Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Mountain Desert Region Award. The Mountain Desert Region program celebrates entrepreneurs from Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Now in its 35th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors audacious business leaders whose ambition, courage and ingenuity help catapult us from now to next and beyond. These 25 entrepreneurs were selected as finalists by a panel of independent judges comprised of previous award winners and other business leaders.
Award winners will be announced during a special virtual celebration on July 28, 2021, and will join the ranks of a lifelong community of esteemed Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world.
The 2021 Mountain Desert Region finalists are:
- Jenn Knight & Niranjan Sabharwal | AgentSync, Inc. (Denver, Colo.)
- Amir Genosar | Aktiv Pharma Group (Broomfield, Colo.)
- Matanya Horowitz | AMP Robotics (Louisville, Colo.)
- Dan Dye | Ardent Mills, LLC (Denver, Colo.)
- Blake Scholl | Boom Technology, Inc. (Englewood, Colo.)
- Bill Beans Jr. | Congruex (Boulder, Colo.)
- Debbie James | Cranial Technologies, Inc. (Tempe, Ariz.)
- Cully Cavness | Crusoe Energy Systems (Denver, Colo.)
- Fred Kneip | CyberGRX (Denver, Colo.)
- Andrew Leto & Michael Leto | EmergeTech, LLC (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
- Brian Egan | Evolve (Denver, Colo.)
- Jacob Findlay | Fullbay Inc (Phoenix, Ariz.)
- Luke Johnson | Neat Capital (Boulder, Colo.)
- Drew Nelson | NITROcrete (Fort Collins, Colo.)
- Andrew Smith | Outrider (Golden, Colo.)
- Stephen Adele | Quickbox Fulfillment (Denver, Colo.)
- Michael Rucker | Scout Clean Energy (Boulder, Colo.)
- Raphael Crawford-Marks | Smartly, Inc. (dba Bonusly) (Boulder, Colo.)
- Theirry Schellenbach & Tommaso Barbugli | Stream (Boulder, Colo.)
- Chris Riopelle | Strive Health (Denver, Colo.)
- Chris Ronzio | Trainual (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
- Seth Anderson | Weifield Group Contracting Inc. (Centennial, Colo.)
Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive business awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. Finalists were evaluated based on six criteria: entrepreneurial leadership; talent management; degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact and building a values-based company; and originality, innovation and future plans. Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries throughout the world.
“This year’s finalists are the next class in a long line of unstoppable visionaries,” said Innocent Shumba, US-West EY Private Leader. “They have been carefully selected by our independent panel of judges for their unwavering commitment to their companies, customers and communities in a year of unprecedented change. We are thrilled to share their inspiring stories this year.”
Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, to be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2022.
Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners have exclusive, ongoing access to the experience, insight and wisdom of fellow alumni and other ecosystem members in over 60 countries — all supported by vast EY resources.
Mountain Desert Region Focus
Each year, EY US showcases successful entrepreneurs from 20 regional competitions across the United States. In 2020, nine entrepreneurs leading companies from the Mountain Desert Region were selected as Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners. Past award winners in the Mountain Desert Region include: Ernie Garcia, Carvana; Traci Lounsbury, Elements; David Freedman and Chris Stark, Freestar; Troy Swope, Footprint; Rachel Carlson, Guild Education; Mike Fries, Liberty Global; Dan Burns and Dan Wilson, Optiv; Albert DaCosta, Paragon 28; David Barnett, PopSockets; David Birzon, Snooze, an AM Eatery; Chris Volk, STORE Capital; Adrian Tuck, Uplight; Robert Katz, Vail Resorts; and Lani Dolifka, Watermill Express; among others. For a full list of past winners, please visit the Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame.
For information on the Entrepreneur Of The Year Mountain Desert Region program, please visit please visit www.ey.com/us/eoy/md. Join the conversation on social media using #EOYMTN and #EOYUS.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America and the Kauffman Foundation.
In the Mountain Desert Region, sponsors also include PNC, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Colliers International, Woodruff Sawyer and the Denver Business Journal.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. National Overall winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title. ey.com/us/eoy
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