Venture for America and UBS Announce 2016 UBS Venture Catalyst Award Winners
Previous Award Winners Banza and Castle featured in documentary Generation Startup, Premiering September 23
at IFC Center in New York City
UBS and Venture for America (VFA) today announced the winners of the 2016 UBS Venture Catalyst Awards. The awards,
funded by UBS, total $150,000, and are grant seed investments for VFA alumni-founded startups to help drive growth and
development.
Venture for America is a fellowship program that helps recent college graduates launch their careers as entrepreneurs and at the
same time to revitalize American cities including Detroit, New Orleans and Baltimore. The goal is to fuel job growth while
empowering talented young people to create value in their communities. Twenty-five percent of VFA fellows have gone on to launch
their own ventures.
The 2016 UBS Venture Catalyst Award Winners are:
-
Arthur, co-founded by Leigh Sevin and Jinesh Shah: partners customers with a professional stylist to bring
the latest looks for the upcoming season without leaving home
-
Doze, co-founded by Brendan Rice and Russell Suskind: an ecommerce mattress company for college students and
recent grads
-
Emile, co-founded by Charlie Molthrop and Nazli Danis: an SMS-based accountability companion that helps with
personal goals
-
Felix Gray, founded by David Roger: stylish computer glasses to reduce eye strain and filter damaging blue
light
-
Larvio, founded by Andrew Jones: a new, efficient method of organic waste recycling that produces livestock
feed in addition to soil amendments
-
Naturall, co-founded by Muhga Eltigani: unique hair care products from all natural ingredients
- Pinch Crawfish Kitchen, founded by Sean Wen: Southeast Asian street food kitchen with a focus on delicious food, community
building and cultural engagement based in San Antonio, TX
- Aha Plant Life, founded by Sara Cullen: culinary-driven brand creating nutritious, delicious and accessible hemp beverages
that celebrate the power of plant-based living
-
Potluck, co-founded by Dillon Myers: a social video platform that helps connect people with common interests
to never eat alone
-
Synotrac, co-founded by Forrest Miller: an implantable medical device that enables proactive monitoring for
and early detection of post-surgical infection
"Seeing Venture for America alums take on the challenge of building companies and creating value is incredibly invigorating. I
have no doubt that many of these teams will achieve great things in the months ahead," said Andrew Yang, Founder and CEO of Venture
for America. "We’re incredibly grateful to our friends at UBS for their partnership in launching the next generation of American
entrepreneurs."
In 2014, the inaugural year of the UBS Venture Catalyst Award, Banza (a chickpea pasta company) and Castle (a property management system) were among the early-stage companies to receive the grants. The founders
of these companies are prominent characters in the upcoming UBS-funded documentary, Generation Startup. The film captures the struggles and triumphs of six VFA Fellows who put everything on the
line to build startups in Detroit. Generation Startup premieres September 23, 2016 at the IFC Center in New York City.
"From the earliest days, we saw the potential of VFA to impact communities across the country," said Lori Feinsilver, Head of
Community Affairs, UBS Americas. "Through the UBS Venture Catalyst Awards, our hope is to build on the foundation that VFA provides
their fellows and ensure their continued development."
Notes to Editors
About UBS AG
UBS draws on its 150-year heritage to serve private, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in
Switzerland. Its business strategy is centered on its pre-eminent global wealth management businesses and its leading universal
bank in Switzerland. Together with a client-focused Investment Bank and a strong, well-diversified Global Asset Management
business, UBS will expand its premier wealth management franchise and drive further growth across the Group.
UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 countries, with about 35% of its
employees working in the Americas, 36% in Switzerland, 17% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 12% in Asia
Pacific. UBS employs about 61,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).
About Venture for America
Venture for America is a fellowship program for enterprising recent college graduates to launch their careers as entrepreneurs
and revitalize American cities. After five weeks of training, VFA Fellows spend two years in the trenches of a startup in an
emerging U.S. city where they learn how to contribute to a high-growth business. Afterwards, VFA provides the mentorship, network,
and resources Fellows need to become entrepreneurs.
Venture for America’s goal is to fuel job growth in cities throughout the U.S. while empowering our best and brightest to create
value in their communities. They aim to produce effective and high-character builders who will found and lead quality organizations
throughout their careers.
For more information visit www.ventureforamerica.org.
About Generation Startup
Generation Startup takes us to the front lines of entrepreneurship in America, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six
recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, it’s an honest,
in-the-trenches look at what it takes to launch a startup. Directed by Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade and award-winning
filmmaker Cheryl Miller Houser, the film celebrates risk-taking, urban revitalization, and diversity while delivering a vital
call-to-action—with entrepreneurship at a record low, the country’s economic future is at stake.
UBS AG
Media Inquiries
Gregg Rosenberg, +1-212-713-8842
gregg.rosenberg@ubs.com
or
Leandra Elberger, +1-516-567-4529
leandra@ventureforamerica.org
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