Who's Next: 25 self-starters championing Arizona's entrepreneurial spirit
Grace Palmieri
This month, azcentral's Who's Next honors those up-and-coming Arizona entrepreneurs who've taken their ideas in design, wellness, technology and more and run with them.
Who's Next honors some of Arizona's most dynamic leaders under age 40. So far, we've recognized more than 150 people in the fields of Health/Fitness, Design, Communications, Arts, Food and Giving.
We're currently seeking influencers in the field of Drink — those creative mixologists, distillers, brewers or others who are upping the Valley's libation level. Nominate yourself or someone you know by filling out the form at whosnext.azcentral.com by midnight, Monday, June 4.
Here is Who's Next: Entrepreneurs, 25 up-and-comers whose creativity is shaping the business world in Arizona.
Chase Albright
Founder/owner, C + D Industry
30 years old
Connect: cplusindustry.com
An entrepreneur in the fields of design and fabrication, Albright and his company have created products featured in "Phoenix Home & Garden" magazine and the DIY television channel. Albright also works with youth to teach the trades of welding, woodworking and metal fabrication. From his nominator: “Chase is humble and hardworking and is committed to growing jobs in Arizona.”
Loren Aragon
Owner/designer, ACONAV
37 years old
Connect: aconav.com
Aragon is the founder of ACONAV, a Native American-owned and -operated couture fashion brand based in Phoenix. The brand celebrates the strength and empowerment of women and draws inspiration from Aragon's indigenous background. He made his Phoenix Fashion Week debut in 2017. From his nominator: “What is striking about Loren's work is not just the quality, but the way his entire self, sense of place, personal story and cultural heritage shines through his designs.”
Justin Bayless
President/CEO, Bayless Integrated Healthcare
33 years old
Connect: baylesshealthcare.com/
Bayless has been cultivating his passion for health and well-being since he was 9 years old, when he began accompanying his father to work on a regular basis. He’s now taken over that company, founded in 1982. Bayless has helped the company incorporate both primary care and behavioral health under one roof, and has expanded the company, with their fifth location opening in Mesa last summer. He was also recognized in 2013 as one of The Arizona Republic's 35 Entrepreneurs Under Age 35. From his nominator: “With Justin's guidance, Bayless has evolved from a mental health agency into a comprehensive, patient-centered, integrated health entity.”
Jon Boles
Founder/CEO, Modus Apparel and Avintiv Media
29 years old
Connect: avintivmedia.com
In nearly a decade of entrepreneurship, Boles has scaled several of his own companies. His agency Avintiv Media focuses on growing luxury brands through consulting and Web design and includes clients such as Scottsdale Ferrari and Maserati. From Boles: “My next big project is to give back to fellow entrepreneurs and be a positive influence and source of inspiration to anyone out there with big dreams of their own.”
Desiree Byrne
Owner/event production executive, Street Market LLC
33 years old
Connect: azstreetmarket.com/
Byrne founded Street Market, a company that produces events across the Valley. Their first event, Front Porch Pickins Vintage & Handmade Market, originally held in 2013 with 5,000 people in attendance, recently launched nationally. Byrne's company also runs two of Peoria’s largest events.
Beth Cochran
Founder/CEO, Wired PR Group
35 years old
Connect: wiredprgroup.com
Cochran is the co-founder and CEO of Wired PR, a strategic communications firm based in Phoenix that specializes in PR and content marketing for technology and growth-focused companies. And she’s making her mark on the business community in more ways than one. She is also the founder of SuccessLab, a resource for Valley entrepreneurs, and an active member of the Phoenix Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization. From her nominator: “Beth has already made her mark on the local startup community and no doubt will continue to be a rock star in putting Phoenix businesses on the map.”
Allison DeVane
Founder, Teaspressa
26 years old
Connect: teaspressa.com
DeVane founded Teaspressa, a pioneer in gourmet tea preparation, handcrafting the first and only hybrid beverage that combines the best of both coffee and tea. She developed Teaspressa’s tea concentration technology, which is used to create their signature blends. The company was featured on the "Shark Tank" television show in 2016 and selected for the Tory Burch Foundation’s Business Fellow Program. Based in Scottsdale, Teaspressa is sold online and hopes to expand its cafes throughout the U.S.
Josh Elizetxe
Managing Principal, Foresold
25 years old
Connect: LinkedIn
Elizetxe is an internet advertising veteran and serial entrepreneur working in the software, e-commerce, and advertising technology industries. More than 100 million people have interacted with websites and brands owned by his company. Elizetxe also serves on the board of the Phoenix Coding Academy and the Fleischer Scholars Program.
Justin Gray
Founder/CEO, LeadMD
39 years old
Connect: leadmd.com/
For eight years, Gray has served as CEO and founder of LeadMD, a leading marketing automation agency delivering results to more than 3,000 clients, out of Scottsdale. Gray's most recent endeavor, Six Bricks, is a recruiting startup built to leverage the wealth of best practices that LeadMD has created in order to educate, certify and connect today’s marketers with employers looking for talent.
Angelina Greer
President, NThreeQ Media
35 years old
Connect: nthreeq.com/
Greer founded her business NThreeQ Media more than a decade ago. The company helps clients with the marketing and branding of their businesses. From her nominator: “As business ebbs and flows, she has had the tenacity, perseverance and drive to overcome both market and employee challenges to deliver quality results for her clients … She understands what it takes to succeed as a small business.”
Dustin Johnson
Founder, Huxton
36 years old
Connect: huxtonusa.com
Johnson launched Huxton with the mission to modernize cannabis. The company’s product and cultivation process was developed to simplify the buying process and give the consumer more control over their cannabis experience. Huxton hand curates its own soil, nutrients, and organic pesticides, along with its sustainable irrigation and grow methodologies, to create its experience-based flower and artisan strains.
Casey Jones
President, Primo Pup Vet Health
31 years old
Connect: primopup.com
A graduate of ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business, Jones is driven to break down inefficiencies in a broad range of industries, from high-tech startups to the service industry. Motivated by the love he had for his Goldendoodle puppy Cabo, Jones started Primo Pup Vet Health. The company now has nearly 30 products from first aid to eye and ear care to specialty health-care products.
Brittany Maroney
President, Cheers Marketing
35 years old
Connect: Facebook
After several years in senior marketing roles in hospitality, media, e-commerce and retail, Maroney launched her own full-service public relations agency, Cheers Marketing, in 2015. The company works with clients in the Phoenix area on brand building. Brittany also writes for magazines including "UpTown," "SoScottsdale!" and "Arizona Foothills."
Steven Moak Jr.
CEO, True AfterCare
38 years old
Connect: trueaftercare.com/
Moak is the creator of True AfterCare, a recovery app designed in Arizona that connects people with personalized coaching and technology-assisted care. The program meets people where they’re at in recovery and helps to develop a personalized plan of success to prevent relapse and help people continue along in their journey. Moak founded the company as a result of his personal battle with drugs and alcohol.
Dana Narayanappa
Intuitive Business Coach
36 years old
Connect: danakalin.com
An online coach, Narayanappa's main focus is helping women set up location-free businesses online. She does this by coaching women in mindset work, wealth consciousness and business development. From her nominator: “In just three years of business, Dana has had hundreds of clients, a Facebook group of almost 4,000 people, and a business that generated $500,000 in revenue last year alone.”
Richard Nesbitt
Founder/accessibility consultant, Accessibilibuddy
30 years old
Connect: accessibilibuddy.com
Nesbitt's company aims to make the Web inclusive for everyone, with the idea that everyone can contribute something; they just have to be invited to the table. From his nominator: “Too often people with sensory difficulties are overlooked and thus left out of the conversation … Stop asking about a person's disabilities and instead celebrate everyone's unique abilities.”
David Paul
Partner, Canal Partners
32 years old
Connect: canalpartners.com
Driven by his inherent love for entrepreneurship, Paul is committed to helping the Arizona startup scene prosper. As a partner at Canal Partners, a local venture capital firm, he leads the charge on sourcing new deals and identifying profitable new investment opportunities. From his nominator: “Through his work, David is shining a light on the Valley's active venture capital ecosystem.”
Sarah Rhodes
Founder and Home Designer, Paro Home
34 years old
Connect: Instagram
Rhodes is the new founder of a home design and renovation company, Paro Home. From her nominator: “Her unique style, along with her long for historic character makes for highly coveted homes. Sarah loves Phoenix and is constantly scouring the downtown neighborhoods for the next hidden gem.”
Merle Riepe
President, SOLVE
38 years old
Connect: solve.hr
In co-founding SOLVE, Riepe saw an opportunity to help companies increase profitability based on proven psychological and leadership methods. As president, he develops client relationships and leads a team of psychologists to accelerate SOLVE's impact in the Valley and beyond. In their first year of business, SOLVE consulted with 69 clients across 15 industries nationally.
Chris Ronzio
Founder, Trainual
32 years old
Connect: Instagram
According to his nominator, “Chris’ mission has always been to help others, and his business record is a testament to that.” He started his first business at age 14. His third and most recent endeavor, Trainual, is an online platform for business owners and employees to document what they do, such as training new employees, in simple step-by-step processes.
Jenny Stradling
CEO, Eminent SEO
37 years old
Connect: eminentseo.com
Stradling co-founded Eminent SEO in 2009 as a three-person team. Since then, the company has grown to more than 20 employees, moving into a larger office space in Mesa, and has evolved from SEO-specific services to offering comprehensive digital marketing solutions. Stradling went from juggling single-motherhood and two jobs to landing a marketing job to eventually starting her own company.
Daniel Stringer
Founder/CEO, Let Hope Rise
31 years old
Connect: LinkedIn
In addition to other startup businesses, Stringer founded the non-profit Let Hope Rise in 2012 to raise awareness and funding for safe houses to shelter victims of sex trafficking. Stringer and his wife helped raise thousands of dollars, donated to organizations like the Phoenix Dream Center and the Starbright Foundation. Daniel also coaches entrepreneurs. From his nominator: “Daniel is passionate about seeing people thrive and live each day with passion and focus.”
Ro Vanaki
Co-founder, Pursuit Health
22 years old
Connect: LinkedIn
Vanaki is the VP of Business Strategy at Influence Logic, a blockchain marketing and consulting firm, and is the co-founder of a software company called Pursuit Health, which helps personal trainers and gyms save time and generate more revenue. The company was recently named one of the hottest up-and-coming startups in the Southwest by Phoenix Business Journal. From his nominator: “I have no doubt Ro will become a household name in the Phoenix entrepreneurial community in the coming years.”
Jessie Whitfield
Founder, MISGIF
32 years old
Connect: themisgif.com
A graduate of ASU’s Barrett Honors College, Whitfield is the founder of MISGIF, a unique twist on your traditional photo booth company, as she describes it. Rather than just providing a fun activity at events, the company uses photos to help brands develop creative strategies to achieve their marketing goals, such as increasing social media reach, online engagement and brand loyalty. They’ve worked with clients including Yelp and Lululemon, as well as non-profits like the Phoenix Children’s Museum and the Desert Botanical Garden.
Amanda Yantos
Owner/blogger, Dog Mom Days LLC
29 years old
Connect: Blog
Yantos is the owner of Dog Mom Days LLC, a popular pet blog in the Valley. Founded in 2013, the company inspires pet parents to live modern, meaningful lives. Yantos’ blog has been featured in several local news outlets such as "Valley Lifestyles" magazine and the East Valley Tribune. Amanda, who is involved in animal rescue in the greater Phoenix area, also speaks at conferences on how to grow your own blogging business.
READ MORE ON WHO'S NEXT: