Story was updated to include Four By Three founder Chase Crawford and Beltways founder Matine Yuksel.
Six Northern Kentucky entrepreneurs joined the likes of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Elly De La Cruz on Forbes’ inaugural 30 Under 30 Cincinnati edition list.
The list highlights 30 entrepreneurs and innovators under age 30 who are based in the Greater Cincinnati region. On Tuesday, representatives from Forbes, the City of Cincinnati, JobsOhio and REDI Cincinnati helped unveil the list during a press event at The Banks’ Anderson Pavilion.
The recipients were selected by a panel of judges from the Greater Cincinnati business and entrepreneurial community. The panel included Lightship Capital General Partner Candice Brackeen, Cincinnati Business Committee President Gary Lindgren, BLINK cofounder Andrew Salzbrun and Procter & Gamble’s North American President Monica Turner.
“Cincinnati is uniquely positioned to be the home for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and innovators, like those who’ve been selected for Forbes Under 30,” Lindgren said.
In addition to the list unveiling, Forbes announced that Cincinnati would host the next Under 30 Summit – an event that will bring together local entrepreneurs, celebrities and national business leaders. It’s set to take place at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center in downtown Cincinnati from Sept. 22 to 25. Musical artist and record producer Metro Boomin is slated to be one of the event’s featured speakers.
“We are psyched,” Forbes Assistant Managing Editor Steve Bertoni said at the event. “We’re going to bring in world-class talent, but we don’t have to bring in that much world-class talent because we have so much here in Cincinnati.”
Forbes’ first Women in Sports event will also occur during the Under 30 Summit. The event will examine women’s sports’ growth and rise in popularity. It will be hosted at FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium.
The Under 30 Summit is part of Forbes’ more extensive, three-part tour around Ohio. Last year, Forbes hosted a similar event in Cleveland. Next year, Columbus is slated to host.
“We want to build an environment, an ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive,” said Hamilton County Board of Directors Vice President Denise Driehaus. “Whether it’s the funding mechanism – the capital – whether it’s the coaching or whether it’s the incubation, we are doing that here.”
Below are the four Northern Kentucky entrepreneurs that made the list:
Isaac Hamlin
28 | Better Blend
Hamlin founded Better Blend, a smoothie and smoothie bowl shop, back in 2018. Since then, Better Blend has expanded to nine stores throughout Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Louisville, with five more on the way.
Hamlin has received statewide and national acclaim for Better Blend, notably being named 2023 Kentucky Young Entrepreneur of the Year and to the Top 100 Food & Beverage Leaders list by the Global Summit on All-Things Food in 2021.
Caden Adams and Kayla Braden
24, 24 | Peachy & Vintage
Peachy & Vintage started as a vintage clothing side hustle when Adams and Braden were sophomores at Northern Kentucky University. Over time, the duo became one of the top vintage sellers on Depop, an online marketplace where users can buy and sell secondhand clothing.
The successful venture allowed Adams and Braden to move into a brick-and-mortar storefront along Madison Avenue in Covington.
Taylor Berling
26 | Inner Vision Pilates
As an entrepreneur, pilates instructor and accountant, Berling is familiar with juggling multiple responsibilities. In 2023, she paused her career as an accountant to open Inner Vision Pilates in Fort Thomas.
The move has proved to be successful as Berling brought in approximately $130,000 in revenue last year selling monthly subscriptions and single group classes, according to Forbes.
Chase Crawford
28 | Four By Three
Fort Thomas resident Chase Crawford has produced specials for famous comedians Hasan Minhaj, Nate Bargatze, Adam Conover and Sinbad. Crawford started his production company, Four By Three, at just 20 years old.
Since then, Four by Three has produced over 90 comedy specials and worked with streaming giants Amazon and YouTube.
Matine Yuksel
29 | Beltways
Matine Yuksel founded Beltways, an Erlanger-based accelerated walkway startup, with his brother John in 2020. The brothers relocated from Silicon Valley to Cincinnati in 2022 with the goal of building a prototype.
One year later, Beltways started a project to deploy the prototype at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. A pilot demonstration is planned for later this year, according to Forbes.