Austin Martin, Rhymes with Reason

Challenge Member Company Website: www.RhymesWithReason.com Founded in 2015, Rhymes with Reason is an education tech company that teaches students words and helps boost literacy skills using music lyrics via a web app. Founder Austin Martin participated in a 2018 Founders First accelerator program—he even won the pitch contest. We caught up with him to see […]

Chrissybil Boulin, Jump Start Tutoring

Chrissybill Boulin

  Challenge Member Company Website: www.JumpStartTutors.com Chrissybil Boulin is the Founder and President of Jump Start Tutoring, an at-home and online private tutoring company that serves students in grades K to 12 with test prep, college entrance, and educational consulting in South Florida and across the U.S. We caught up with Chrissybil to find out […]

Johnathon Bush, Not Just Cookies Bakery

  Challenge Member Company Website: www.NotJustCookies.com Johnathon Bush is the founder of Not Just Cookies Wholesale Bakery, an online, direct-to-consumer bakery that ships amazing desserts across the U.S. We caught up with Johnathan to find out how things had been going since he participated in the Founders First accelerator program (and hoped to sweeten him […]

Koko Hayashi, Mirai Clinical

Koko Hayashi Photo

  Bootcamp and FastPath Member Company Website: www.MiraiClinical.com Koko Hayashi is the founder of Mirai Clinical, which makes deodorizing products for seniors concerned with body odor associated with aging. We caught up with her recently to find out how her business has been going since she went through the Founders First accelerator program. We chatted […]

Valarie King-Bailey, OnShore Technology Group

  Bootcamp and FastPath Member Company Website: https://onshoretech.com OnShore Technology Group is a global independent validation and verification (IV&V) firm specializing in the development and delivery of innovative products and services that power lean validation processes. They built an application called ValidationMaster, which helps life sciences companies meet FDA regulatory mandates for computer systems validation.  […]

Dwayne Bryant, Inner Vision International

  Winter ’21 Bootcamp Member Company Website: http://www.inner-vision-international.com This month’s Founders First Community Member Spotlight is Dwayne Bryant, the Founder and CEO of Inner Vision International, Inc. Inner Vision provides mentoring services and online learning to various educational institutions to improve in-school climate, student academics and parental involvement, and to reduce self-destructive student behaviors. When […]

Breaking Through the Inc. 5000 Glass Ceiling, Part 2

Two minority, female entrepreneurs – and Founders First Fast Path grads – have joined the ranks of the historically white, male Inc. 5000. Here at Founders First, we’re proud to support diverse leaders with funding, growth advisory services, and recognition as they drive toward a more inclusive economy. We expect in the future, the inclusion […]

Breaking Through the Inc. 5000 Glass Ceiling, Part 1

Paulette - Founders First

Two minority, female entrepreneurs – and Founders First Fast Path grads – have joined the ranks of the historically white, male Inc. 5000. Founders First recently announced that two Los Angeles-based members of the Founders First FastPath program, a business accelerator program exclusively for diverse-led companies generating $1 million or more in annual revenue, have […]