In the spirit of celebrating Women’s History Month, we’re shining a spotlight on 24 trailblazing tech founders who are breaking barriers, shattering glass ceilings, and leaving an indelible mark on the entrepreneurial landscape in the Southeast. These women are rewriting the narrative around women in tech with their innovative ideas. From AI leaders to HealthTech pros, we are diving into the stories of 24 dynamic leaders you should have your eyes on in 2024:
Maria Toler: Founding Partner at SteelSky Ventures(Women’s Health Tech – Atlanta)
Toler is on a mission to change how we think about access, care, and outcomes in women’s health. Toler moved to Atlanta in 2020 and now looks at women’s health companies across the country. Her early-stage VC firm, which raised a $72 million fund in 2022, has invested in 23 startups to date, according to Crunchbase. Earlier this year, Toler was part of a roundtable discussion on women’s health with First Lady Jill Biden.
Erika Tyburski: CEO and Co-founder of Sanguina, Inc. (HealthTech – Atlanta )
Erika Tyburksi, a graduate of Georgia Tech, has been working on diagnostic and wellness tools. Her company Sanguina is launching its first platform, AnemoCheck, for anemia management and includes FDA-cleared home test kits for hemoglobin determination. Sanguina recently pitched at Pitch Atlanta, a popular event for investors at Atlanta Tech Village.
Azza Diasti-Kennedy: Founder & CEO of PetHarmony (Veterinary Tech – Tampa)
If your four-legged friend is the baby in your family, you are going to want to check out what Azza Diasti-Kennedy is building over at PetHarmony. The telehealth veterinary services app for pets & pet owners got off the ground based on her own decades of experience as a veterinarian. Embarc Collective put together an impressive profile of Diasti-Kennedy here.
Kayla Rodriquez Graff: Co-founder and CEO of SweetBio (BioTech – Memphis)
For Kayla Rodriquez Graff, honey isn’t just a sweet thing to add to tea. It can also be the key to how we take care of terrible skin wounds. SweetBio is her medical device company that turns bioengineering honey into wound care products. Graff, who lives in and is building SweetBio in Memphis, was one stage last year at the 3686 Conference in Nashville to pitch the future of SweetBio.
Melody Lovvorn: Founder of EVA (Mental Health Tech – Birmingham)
Mental health platforms are popular in the current HealthTech space. And, of course, AI is the hot button tech issue of our time. Melody Lovvorn is building EVA at the intersection of Mental HealthTech and AI. The AI-powered mental health companion provides advanced emotional virtual health assistance and coaching. On top of EVA, Lovvorn is the CEO of Enneagramiam, LLC.
Marzeah Khorrambadi & Cassandra McIltrot: Co-founders of StrideLink (Medical Device – Atlanta)
Marzeah Khorrambadi and Cassandra McIltrot, and fellow co-founder Neel Narvekar, are recent Georgia Tech graduates building simple and affordable wearable tech. StrideLink is making it easier to quantify gait analysis and help users better understand their health. You can read more about what StrideLink is building in a recent Hypepotamus profile on Atlanta’s expanding medical device ecosystem.
Gideon Thomas: Founder and CEO of Serious Health (HealthTech & AgeTech – Chattanooga)
As the country ages, the AgeTech scene continues to grow. One of the AgeTech founders to know in the Southeast is Gideon Thomas with Serious Health. The platform focuses on placing elderly and disabled clients into the personal homes of Nurses to care for their daily needs. Founded in 2019, Serious Health has received important backing from LaunchTN. Catch up on what Thomas is building in a recent LaunchTN blog post.
Joyce Grimes: President & Co-founder at SolMicroGrid (CleanTech – Alpharetta)
Not only is Joyce Grimes a successful business author and business owner, she is now looking to transform how we think about reliable power options. SolMicroGrid makes it possible to bring convenient microgrid systems into more convenient stores and retail outlets. SolMicroGrid, based out of Alpharetta, Georgia, is powered by an investment by Morgan Stanley Energy Partners, which the team landed in 2021. The team has also landed partnerships with major brands like Chick-Fil-A.
Anna Douglas: Co-founder and CEO of SkyNano (CleanTech – Knoxville)
The Southeast’s CleanTech world is expanding, and Anna Douglas is part of putting the region on the innovation map. As CEO of SkyNano, Douglas is creating advanced carbon materials produced directly from CO2 emissions from industrial sources. The team has received grant funding from the US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and Launch Tennessee, according to Crunchbase.
Alex Edquist: Founder of Good Agriculture (AgTech – Atlanta)
After building her career in consulting, Alex Edquist is looking to transform the world of regenerative agriculture through stronger business platforms. Her platform, Good Agriculture, helps farmers deal with their paperwork so they can get back to what’s important: Growing their crops.
Jessica Hubley: Founder of Story LLP (LegalTech – Atlanta)
After working her way up at some of the country’s biggest law firms, Hubley saw just how hard it was for founders to get the legal advice they really needed. She started Story LLP to change its own AI-powered model, which includes customized on-premise language models, to “[protect] privilege and [prevent] conflicts of interest.” On top of running Story LLP, Hubley is helping bring female founders and investors together with the Women Founders + Investors ATL group on LinkedIn.
Leah Del Percio: Co-founder of Trustate (LegalTech – Tampa)
After building a successful career at big law firms like DLA Piper, Leah Del Percio moved in the startup world to streamline how people and lawyers deal with estate planning. Trustate, which Del Percio launched in 2020, helps users with their important trust and estate administration and planning. Hypepotamus recently highlighted Del Percio in our Get To Know The CEO series.
Emilie Schario: Founder and CEO at Turbine (Software – Columbus, GA)
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software Turbine is designed to help companies better manage and holistically understand their data. That is something founder Emilie Schario is passionate about, after building her career at GitLab and Netlify. You can go in-depth on how Schario thinks about business data in a recent Hypepotamus profile.
Nikki Sanz: Founder and CEO of Giggs (MusicTech – Nashville)
Nashville is the spot for musicians. And in recent years, it has become the place for technologists looking to transform the music industry. Nikki Sanz is launching a social media-style platform to do just that. Giggs is designed specifically for those looking to land their next gig on a major music tour. Before launching Giggs, Sanz built her career in the music production world.
Virginia Lee Trinkle: Co-founder and CEO of Werkx (HRTech – Birmingham)
Virginia Lee Trinkle is no stranger to the Birmingham, Alabama startup scene. Before co-founding Werkx, she served as a Director at Shipt, the popular grocery delivery service acquired by Target. With Werkx, Trinkle is looking to change how people navigate their career journey. The jobs marketplace connects verified candidates with immediate job opportunities through the push of a button.
Ashlyn Greer: Founder at Fashivly (RetailTech – Charlotte)
A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Ashlyn Greer launched Fashivly as a personal fashion and style platform that connects users with stylists. Greer turned an initial $2,5000 investment into $300,000 in company revenue and has an impressive social media following.
Shante Frazier and Lauren Mitchell (Grant): Co-founders of WellCapped (Ecommerce – Atlanta)
WellCapped is a data driven beauty company that enables members to access a shared inventory of high quality wigs and hair extensions. The pre-seed company has sold out of its inventory, a sign that there is overwhelming interest in what Frazier and Mitchell are building in the ecommerce and beauty space.
Cara Marin: Co-founder and CEO of Stashpad (Software – Durham)
Stashpad describes itself as an uncomplicated note-taking app for collaborative work. Cara Marin, who co-founded the company in 2019, is a software engineer turned entrepreneur. Stashpad, which is backed by the Triangle Tweener Fund, puts out helpful resources for all those looking to boost their work productivity across their teams.
Maria Underwood: Founder of Fundrage (App – Birmingham)
Maria Underwood doesn’t just want you to get mad. She wants you to “get giving,” Fundrage is an app that makes it easy to donate to nonprofits that are tackling issues that resonate the most with each user. Beyond being a tech founder, Underwood is the president of Birmingham Bound, an organization looking to grow the city’s tech ecosystem.
Lauren Glass Mullins: Co-founder of Personality Pool (HRTech – Kingsport, Tennessee)
Lauren Glass Mullins saw a big problem in the hiring space. Quite frankly, resumes don’t tell the full story of a candidate since they don’t let their personality shine. That’s why Mullins built Personality Pool. The hiring platform has gained significant traction recently. Glass was the first to receive funding from InvestTN, a $70 million fund designed to back Tennessee startups. Read about the investment in a recent Hypepotamus profile.
Precious Price: Co-founder and CMO at Gather (Atlanta)
Could ADUs (accessory dwelling units) help the US solve its housing crisis? There are several unique startups looking to make ADUs the next big thing in housing. Precious Price launched Gather last year to help the space grow. The startup serves as the industry’s first interactive dashboard that allows homeowners to explore, plan, and manage their ADU build.
Rachel (Radulovich) Orrino: Co-founder, Head of Design at Rownd (B2B – Raleigh)
After building up her UX career at IBM, Rachel Orrino launched Rownd in 2022. The B2B platforms serves helps with SaaS frictionless authentication. The Y Combinator-backed startup out of North Carolina has brought in an impressive list of investors over the years, including the Triangle Tweener Fund, Alumni Ventures, and Plug and Play.
