is Ferhat, who hails from Turkey and left a master’s program in automotive technologies and management at the Technical University of Munich.
TuMeKe
Diwakar and Riley, joined by over 30 individuals including Zach Noland, established TuMeke with the aim of preventing workplace injuries in industrial settings. They developed an AI platform capable of identifying movements that pose a higher risk of musculoskeletal injuries and offering safety recommendations to employees. Preliminary data suggests that the platform has reduced industrial injuries by over 60%. To date, the company has secured approximately $13 million in funding.
30 Under 30 – Social Impact
Sydney Montgomery
Sydney Montgomery, aiming to increase diversity in the legal field, established the nonprofit Barrier Breakers. According to the American Bar Association, only 8% of law students are Black, and 13% are Hispanic. Barrier Breakers has assisted over 7,000 students in navigating the college and law school admissions process. Additionally, Montgomery, the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant, founded Outline It, a writing software for students with learning differences, and co-founded College Equity First, a nonprofit that assesses the campus environment for Black students at over 100 colleges.
Leafpress
Leafpress, introduced in February 2023, utilizes AI to assist significant real estate stakeholders, both owners and tenants, in tracking and reporting carbon emissions. Their software seamlessly links utility accounts to monitor and analyze energy consumption across an organization’s various facilities. Devishi Jha, who left Harvard after studying computer science, has conducted carbon audits for prominent companies like Sephora, Unilever, Spotify, and P&G. Jianna Liu, an MIT graduate with a degree in computer science, has experience working at Meta, DoorDash, and Nvidia
Prepared
Michael Chime, Neal Soni, and Dylan Gleicher left Yale to create software that transforms smartphones into live-streaming “personal body cams” for 911 centers. Prepared collaborates with 12% of U.S. 911 centers, serving 80 million residents, including Nashville, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Denver. The company has secured funding from investors like a16z, First Round, M13, and 8VC.
Written by Head of Creative Celina You.
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