ASHEVILLE STARTUP ENTREPRENEURS

Founders: John Clark Cochran & Russell Frelinghuysen
Site: atbay
The Lowdown: Mindful smartphone chargers created to help you unplug and sleep, without distraction.
Awesomeness:  Empowering you to physically put down your phone, take control of your own behavior and live a healthier, richer life as a result. 

Founders: Joe Scott & Jamie Sastre
Site: Postre Caramels
The Lowdown: Handmade, small batch caramels
Awesomeness:  Made with minimal, high-quality ingredients, our confections are an indulgence you can feel good about.

Founders: David & Cristina Ackley
Site: Ginger’s Revenge
The Lowdown: Specialize in alcoholic ginger beers
Awesomeness:  Dedicated to producing exciting and creative craft beverages from sustainably sourced ingredients.

Founder: John Kelley
Site: Craftpeak
The Lowdown: Complete web solutions for Craft Breweries.
Awesomeness:  Craftpeak develops software and powerful online business platforms to help breweries sell more beer, at higher margins, to a larger audience of passionate supporters.

Founder: Trey Scott
Site: WatchPitch
The Lowdown: An app for entrepreneurs and investors to maximize deal flow efficiencies.
Awesomeness:  Distribute your idea across our network and community and find investors faster than ever, globally.

Founder: Michael Dodson
Site: Blueprint Summer Programs
The Lowdown: Pre-college summer programs across the country
Awesomeness:  BP Summer programs help high schools students get ready for college – through specialized programming focused on the college application and transition process.

Founder: Nick Moen
Site: The Bright Angle
The Lowdown: Handmade design brand focusing on contemporary design
Awesomeness:  Embracing craft and technology to bring small-batch handmade goods to fruition through maker-designer collaboration.

Founder: Lee Lance
Site: ecobot
The Lowdown: Environmental monitoring, reporting, and forecasting 
Awesomeness:  ecobot is revolutionary software that changes how humanity interacts with the environment.

Founder: Jason & Alyssa Moore
Site: Elite HRV
The Lowdown: Global Leader in Heart Rate Variability
Awesomeness:  Elite HRV provides personalized advanced biomarker assessments to help consumers optimize health and performance.

Founder: Rob Lenfestey
Site: Mandala Naturals
The Lowdown: Handcrafted Raw Chocolate Bars
Awesomeness:  Certified Organic, guaranteed non-GMO, B-Corp Certified 

Founder: Adam Freeman
Site: Haka Athletic
The Lowdown: Carbon Fiber Shin Guards
Awesomeness: Aerospace grade carbon fiber, high impact PoronXRD® Foam, 3D printed silicone grip, anti-microbial to prevent odors, almost weightless

Founder: Ginger Frank
Site: Poppy
The Lowdown: Handcrafted Popcorn
Awesomeness:  Poppy is the kind of snack we always wanted to eat, but it just didn’t exist yet.

Founder: Jon Nilsson
Site: CharGrow
The Lowdown: Carbon-based inoculants for soil
Awesomeness:  Refines ancient tech for modern day use

Co-Founders: Gretchen & Matthew Brown
Site: Munki
The Lowdown: Globally-inspired trail mix and nuts
Awesomeness:  Sold in 20+ stores, including Whole Foods

Co-Founders: Allison Blake & Elisa Van Arnam
Site: SoulKu
The Lowdown: Handcrafted gemstone jewelry
Awesomeness:  Percentage of proceeds benefits nonprofits for women

Founder: Jeffrey Cox
Site: BrewStream
The Lowdown: SaaS for breweries
Awesomeness:  Employees record info on any internet-connected device

Founder: Ryan Lansche
Site: GEARU
The Lowdown: Outdoor gear membership program
Awesomeness:  Brand new gear every season

Co-Founders: Laura Jorgensen & Staci Dietzel
Site: The RunnerBox
The Lowdown: Subscription box for athletes
Awesomeness:  Relocated to Asheville from Boulder for the entrepreneurship ecosystem

Founder: Tony Wavering
Site: bidPress
The Lowdown: Online custom apparel marketplace
Awesomeness:  Google, Spotify, and L’Oreal are customers

Founder: Justin Belleme
Site: JB Media Institute
The Lowdown: Training courses in Internet marketing
Awesomeness:  Students create real Internet marketing plans for their companies

Founder: Paul Hedgecock
Site: UGoTour
The Lowdown: Free tour guide mobile app
Awesomeness:  Over 1,000 unique StoryPoint™ presentations

Founder: Lincoln Walters
Site: Happy Legs Club
The Lowdown: Premium razor delivery for women
Awesomeness:  Brand video went viral on Facebook with 360K views

Founder: Jon Daggerhart
Site: Efficiency Lab
The Lowdown: Software for the energy sector
Awesomeness:  Serves more than 80 percent of the world’s active nuclear plants

Founder: Dr. Alan Baumgarten
Site: H2PRO
The Lowdown: Daily probiotic and vitamin blends
Awesomeness:  MD founder informed by 30+ years of patient care

Co-Founders: Chad Oliphant & Sarah Yancey
Site: Smiling Hara Tempeh
The Lowdown: Produces organic, low- and unpasteurized, locally-sourced tempeh
Awesomeness:  Created Hempeh, the first ever hemp fortified, soy-free tempeh

Founder: Jeff Hicks
Site: FernLeaf Interactive
The Lowdown: Builds climate resilience software solutions
Awesomeness:  Partnered with federal agencies to spearhead the resilience component of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan

Founder: Evans Prater
Site: Mount Inspiration
The Lowdown: 100% organic and recycled outdoor apparel
Awesomeness:  5% of profits are donated to environmental protection non-profits

Co-Founders: Ilana Alberico & Christina Stratton
Site: Innovative Spa Management
The Lowdown: Turnkey luxury spa management and consulting
Awesomeness:  Inc. 5000 fastest growing company in 2013 & 2014

Co-Founders: Madison Eddings & Ben Eisdorfer
Site: Pro(tech)t
The Lowdown: Wearable technology to prevent sexual assault
Awesomeness:  3rd place in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

Founder: Scarlett Sturgis
Site: Wickbox
The Lowdown: Provides a curated luxury candle subscription service
Awesomeness:  Watch happy customers unbox their hauls on Wickbox’s YouTube channel

Founder: Andrew Walters
Site: Harvest to Market
The Lowdown: Brings farmers’ markets online
Awesomeness:  20+ online farmers’ markets

Co-Founders: Casey Hite & Don Hite
Site: Aeroflow Healthcare
The Lowdown: Supplier of home medical equipment
Awesomeness:  A 2-time Inc. 5000 fastest growing company (2015-16)

Founder: Tim Draegen
Site: dmarcian
The Lowdown: Industrial-strength email security
Awesomeness: Created free DMARC training curriculum

Founder: Tal Frankfurt
Site: CRM Market
The Lowdown: Online marketplace for Salesforce projects
Awesomeness:  2nd venture for founder of a 2-time Inc. 5000 company

Co-Founders: Ben Matchar & Kris Hartrum
Site: Talking Book
The Lowdown: Independent audiobook retailer and publisher
Awesomeness: Recently teamed up with indie publishing giant Melville House

Co-Founders: Brian Simpson & Brent Manning
Site: Riverbend Malt
The Lowdown: Locally farmed malts for craft breweries
Awesomeness:  Developed a local food system

Founder: Porter Bayne
Site: Antenna
The Lowdown: Increases reader engagement with a simple, mobile-first tool for online publishers and retailers
Awesomeness:  30 million uniques in the Antenna network

Co-Founder: Jeremy Littlejohn
Site: RISC Networks
The Lowdown: SaaS platform to migrate IT operations to the cloud
Awesomeness: Clients such as IBM and Cisco Systems

Co-Founders: Matt Johnson & Stan Cross
Site: BrightField
The Lowdown: Solar-integrated charging stations for electric cars
Awesomeness: First U.S. solar-integrated station of its kind in Asheville

Co-Founders: Damien & Derek Hoffman
Site: The Cheat Sheet
The Lowdown: Top US site for everything modern man should know
Awesomeness: A Quantcast Top 125 website, 14 million monthly visitors

Co-Founders: Russ Stinehour & Troy Tolle
Site: Digital Chalk
The Lowdown: Learning management system for online courses & training
Awesomeness: Clients include Kauffman Foundation & Duke University

Founder: George Wheeler
Site: Cab Hound
The Lowdown: Cloud based apps and services for taxi industry
Awesomeness: Generates a new trip per minute in cities from Atlanta to NYC

Co-Founder: Meg Ragland
Site: Plum Print
The Lowdown: Transform your kids’ artwork into a coffee table book
Awesomeness: Raised a $1 Million seed round in early 2015

Founder: Matt Parris
Site: Roots
Lowdown: Small batch vegan hummus
Awesomeness: Vegan, non-GMO, and mostly organic ingredients, never any preservatives

Founder: David Lindrum
Site: Soomo Learning
The Lowdown: Interactive online textbooks for students
Awesomeness: Provides webtexts to about 90 U.S. colleges

Co-Founder: Dale Freudenberger
Site: FLS Energy
The Lowdown: Design, install and finance utility-scale solar projects
Awesomeness: 5-time Inc. 5000 Honoree

Co-Founders: Sarah Schomber & Jeannine Buscher
Site: Buchi
The Lowdown: Commercial kombucha brewery
Awesomeness: Fast Company’s “Drive Your Business Forward” winner

Founder:  Bob Moog; CEO: Mike Adams
Site: Moog Music
Lowdown: Inventor of the synthesizer
Awesomeness: Used by Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, David Bowie, and The Beatles

Founder: Clark Harris
Site: LoLo
The Lowdown: Rewards platform for supporting local businesses
Awesomeness: A “buy local” program that literally saves you money

Co-Founders: Kendall Weaver & Shane Remington
Site: Peppermint
The Lowdown: Linux operating system adopted by customers worldwide
Awesomeness: Seamlessly integrates the cloud into desktop apps

Founder: Angela Newnam
Site: Knock out!
The Lowdown: Makes sexy underwear with high-tech functionality
Awesomeness: Winner, Harvard B-School Business Plan Competition

Founder: Becky Cannon
Site: i play.
The Lowdown: Baby-friendly natural products
Awesomeness: Winner & finalist of tons of best baby product awards

VP Information Technology: Cindy Ireland
Site: Doctor Directory
The Lowdown: Online healthcare industry insights & marketing platform
Awesomeness: $65M acquisition of DD is largest tech deal in WNC history

Founder: Doss Church
Site: Galaxy Digital
The Lowdown: Volunteer management software for member-based organizations
Awesomeness: 10,000 non-profits use its system

Co-Founders: Sarah Duran & Brad Pearsall
Site: BRÖÖ
The Lowdown: Beauty products made with handcrafted micro brews
Awesomeness: Won Delicious Living’s “Breakthrough Company 2013”

Founder: Kurtis Powers
Site: Happy Tap
The Lowdown: Draught beer systems cleaning and installation
Awesomeness: Clean taps equal better beer and business revenues

Founder: Philip Curry
Site: Astral
The Lowdown: Gear for water-sport enthusiasts
Awesomeness: Exclusive PFD sponsor of the 2013 US freestyle kayak team

Founder: Adam Masters
Site: Bellyak
The Lowdown: Face first kayaking, from tame to adventurous
Awesomeness: Created a fun new product category in boating

Founder: Jackson Anderson
Site: Blue Blaze Soda
The Lowdown: All-natural soda syrups made from real and local ingredients
Awesomeness: Find on tap at restaurants via deal with RC Cola

Founder: Trevor Lohrbeer
Site: Lab Escape
The Lowdown: Data visualization software to make smarter decisions
Awesomeness: Visualize 10,000+ organized data points on a single screen

Co-Founders:  Adora Winquist & Laura McCann Ramsey
Site: ADORAtherapy
Lowdown: Essential oils and aromatherapy products
Awesomeness: Founders have global expertise in fashion retail & essential oils

Co-Founders: Flori & Ted Pate
Site: Dig Local
The Lowdown: Find locally owned places to shop, eat, and socialize
Awesomeness: Born from Asheville Startup Weekend

Co-Founders: Graham and Andrea DuVall
Site: Mother Earth Produce
The Lowdown: Farm-to-door produce delivery service
Awesomeness: Won the Southeast’s Tap the Future semi-finals pitch competition

Co-Founders: Sadrah Schadel & Mike Woliansky
Site: No Evil Foods
The Lowdown: Healthy plant-based meat substitutes
Awesomeness: Order “plant meats” from its online “butcher shop”

Founder: Gay W. Lam
Site: Seltzer Goods
The Lowdown: Eco-Friendly Greeting cards, gift items, and other products
Awesomeness: Created designs for Barnes & Noble, a Fortune 500 Co.

Co-founder: Nathan Masters
Site: SimpleShot Shooting Sports
The Lowdown: Precision slingshots and accessories
Awesomeness: Founder won the 2015 East Coast Slingshot Championship

Founder:  Mary Lynn Schroeder
Site: In blue handmade
Lowdown: Handcrafted leather goods
Awesomeness: #1 best-selling leather goods shop on Etsy.com

Co-Founders: Drue & Allen Ray
Site: SimplyHome
The Lowdown: Smart home-monitoring systems to support independent living
Awesomeness: Tech featured on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Founder: Mary Tantillo
Site: Dolci di Maria
The Lowdown: Gluten and dairy-free fine Italian desserts
Awesomeness: Now available at Whole Foods locations across the south

Co-Founder: Joe Masters Emison
Site: BuildFax
The Lowdown: Collects and organizes construction records of U.S. properties
Awesomeness: First of its kind national data source for property condition

Founder: Brendan Sherar
Site: Biblio
The Lowdown: E-commerce site offering used, rare and out-of-print books
Awesomeness: Carries 85M books from 5K independent bookstores

Co-Founders: Ty Hallock & Duncan Work
Site: Trusted Sharing
The Lowdown: App developer changing the way we use social media to interact
Awesomeness: Co-founder Duncan is former LinkedIn Chief Science Officer

Founder: Bob Miller
Site: RASP Technology
The Lowdown: Chemical and pharmaceutical production
Awesomeness: Named 2014 Innovation Fund NC award winner

Founder: Loran Evans
Site: Rightline Gear
Lowdown: Soft car top carriers and truck/SUV tents
Awesomeness: Improves fuel efficiency and packs away easily

Founder: Sean O’Connell
Site: Creative Allies
The Lowdown: Runs online competitions to design merchandise for rockstars
Awesomeness: Clients include The Black Keys, Billy Joel & Mariah Carey

Founder: Rod Baird
Site: gEHRiMed
The Lowdown: SaaS platform to manage electronic health records
Awesomeness: gEHRiMed increases work quality, 50% more time efficient

Founder: Bruce Dannenberg
Site: Phytonix
The Lowdown: Biofuels and industrial chemicals from cyanobacteria
Awesomeness: Patented, super-efficient process utilizes photosynthesis

Founder: Jack Carrier
Site: Dog Tag Art
The Lowdown: E-commerce site for personalized dog tags
Awesomeness: Pet tag technology ensures tags are always up-to-date

Founder: Kenan Hopkins
Site: Valet Gourmet
The Lowdown: Food delivery service operating across NC and eastern TN
Awesomeness: Lowest turnover rate of drivers among any comparable services

Co-Founder: Hans Hegge
Site: Text Ripple
The Lowdown: Mobile marketing platform to maximize marketing efforts
Awesomeness: Clients such as Proctor & Gamble and Century 21