Meet the 2023 Gulf South honorees
Congratulations to our region’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners, who were selected by an independent panel of judges based on their demonstration of long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes. Finalists were recognized and winners were announced during the regional celebration.
Regional winners went on to compete for National recognition. National finalists and winners were announced during the National awards gala.
2023 Gulf South winners
Peter Wang
CEO & Co-Founder
Anaconda
Austin, Texas
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About the company >#Hide >
Anaconda is the world’s most popular platform to develop and deploy secure Python solutions, faster. We pioneered the use of Python for data science, champion its vibrant community and steward the open-source projects behind tomorrow’s artificial intelligence and machine learning breakthroughs. Our solutions enable practitioners and institutions around the world to securely harness the power of open source for competitive advantage and groundbreaking discoveries.
Omair Tariq
CEO & Co-Founder
Cart.com
Austin, Texas
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Cart.com is the leading provider of comprehensive e-commerce solutions that enable brands of any size to sell and fulfill everywhere. Brands can use the entire Cart.com suite of software, expert services and infrastructure to accelerate their growth or choose from the company’s modular solutions. Leading brands are partnering with Cart.com to access multichannel management, fulfillment, marketing, analytics, customer engagement and other e-commerce capabilities previously only available to the world’s largest companies.
Armir Harris
Founder and CEO
CharterUP
Austin, Texas
2023 National finalist
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CharterUP was founded in 2018, by long-time transportation and technology entrepreneur Armir Harris, to introduce a model of transparency, accountability and accessibility to an industry that has not seen major innovation for the past 30 years.
CharterUP’s digital marketplace delivers real-time availability and pricing and allows customers to compare quotes, vehicles, safety records and reviews. CharterUP is on a mission to raise the standards of service in the industry so customers can always book their travel in confidence.
CharterUP’s platform removes the friction from reserving private group transportation, either one-time or recurring, by instantly connecting bookers to a virtual fleet of local bus operators. CharterUP allows customers to book services in under 60 seconds with a suite of capabilities that include instant booking, real-time availability, dynamic pricing and day-of-trip tracking via self-serve technology. In partnership with its growing network of bus companies operating fully integrated charters, CharterUP delivers unmatched accessibility, accountability and transparency never seen before in the charter bus space.
Keith Smith
President & Co-Founder
Direct Digital Holdings
Houston, Texas
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Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq:DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to health care to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions generate billions of impressions per month across display and CTV, in app and in other media channels. Direct Digital Holdings is the ninth black-owned company to go public in the US and was named a top minority-owned business by the Houston Business Journal.
Mark D. Walker
CEO, Co-Founder & Chairman
Direct Digital Holdings
Houston, Texas
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Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq:DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to health care to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions generate billions of impressions per month across display and CTV, in app and in other media channels. Direct Digital Holdings is the ninth black-owned company to go public in the US and was named a top minority-owned business by the Houston Business Journal.
Mohammad A. Millwala
CEO
DM Clinical Research
Houston, Texas
2023 National finalist
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DM Clinical began in 2006 with a vision: to deliver advanced, preventive medicine to underserved communities. We are a clinical trial network that conducts studies with uncompromised quality and compassion.
Over the past 15 years, our Houston, Texas, roots have grown into dedicated and many affiliate sites throughout the nation. We are the largest private clinical trial network in Texas and are rapidly expanding in the South and Midwest. We began with an emphasis on vaccines and internal medicine, and have now broadened our therapeutic areas to include pediatrics, GI, psychiatry, women’s health and more.
Our success is the result of a 16+-year track record of exceeding expectations. We surpass our competition in keeping our commitments to high enrollments and recruiting diverse patient populations. Above all, we keep the patient our highest priority.
Bret Biggart
CEO
Freedom Solar Power
Austin, Texas
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Freedom Solar Power is the leader in turnkey solar installations in Texas, Colorado, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, providing high-quality, cost-effective, reliable solar solutions for residential and commercial markets. Based in Austin since 2007, Freedom Solar Power has installed more than 191 megawatts of solar panels for homeowners and top companies. Freedom Solar Power is one of the top fastest-growing companies in Central Texas, and has been named a Best Place to Work by the Austin Business Journal and the Houston Business Journal.
Joyce Durst
CEO
Growth Acceleration Partners
Austin, Texas
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CEO Joyce Durst co-founded GAP in 2007 as a values- and purpose-driven organization helping people, companies and communities achieve success through technology. With an industry-leading net promoter score (NPS) of 76 (most competitor scores are in the 40s) and an employee NPS of 88, GAP proves its priorities while maintaining impressive revenue growth.
At the beginning, GAP was an early pioneer of the nearshoring model, and excelled quickly in outsourcing software development from countries close to the US. It pivoted from being solely a technology consulting firm to a technology platform and advisory company, developing a suite of one-of-a-kind solutions and delivering lifetime benefits through long-term partnerships with clients. GAP owns patented, proprietary technology that converts old, legacy software applications into new, modern code. Talented engineering teams design the entire technology and data strategy for enterprises, automating the process of building best-in-class cloud infrastructure, saving clients many months of development and testing time. Innovative and patented next-gen solutions leapfrog aged companies into a place where, with GAP’s help, they can take advantage of the latest advancements in cloud technology.
Steve Altemus
President and CEO
Intuitive Machines, Inc.
Houston, Texas
2023 National finalist
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Intuitive Machines is a diversified space company initially focused on establishing the lunar infrastructure and basis for commerce to inform and sustain human presence off Earth. We believe our business is well positioned for continued growth and expansion.
Right now. We are serving a worldwide set of government and commercial payload customers, working to provide access to the lunar surface, cislunar space and data transmission for science, technology and infrastructure.
Tomorrow. We are working to provide a thriving, diverse lunar economy, creating new opportunities and markets to enable on-orbit applications and a permanent presence on the Moon, and expand the commercial space exploration marketplace.
Ludmila Golovine
CEO & President
MasterWord Services, Inc.
Houston, Texas
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At MasterWord Services, we help brands expand globally and connect companies with their target markets. We have spent the last 30 years growing the reach and impact of our partners, from public institutions to energy, health care and technology. Our partners continue to trust us with their most complex, culturally sensitive and urgent projects, especially when accessibility, equity and inclusion are key deliverables. With no language left behind, our diverse teams of industry experts and extensive network of language professionals deliver translation, localization and interpretation solutions in more than 400 languages to satisfied customers worldwide.
Roger W. Jenkins
CEO & President
Murphy Oil Corporation
Houston, Texas
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Murphy is an independent exploration and production company, producing in three areas with an advantaged portfolio and exploration upside. Murphy produces primarily in onshore US, onshore Canada and offshore Gulf of Mexico.
Allison Ellsworth
Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer
Poppi
Austin, Texas
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Poppi is on a mission to create a culture of health and happiness by reimagining the soda experience. Poppi is one of the fastest-growing beverages in the USA. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Stephen and Allison Ellsworth and based in Austin, Texas, Poppi combines real fruit, apple cider vinegar and inulin prebiotics to create a deliciously refreshing, full-of-flavor soda that provides real health benefits. Formulated with only clean ingredients, each can contains less than 5 grams of sugar and 25 calories. What originally started as a personal remedy for Allison’s gut health and skin ailments quickly became a farmers market favorite turned Shark Tank investment — and now is available at thousands of retailers nationwide. Poppi’s brand-first approach, cultural cachet and rapid growth have nurtured an incredibly loyal fan base, including celeb fans. Poppi is available in nine delicious flavors.
Stephen Ellsworth
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Poppi
Austin, Texas
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About the company >#Hide >
Poppi is on a mission to create a culture of health and happiness by reimagining the soda experience. Poppi is one of the fastest-growing beverages in the USA. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Stephen and Allison Ellsworth and based in Austin, Texas, Poppi combines real fruit, apple cider vinegar and inulin prebiotics to create a deliciously refreshing, full-of-flavor soda that provides real health benefits. Formulated with only clean ingredients, each can contains less than 5 grams of sugar and 25 calories. What originally started as a personal remedy for Allison’s gut health and skin ailments quickly became a farmers market favorite turned Shark Tank investment — and now is available at thousands of retailers nationwide. Poppi’s brand-first approach, cultural cachet and rapid growth have nurtured an incredibly loyal fan base, including celeb fans. Poppi is available in nine delicious flavors.
Gaurab Chakrabarti
CEO, Co-Founder
Solugen
Houston, Texas
2023 National winner
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About the company >#Hide >
Founded in 2016, Solugen Inc. is now a vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals. Solugen combines computationally engineered enzyme protein catalysts with novel heterogeneous metal catalysts to create a simple, versatile and high-yield manufacturing asset called the BioforgeTM. The Bioforge is a 10,000 tpy chemical plant that operates with more than 90% yield of product from feedstock and without air or wastewater emissions, mitigating more than 30,000 tpy of hard-to-abate CO2 emissions. Solugen is now embarking on building carbon negative Bioforge assets across the US and the world.
Sean Hunt
Co-Founder, CTO
Solugen
Houston, Texas
2023 National winner
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About the company >#Hide >
Founded in 2016, Solugen Inc. is now a vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals. Solugen combines computationally engineered enzyme protein catalysts with novel heterogeneous metal catalysts to create a simple, versatile and high-yield manufacturing asset called the BioforgeTM. The Bioforge is a 10,000 tpy chemical plant that operates with more than 90% yield of product from feedstock and without air or wastewater emissions, mitigating more than 30,000 tpy of hard-to-abate CO2 emissions. Solugen is now embarking on building carbon negative Bioforge assets across the US and the world.
Daryl Dudum
Founder and Co-CEO
Specialty1 Partners
Houston, Texas
2023 National finalist
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We started Specialty1 to provide administrative support to clinical practices, allowing doctors to grow their businesses without the burden of administrative tasks holding them back. To determine which pieces we wanted to bring to the support team, we reviewed where we felt the most pull in our practices. We started with HR, payroll, accounting, operations, marketing, business development and integrations. As the company continued to grow and patient demand on our partners continued to rise, we added compliance, IT, legal, revenue cycle management and recruiting as additional support to the original departments. Adding seasoned executives to lead each department with strong tenure in their respective fields has allowed us to scale our business to many states and support to all three dental surgical specialties.
Matthew Haddad
Founder and Co-CEO
Specialty1 Partners
Houston, Texas
2023 National finalist
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About the company >#Hide >
We started Specialty1 to provide administrative support to clinical practices, allowing doctors to grow their businesses without the burden of administrative tasks holding them back. To determine which pieces we wanted to bring to the support team, we reviewed where we felt the most pull in our practices. We started with HR, payroll, accounting, operations, marketing, business development and integrations. As the company continued to grow and patient demand on our partners continued to rise, we added compliance, IT, legal, revenue cycle management and recruiting as additional support to the original departments. Adding seasoned executives to lead each department with strong tenure in their respective fields has allowed us to scale our business to many states and support to all three dental surgical specialties.
Mike Rypka
CEO & Founder
Success Foods Management Group LLC, DBA Torchy's Tacos
Austin, Texas
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The Torchy’s Tacos story began 16 years ago in Austin, Texas, when a man with a dream bought a food trailer and a vibrant red Vespa. Mike Rypka, founder of Torchy’s Tacos, built a menu out of experimental tacos that were coined by fans as “damn good.” Today, Torchy’s Tacos has locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona and Virginia that are committed to serving only the highest-quality ingredients. By living the Damn Good mantra, Torchy’s Tacos is always innovating to deliver the most unique tacos, coveted queso and refreshing margaritas in the taco game, including the Taco of the Month, an untraditional taco offering that keeps taco junkies coming back for more.
Ross Buhrdorf
CEO & Founder
ZenBusiness
Austin, Texas
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ZenBusiness is a unicorn startup helping anyone achieve their dream of finally starting a business. Eighty-five percent of people hate their jobs, and US workers are getting sick — mentally and physically from the stress. People are sacrificing their dreams to work for someone else, yet don’t realize they can have an escape plan. By offering tools and resources to simplify the process of starting a business, ZenBusiness helps people escape the cycle of unhappy work and take ownership of their own time to drive their dreams. At its core, ZenBusiness believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams and achieve fulfillment in their work.
Not only does ZenBusiness make business formation a breeze, but it also provides entrepreneurs with all the tools they need to run and build their businesses. ZenBusiness helps with making a business plan, obtaining licenses, choosing the proper business structure to build a brand and website, and even managing finances.
Today, ZenBusiness has helped to launch nearly half a million businesses in the United States. The company remains laser focused on becoming the go-to resource for entrepreneurs everywhere to pursue their own dreams rather than someone else’s.
2023 Gulf South finalists
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Mo Vij | 365Labs | Baton Rouge, LA
Mo Vij is the President & CEO of 365Labs.
365Labs builds innovative software to power processes that reduce response time for first responders and remove redundancy in case processing, while making the criminal justice process faster and transparent. The new systems increase safety for officers and citizens, provide citizens more control over their information and help build trust in communities.
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Brooks Bassler | BB's Tex-Orleans | Houston
Brooks Bassler is the Founder & CEO of BB's Tex-Orleans.
BB's Tex-Orleans is a full-service casual dining restaurant and bar that specializes in Cajun food and drinks with a Texas twist.
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Amber Glassman | Bryan Anthonys | Austin
Amber Glassman is the CEO & Co-Founder of Bryan Anthonys.
Named after my brother, whose young life was tragically taken due to a severe case of bacterial meningitis, Bryan Anthonys was founded on the verifiable truth of life’s fragility — we only have one life and time isn’t something that is guaranteed. The brand was created in honor of Bryan, with the hope of encouraging others to make their life and the lives around them meaningful. With a passion to pursue purpose, we aim to transform the way we view fashion and the world around us — it’s about discovering personal style while embracing personal stories. At Bryan Anthonys, we create with purpose — by consciously offering meaningful designs, customers can always share and express who and what matter most.
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Carolos De Aldecoa | Cadeco Industries & Affiliated Companies | Houston
Carlos De Aldecoa is the President of Cadeco Industries & Affiliated Companies.
Cadeco is the leading service provider for raw coffee processing. By incorporating vast industry experience, advanced technologies and a highly engineered infrastructure, Cadeco’s supply chain architecture yields quick turnarounds with the highest-quality service.
Eximius Coffee, LLC is a leading manufacturer of finished coffee products serving national-scale organizations with a wide variety of packaging options.
Gulf Coast Distillers is the largest capacity distillery west of the Mississippi, producing bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin and rum in a wide variety of presentations.
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Derek Maetzold | Castle Biosciences, Inc. | Friendswood, TX
Derek Maetzold is the Founder, President & CEO of Castle Biosciences, Inc.
Castle Biosciences is a company focused on improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care. For the diseases that our portfolio of tests cover, we believe the traditional approach to developing a treatment plan for cancers and other diseases using clinical and pathology factors alone is inadequate and can be improved by incorporating the personalized information our tests provide.
At Castle, we aim to transform disease management by keeping people first: patients, clinicians, employees and investors. Since our inception in 2008, we have remained focused on this vision. This foundational strategy remains the guidepost for the direction of our company and the basis of our long-term value creation.
Our innovative portfolio of commercial and pipeline tests target unmet clinical need along the patient care continuum. We currently market six proprietary tests designed to answer clinical questions and address treatment plan challenges facing physicians in dermatologic cancers, uveal melanoma, Barrett’s esophagus and mental health conditions: DecisionDx®-Melanoma, DecisionDx®-SCC, MyPath® Melanoma, DecisionDx®-UM, TissueCypher® Barrett’s Esophagus and IDgenetix®.
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Neha Sampat | Contentstack Inc | Austin
Neha Sampat is the Founder & CEO of Contentstack Inc.
Contentstack — the leading composable digital experience platform provider — empowers marketers and developers to deliver composable digital experiences at the speed of their imagination. Leading companies trust Contentstack to power their most critical content experiences with uncompromising scale and dependability. Known for its Care Without Compromise™ program, Contentstack has achieved the industry’s highest customer satisfaction rating. Contentstack is also a founding member of the MACH Alliance, advocating for best-of-breed composable technology that is microservices based, API first, cloud-native SaaS and headless.
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Brett Hurt | data.world, a PBC | Austin
Brett Hurt is the CEO & Co-Founder of data.world, a PBC
data.world is an enterprise data catalog for the modern data stack. Its cloud-native software-as-a-service platform combines a consumer-grade user experience with a powerful knowledge graph to deliver enhanced data discovery, agile data governance and actionable insights. data.world is a Certified B Corporation and public benefit corporation and home to the world’s largest collaborative open data community. Our company has 62 patents and has been named one of Austin’s Best Places to Work seven years in a row.
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Dean Drako | Eagle Eye Networks | Austin
Dean Drako is the Founder & CEO of Eagle Eye Networks.
Eagle Eye Networks (EEN) was founded in 2012, revolutionizing video surveillance and bringing the cloud's advantages to the industry — better cybersecurity, usability and scalability — with an open RESTful API platform for unlimited customization.
EEN combines cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to make company employees, customers and communities even safer. Examples of its early cloud AI technologies:
- AI-based video search, where customers can input specific criteria, e.g., a “man with a backpack wearing a blue shirt and gray shorts” or a “red SUV that entered the parking lot yesterday.”
- AI-based license plate recognition for high accuracy in all kinds of challenging conditions — increasing business security and efficiency while lowering costs.
Customers can utilize AI analytics across any or all of their cameras by simply turning it on — no special hardware or complex configuration is needed.
EEN’s cloud AI technology is making the world far safer and transforming physical security into a core business intelligence system.
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Hardy Murchison | Encino Energy LLC | Houston
Hardy Murchison is the President & CEO of Encino Energy LLC.
Encino Energy is one of the largest private natural gas and oil producers in the US and a top 25 North American natural gas producer. While headquartered in Houston, our operations in the prolific Northern Utica Shale make us the largest oil producer in Ohio and the second-largest natural gas producer in the state.
Beyond our day-to-day operations, we are a company dedicated to our values of results, transparency, innovation, ownership and sustainability. These foundational values guide our employees and make us who we are. Encino Energy’s proven management team is deeply committed to our people, and we are fully invested in the communities we call home.
Encino Energy is committed to doing the right things for the right reasons while never losing sight of safety and sustainability. We focus on the long term, which means sustainable, safe and environmentally conscious operations, and carefully managed risks.
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Craig Taylor | Iapetus Holdings LLC | Houston
Craig Taylor is the CEO & Founder of Iapetus Holdings LLC.
The Iapetus Holdings suite of companies includes:
- Iapetus Infrastructure Services
- Atlas Field Services
- Atlas Commodities LLC
- Gold Coast Utility Specialists
- Atlas Retail Energy
- Hyperion Safety Environmental Solutions
- Soaring Eagle Technologies
- Unmanned Aviation Training Institute
We provide vegetation management, safety and environmental solutions to utilities and oil and gas, retail energy advisory services, energy commodities brokerage and drone data services.
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Johann Moonesinghe | inKind Cards, Inc. | Austin
Johann Moonesinghe is the CEO & Co-Founder of inKind Cards, Inc.
inKind was founded to help fix a financing model that is fundamentally broken for the restaurant industry. Instead of financing restaurants through equity investments, high-interest loans or cash advances, inKind purchases large amounts of food and beverage credit that it sells to consumers on the inKind app. Operators receive debt-free, non-dilutive capital to grow their restaurants, as well as inKind’s marketing support that drives new guest traffic. On the inKind app, consumers purchase restaurant credit and receive spending bonuses. Consumers can also discover restaurants, make reservations, browse menus and close their checks from the app. Unlike other financing alternatives, it was designed by operators, for operators. Its financing model provides restaurants with affordable capital and increased guest visits, making it a win-win for operators and guests.
In Q4 2022, inKind launched inKind Pass, a product that allows consumers to purchase restaurant credit that they can use across all restaurants on its platform. This allows inKind to drive in new customers and partner with large corporations.
inKind works with restaurants in the US and has consumers, passionate about food, discovering those restaurants.
We provide vegetation management, safety and environmental solutions to utilities and oil and gas, retail energy advisory services, energy commodities brokerage and drone data services.
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Arran Stewart | Job.com | Austin
Arran Stewart is the Chief Visionary Officer of Job.com.
Job.com is a digital recruitment innovator with a unique perspective: delivering technology and capabilities that shake up the market by bringing together a data-driven approach based in AI and machine learning with high-level, human-capital-delivered solutions, designed to efficiently attract and retain the right talent and provide consumer-level user experiences throughout the hiring process.
This combination provides true value and control to job seekers, companies and recruiting teams, resulting in more effective talent acquisition, better-fit career moves and a more human hiring experience. Job.com’s solutions are growing and evolving rapidly to serve multiple segments of the market and will come to represent the place where individual job seekers manage their career path and employers find their next hire.
Job.com’s mission is to transform talent acquisition with smart technology and a human-first approach.
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Christopher Anderson | Ledge Lounger Inc | Katy, TX
Christopher Anderson is the Founder & CEO of Ledge Lounger Inc.
Whether you are poolside or beachside or at a five-star resort, or relaxing on your own patio, we believe the perfect day is spent outside. Ledge Lounger products are designed to create perfect outdoor spaces for entertaining and relaxation.
Featuring classic outdoor furniture pieces; stylish, convenience-adding accessories; and our signature in-pool furniture for in-water use, all Ledge Lounger products are made of high-quality materials and designed to withstand the elements, so you can relax with peace of mind and enjoy the amenities of the outdoors year-round.
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Eduardo J. Morales | Mexcor International | Houston
Eduardo J. Morales is the CEO & President of Mexcor International.
At Mexcor International Fine Wines & Spirits and beer, we offer a diverse portfolio containing premium spirits, a unique selection of fine wine, craft and value-added beer, an assortment of ready-to-drink libations, nonalcoholic mixers and many hard-to-find niche items. Having family ties to Licores Veracruz, makers of exquisite aged rums, as well as Casa Maestri, a rapidly growing artisanal distillery located in the heart of Tequila, imparted a passion for this business within Eduardo Morales at an early age. At Mexcor, we genuinely listen to the customer and market’s needs and look for innovative solutions to fill those demands. At Mexcor, quality, customer satisfaction and a value to the consumer are of our utmost priority. I invite you to try some of our flagship products, such as Agavales Tequila, Crown Club Whisky and Frio Light Beer, to taste the Mexcor difference for yourself.
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Prasad Gundumogula | Mondee Holdings, Inc. | Austin
Prasad Gundumogula is the Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman of Mondee Holdings, Inc.
Established in 2011, Mondee is a travel technology company and a modern travel marketplace with its headquarters based in Austin, Texas. The company operates across the United States and Canada and has core operations in India, Thailand and Greece. Mondee is driving change in the leisure and corporate travel sectors through its broad array of innovative solutions. The company’s platform supports daily searches and processes a substantial transactional volume annually. Its network includes leisure travel advisors and gig economy workers, airlines, and hotels and vacation rentals. The company also offers packaged solutions and ancillary offerings that serve a global customer base. On July 19, 2022, Mondee became publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MOND.
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William Pate | Par Pacific | Houston
William Pate is the CEO of Par Pacific.
Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, owns and operates market-leading energy, infrastructure and retail businesses. Par Pacific’s strategy is to acquire and develop businesses in logistically complex, niche markets. Par Pacific owns and operates one of the largest energy networks in Hawaii with 94,000 bpd of operating refining capacity, a logistics system supplying the major islands of the state and retail locations. In the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, Par Pacific owns and operates 61,000 bpd of combined refining capacity, related multimodal logistics systems and retail locations. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in western Colorado.
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Cody Nath | Refined Technologies | Spring, TX
Cody Nath is the President & CEO of Refined Technologies.
Refined Technologies at its core is a chemical cleaning and decontamination service provider for refinery operators. Our value proposition is to provide safe, predictable and efficient services so that maintenance can occur, through a combination of technology and process operations expertise.
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Tom Weber | Removery | Austin
Tom Weber is the CEO of Removery.
Removery, the world’s tattoo removal experts, helps people reflect on the outside who they are on the inside. Born from the partnership of North America’s four largest and most trusted tattoo removal brands, the company is committed to driving research and advancements in the world of laser tattoo removal while ensuring client safety and effective results. Removery is home to the world’s first tattoo removal Clinical Advisory Board dedicated to the advancement of the industry.
Currently, Removery has locations across the United States, Canada and Australia. The company’s goal is to normalize tattoo removal and empower clients to feel confident in their own skin.
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Chris Howard | Softeq Development Corporation | Houston
Chris Howard is the President & CEO of Softeq Development Corporation.
Softeq is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and provides early-stage innovation ideation, technology consulting and software development solutions to enterprise companies and innovative startups. Founded in 1997, the company operates offices throughout North America and Europe. The Softeq Venture Fund and Softeq Venture Studio de-risk early-stage tech investments and help startup founders accelerate growth.
As a full-stack and full-cycle software and hardware development service provider, Softeq bridges technology gaps in knowledge-intensive projects and builds end-to-end IT solutions from the ground up. Softeq leverages its mature low-level programming heritage and hardware skills to help clients build software applications, engineer platform software, and design hardware and software to run a wide variety of connected products.
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Trevor Best | Syzygy Plasmonics | Houston
Trevor Best is the CEO & Co-Founder of Syzygy Plasmonics.
Syzygy Plasmonics is developing a first-of-its-kind photocatalytic reactor to electrify chemical production. When powered with renewable electricity, this platform technology is able to reduce both cost and emissions from many different chemical reactions. Syzygy’s go-to-market product will focus on transforming the economics of clean hydrogen production to help accelerate the energy transition. Syzygy can make clean hydrogen from different feedstocks, such as methane and ammonia. After market entry with hydrogen, Syzygy plans to expand into other reactions, such as CO2, to value, fertilizer and commodity chemicals.
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Chad Kalland and Kenny Rouse | Vecta Environmental Services, LLC | Gonzales, LA
Chad Kalland is the CEO and Kenny Rouse is the President & Founder of Vecta Environmental Services, LLC.
Vecta Environmental Services was founded in 2011 as a high-quality provider of environmental and industrial services specializing in delivering mission-critical services to clients in the petrochemical, commercial utility, oil and gas, and manufacturing markets.
Vecta has established itself as a regional leader in an industry typically dominated by multinational corporations. We have achieved this by providing industry-leading employee safety and customer service. Our offerings include hydro blasting, hydro excavation, chemical cleaning, tank cleaning, and insulation and scaffolding.
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Michael Wilson | Vibrantz Technologies | Houston
Michael Wilson is the President & CEO of Vibrantz Technologies.
In April 2022, Prince, Chromaflo and Ferro became part of the Vibrantz Technologies brand. Today, Vibrantz is a leading global provider of specialty chemicals and materials whose purpose is to bring color, performance and vibrancy to life. Our products and technologies serve a wide array of applications and make their way into myriad consumer products. With key competencies in particle engineering, glass and ceramic science and color technology, Vibrantz has leading positions in specialty mineral and chemical additives for batteries, electronic components and construction; dry powder pigments for paints and coatings, thermoset plastics and thermoplastics; and high-performance glass coatings and porcelain enamel solutions.
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John Magee | VLS Environmental Solutions | Houston
John Magee is the President & CEO of VLS Environmental Solutions.
At VLS, we address your company’s most significant hurdles with waste management and compliance through sustainable solutions. With our high environmental standards, we build trust in the communities where we work. We strive to limit waste, injury and environmental impact while driving positive relationships with government agencies and building loyalty among everyone involved in our solutions.
Our environmental services can make your company more efficient and compliant and contribute to a sustainable future. Choose VLS for waste management, marine services and railcar cleaning.
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Ting Qiao | Wan Bridge Group | Houston
Ting Qiao is the CEO & Co-Founder of Wan Bridge Group.
Wan Bridge is a Texas-based builder and operator of build-to-rent communities across the state. Since 2016, we have been active in the acquisition, development and operation of our communities located in high-demand cities across the state, including Austin, Dallas and Houston. Our build-to-rent community products range from low-density homes on acreage sites to medium-density developments that include duplexes, triplexes and townhomes. We believe that residents should have access to a home without the hassle, providing a lifestyle filled with activities and people they enjoy the most. Our build-to-rent communities provide that every day.
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Mathias Ihlenfeld | woom bikes USA | Austin
Mathias Ihlenfeld is the CEO of woom bikes USA.
woom is a globally acclaimed kids’ bicycle company, originally founded in Austria in 2013, with its North American headquarters located in Austin, Texas. The brand was brought to the United States by Mathias Ihlenfeld in 2014, one year after woom had been founded in a tiny garage in Vienna, Austria, by Mathias’s brother Marcus and his business partner Christian Bezdeka.
woom USA quickly established itself as a digitally native brand, developing direct-to-consumer expertise and serving its customers through a personal relationship with the brand. Due to the remarkable product, excellent service and extensive word-of-mouth recommendations, woom USA was recognized as one of the fastest-growing, privately held companies in the US. woom has disrupted the kids’ bike category in North America and is the largest and fastest-growing direct-to-consumer brand in the space.
Its award-winning bikes include options that are 40% lighter than conventional kids’ bikes, making woom bikes the lightest series-production kids’ bikes in the world. Ninety percent of the components on woom bikes are specifically designed for kids.
