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#1001 Valencia Key: Philadelphia, PA
From growing up in homeless shelters, to owning a brand that’s sold on QVC, Lia Key overcame enormous obstacles to make her dream a reality. Lia is the founder of the Philadelphia based jewelry brand “Valencia Key”, a company on a mission to help people believe in themselves and find their light.

#1002 HEX Ferments: Baltimore, MD
Maegan Carpenter grew up canning with her family, but she never thought she’d turn fermenting foods into a career. After countless licensing and zoning challenges, she and her husband founded Hex Ferments, a successful company that uses traditional fermentation to preserve and transform local, organic ingredients into nourishing foods.

#1003 The Rounds: Philadelphia, PA
Alex Torrey is a former CIA employee who founded The Rounds, a company that refills your non-perishable pantry items and picks up your empty containers. Like the modern-day milkman, but for sustainable staples. Focused on reducing waste and creating convenience, The Rounds are on their way to becoming a household name.

#1004 Dream First Studios- Baltimore, MD
Don Trunk is a music producer dedicated to giving artists a space to be themselves and create music in a safe and comfortable environment. From recording music in his grandma’s basement to building a highly reputable full-service studio, Don is helping to make artists dreams come true.

#1005 Surfsup: Portersville, PA
Ian Smith the owner of SurfSup, a company that offers guided standup whitewater Paddle Boarding tours and instruction. Ian turned four paddleboards and a vision into a successful company that mentors inner city youth through ecological education, Ian is doing well, by doing good.

#1006 Essex Squeeze: Lower East Side, Manhattan NYCCedric Hernandez and Charles De La Cruz are the owners of Essex Squeeze, a juice bar that offers a healthy taste of New York City flavor. From running bridges in NYC to serving up delicious juice, Cedric and Charles are focused on helping people find a healthy balance through exercise and nutrition.

#1007 Olde Town Overhaul: New Kensington, PA
Mike Malcanas is the founder of Olde Towne Overhaul, a company on a mission to revive Downtown New Kensington and open doors for new business owners. Mike started with a vision of what “could be” for the city of New Kensington, and his efforts are changing the future of this Pennsylvania community.

#1008 ConConnect: Harlem, NYC
Founded by Andre Peart, Conconnect is a company that has revolutionized the process of reentry by connecting formerly incarcerated people with services instantly. Going through the process himself, Andre recognized the challenges that were leading to high recidivism rates, and decided to create a system that would give the formerly incarcerated a real chance at successful re-entry.

#1009 Churn Homemade Ice Cream and Coffee: Gibsonia, PA
Churn is a business committed to coffee, community and delicious homemade Ice Cream. Founder Kelley Costa has overcome enormous health challenges to create a successful, multi-location homemade ice cream and coffee shop.

#1010 Water Song: Baltimore, MD
Water Song is a restaurant that brings the traditions and flavors from founder Colin Liang’s hometown of Yunnan Province, China. Originally coming to America to study business, Colin’s life took a series of twists and turns that led him right back to his roots.

#1011 Black and Mobile: Philadelphia, PA
David and Aaron Cabello are the founders of Black and Mobile. A food delivery company that is on a mission to help elevate underserved black owned businesses. Focused on businesses that are often overlooked, Black and Mobile provides them with the technology they need to not only expand their customer base and stay competitive in this rapid changing economy.

#1012 Timbuk2 Academy: Trenton, NJ
Ayana Abdul-Raheem, the founder of Timbuk2 Academy, a private, independent institution that offers high-quality holistic, arts and education and personal development programs for girls/young ladies ages 9-22. Ayana has committed herself to teaching young ladies that they are born worthy, unleashing their full potential through amazing experiences and life-based education.

#1013 Module: Pittsburgh, PA
Brian Gaudio and Drew Brisley founded Module, a company that builds customizable, energy efficient Modular homes. Brian had a dream of combating the housing crisis with quality-controlled housing built in a fraction of the time of traditional construction. With Module, Brian and Drew are seeing that vision come to life.