Awesome Inc

Recap of Feedcoyote winning at the February 2023 5 Across on February 22nd, 2023. Stevens is the Founder & CEO at Feedcoyote, an AI-powered collaboration network platform with built-in productivity tools that empowers freelance business.  Stevens is an Economist with a Doctorate in Business, and has gained his tech experience at Microsoft for many years. Now he aims to help take lonelines...

Recap of XENA Intelligence winning at the 2022 5 Across FINALS on December 7th, 2022. XENA is an AI-powered growth platform that helps e-commerce brands automate and optimize ad campaigns on marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart through data intelligence, proprietary algorithms, and predictive analytics. In 2022, we grew revenue 12X, managed over $14.5M in ad spend, with 40+ brand clients (includin...

XENA is an AI-powered growth platform that helps e-commerce brands automate and optimize ad campaigns on marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart through data intelligence, proprietary algorithms, and predictive analytics.  In 2022, we grew revenue 12X, managed over $14.5M in ad spend, with 40+ brand clients (including Nestle), and grew the team to 25 FTEs. Founded by Akhil Nair , an experienced...

Steve Chamberland is the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Water Warriors, a scientifically driven company providing innovative products and technologies to protect our waterways from nutrient pollution.  At Water Warriors we believe that water is the world's most valuable resource, we treat water how water should be treated. Steve competed in and won the August 2022 5 Across and earned...

Hussein Al-Baiaty from Scribe Media interviewed Garrett Fahrbach of the Awesome Inc team who led the charge on publishing the next book in the series from the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.  Unbridled Spirit Volume 2: Lessons in Life and Business tells 19 stories of 2015-2019 inductees from the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame classes. Pick up your copy today on Amazon or at the Awesom...

Sue Spencer has many years' experience with cybersecurity and network management for NASA and other government agencies. She took a career break to raise a family then rejoined the tech world with her ground-breaking design technology that removes ethnic bias from clothing design. She has presented at graphic design conferences and conducted multi-week workshops from Madrid to Shenzhen, from Montr...

Dr. Kyle Mann is founder and CEO of UpScore Test Prep which provides equitable access to ACT test prep by partnering with schools and educational programs. UpScore utilizes user friendly dashboards, analytical reports, and personalized learning to radically improve learning efficiency. Kyle is passionate about healthcare, education, and rural Kentucky. We enjoyed having Kyle compete in the August...

Dakota Hoskins is the owner-operator of Safari Solutions - a technology start-up company that focuses on the latest high-tech car wash innovations. Safari Solutions’ barcode scanner module enables car wash operators to add barcode scanning capabilities to any existing kiosk without breaking the bank! We enjoyed having Dakota compete in the August 2022 5 Across Pitch Competition. Links Mentioned in...

Awesome Inc team fan-favorite, Steve Huey (Angel Investor, Mentor, and Serial Entrepreneur) leads the Saturday night session at the 2022 Awesome Inc Startup Summer Retreat. For the past two decades, Steve has been a leader in integrating cutting-edge technologies into already existing markets that desperately need them. Most recently he founded TYP64, a venture studio meets buyout fund, that helps...

Kelly Wright is the founder and CEO of Pomander Tech , which is a fragrance sampling kiosk that drives sales through a better customer experience. At the Pomander Tech kiosk: take a quiz; get personalized recommendations; receive a sample card with chosen fragrance.   Kelly is a software developer for Inc 5000 company APAX Software in Lexington, KY, Christian, mother, and Girl Scout troo...

Lindsey Grass is the founder and designer of Trends by Linds , an up-cycled fashion and vintage finds brand. Lindsey started her business during the pandemic in 2020 when she saw an issue within the fashion industry, and a solution she could bring to the table. Lindsey is passionate about sustainable clothing, empowering the world around her, and designing new things! Kara Smith is a rec...

Samuel Wheeling is the owner of Bang-A-Chain LLC , which he runs with his wife Jennifer Wheeling.  While growing his disc golf business, he recalled many skills learned over the years while being a manager of retail and fast food establishments. And when an opportunity to change his career paths presented itself, he decided to learn how to code and become a web developer.  Curr...

Philip Devine is co-founder of Quill , which enables real estate agents to write, sign, and submit offers for their clients without their laptops, in less time than it takes to send a text.  They're currently getting ready to launch the beta version this fall.  Philip is passionate about building things that make life easier, doing CrossFit with his family, and spending time with friends...

Bill Meehan and Kirk Selenberg are the Co-Founders of MiniGrip , which is the World’s First Portable Gripper – A high-quality accessory that people carry with them and use to open twist-top bottles, jars, and other items!   Kirk and Bill met in Business school at Carnegie Mellon in 2010 and have been friends since.  Kirk (Chief Product Officer) is a Mechanical Engineer by education...

Gary Ditsch is on a mission to help others live happier and healthier lives. He utilizes technology, data analysis, entrepreneurship, and education as his tools to empower those around him to make behavioral changes and meet their personal goals. Gary is currently the Director of Product at VividCharts , which is a Lexington-based company that makes reporting and data visualization with ServiceNow...

Jason Mize is a Co-Founder, CEO, and Developer at Stellar TechWorks, a software development house in Lexington, KY. What Jason loves best about his job is helping Stellar TechWork's clients find their path towards delivering their vision to the world.   He's a former Awesome Inc U Bootcamp grad and APAX Software employee. And his local band is about to release a new album! For more informatio...

Jordan Guess is a CPA and entrepreneur helping small business owners spend more time scaling their business instead of worrying about taxes. At his core, Jordan is an educator committed to empowering people to lower their lifetime tax expenses through legal means so they can scale their business faster and build generational wealth for their families.  Jordan is a co-host of the weekly podcas...

Steve Seidel is your Virtual CMO and Award-Winning Founder of The Seidel Agency with 15+ years of experience consulting and marketing health & wellness, entertainment, and technology firms. Seidel helps established corporations and emerging entrepreneurs grow by delivering socially conscious campaigns, as well as cultivating a culture of positivity.  Recently Seidel has spearheaded m...

Richie Hoagland is the founder of VRTogether and a two-time Fellowship Founder. VRTogether is a virtual reality (VR) application that connects people together in virtual spaces to take a walk in the forest, watch a sunset on the beach, and more.  Their technology is evidence-based, improving health and happiness through research. We focus on touch and feelings of "being near" someone, somethi...

Jacob Bozarth  is co-founder and CEO of  Resound  which is a mobile-first AI Editing tool for podcasters that saves creators time so they can focus on their message, not their mess-ups.  Resound was birthed out of Jacob's first company, Resonate Recordings , a leader in the podcast production space, working with over 3,000 podcasters including top brands and podcasts. Jacob and...

Sam Perez  is a first-time author of Deviate from Denial and a senior journalism major at the University of Georgia. She has written the book based on her parents' work with  DV8 Kitchen , a restaurant and bakery in Lexington that hires people in recovery from substance use disorder.  Sam hopes to erase the stigma surrounding addiction by telling inspirational stories in her book, w...

This is to prepare for the next episode, highlighting Rob's daughter, Sam Perez's book titled Deviate From Denial: Erasing the Stigma of Addiction and Recovery Through Inspirational Stories With 30 years of restaurant experience, Rob Perez has seen first-hand how to build restaurant brands and how prevalent addiction is in the industry he loves. Along with his wife Diane, he founded Dv8 Kitchen as...

Did you miss out on our Fellowship Demo Day and 13th Birthday Celebration? All of the donuts were eaten, but we've got you covered with audio from the event! Our Director of the Fellowship, Keith McMunn , leads the way in this episode, introducing the Fellowship program and each of its current companies.  Curious about what all of the startups do? Buckle in and take off with us as we celebrat...

Awesome Inc is turning 13 years old on April 1, 2022.  We're celebrating with three of our cofounders (Brian Raney, Luke Murray, and Nick Such) sitting down and reflecting on Awesome Inc's inception and goofy memories that go back to the beginning. ** "Go it Alone" by Beck is not our original work and does not belong to us.  Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: • Go it Alone by Beck • Bri...

Chris Wiedmar is a technology leader and entrepreneur with a focus on operations, partnerships, and business development.  He has experience building applications, IOT solutions, and is currently building in the web3 and NFT space with Party Horses .  He is born and raised in Louisville and lives in the Highlands with his wife, Erin, and 3 children. 5 Across is a year-long series of pitc...