The Forbes 30 Under 30 list highlights the accomplishments of innovators and leaders in 20 industries, all under 30 years old. We’re happy to report that several founders of VentureWell E-Teams—multidisciplinary groups of students working to bring science- and technology-based inventions to market—were recently featured in the 2017 list. They are:
- John Lewandowski, founder of Disease Diagnostic Group (DDG). DDG screens patients for the malaria in five seconds with a reusable, handheld device that detects magnetic nanoparticles created by mosquitoes. DDG participated in Stage 1 and 2 of our E-Team Program in 2013, receiving $25k in grants and guidance on their venture.
- Sean Patterson, founder of StrongArm Technologies. StrongArm makes wearable protective technology to help industrial workers avoid injury. StrongArm received $17,200 in grants from us in 2011, and also participated in Open Minds, our showcase of student invention that takes place every year at Open, our annual conference.
- Kwami Williams and Emily Cunningham, co-founders of MorginaConnect. MoringaConnect takes the moringa tree, a plant common in arid climates like Africa, and turns it into beauty products from its seeds for sale by Birchbox and pre-packaged snacks from its leaves for sale in Ghana. The team went through Stage 1 of our E-Team Program in 2013, receiving $5k and training.
And from our Powering Agriculture Xcelerator program, Samir Ibrahim made the list for energy. Ibrahim co-founded SunCulture, which sells solar-powered drip irrigation systems to farmers in Kenya. The Xcelerator training program provides training and coaching specifically for USAID, Grand Challenges for Exploration, and Powering Agriculture grantees working in global health and development to increase the likelihood that their innovations will succeed.
We’re proud to have played a role in each of these leaders’ success. Congratulations to the young entrepreneurs!