Mitra Rasan, founder of Seattle-based Buttermilk Co. (The Buttermilk Co. Photo)
The nominees for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category at this year’s GeekWire Awards prove that you can accomplish a lot by the time you’re 30 if you catch the startup bug.
As part of our annual GeekWire Awards event, we recognize rising stars under the age of 30 who are building startups in the Pacific Northwest.
We’re soliciting votes for six promising young entrepreneurs to choose a winner, with input from more than 30 judges in the tech community. On May 2 we will announce the winners live on stage at the GeekWire Awards — presented by Wave Business — in front of more than 800 geeks at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Community voting ends April 19.
The 2019 nominees are Slope co-founder Brian Bosché; Rad Power Bikes co-founders Mike Radenbaugh and Ty Collins; Loftium co-founder Yifan Zhang; Buttermilk founder Mitra Raman; and Possible Finance co-founder Tony Huang.
Last year, the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Phil Kimmey, co-founder of the peer-to-peer petsitting startup Rover.
This year, we wanted to learn more about our nominees so we went straight to the source. GeekWire contacted their close family members to get the inside scoop on what makes them tick as entrepreneurs. Learn more about each nominee below, cast your vote, grab a ticket, and we’ll see you at the GeekWire Awards!
– Mitra Raman, Buttermilk –
Mitra Rasan, founder of Seattle-based Buttermilk Co. (The Buttermilk Co. Photo)
After three years at Amazon, Mitra Raman caught the entrepreneur bug. Inspiration struck when her mother bagged up all of the ingredients needed to cook rasam, one of her favorite dishes growing up. All she had to do was add hot water.
“An idea was born,” Raman told GeekWire last year. She quit her gig at Amazon and struck out on her own, launching The Buttermilk Co., a meal delivery kit startup that charges $6 for meals such as the vegetable wheat porridge dish Khichdi and the lentil dish daal.
Mitra’s husband, Amar Rao, said her entrepreneurial plunge was in-character. “She is always working hard and never settles or gets complacent,” he said.
“Whenever she finds herself getting comfortable, she starts looking for the next and biggest challenge and, for the most part, succeeds in all her undertakings,” he added.
– Geekwire