Forbes 30 under 30 list of 2021! Read about 4 of the visionaries that inspired us!

Meet the top young entrepreneurs of the Forbes under 30 – 2021 edition! Get inspired and motivated by reading about some of the most promising young entrepreneurs that have come on the businesses scene in the past 12 months! Some are defying the odds and building businesses despite Covid-19; others are helping to fight the illness, serving on hospital frontlines or working with A.I. to discover new drugs.  

Collectively, these trailblazers have raised over $1 billion in venture funding and are proof positive that ambition and innovation can’t be quarantined.  

What is Forbes 30 under 30? 

Forbes 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by Forbes magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries each. 

Who is on Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2021? 

The young, creative and bold minds on this year’s 30 Under 30 list are proof positive that the future will be new, exciting and profoundly different. These entrepreneurs are teaching viruses to fight cancer, developing technology to help astronauts breathe on Mars and creating strings of hit songs that fuel our daily playlists. And that’s just a few. Harnessing our expert community, robust reporting, vigorous vetting and the wisdom of the world’s top investors and entrepreneurs, Forbes evaluated more than 15,000 nominees. The final product: 600 revolutionaries in 20 industries changing the course—and the face—of business and society. You can find the full list here but, for the purpose of this article we’ve selected 4 of this year’s young entrepreneurs and we how their stories will inspire you! 

Dr. Kiara Butler (Founder of Diversity Talks, 29 years old from Mississippi) 

Dr. Kiara Butler is the CEO and Founder of Diversity Talks, Rhode Island-based training company, which specializes in providing student-led professional development grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Dr. Butler is a strong advocate for student voice and in her current work, she focuses on bringing the voices of marginalized groups to the forefront. 

Originally from Mississippi – a state known, as she puts it “for biases, bigotry, and racism” – Dr. Butler is a graduate of the state’s K12 public education system.  As a K12 student in Mississippi, she did not believe educators were aware that the lack of inclusivity of all races, religions, and cultures had a connection between students feeling marginalized and low student performance.  Today, her experiences as a student remain the driving force behind her commitment as a change agent transforming K12 public education.  

After a two-week summer training program and follow-up sessions throughout the academic year, 9th- to 12th-graders become part of a student-led task force that facilitates conversation-based workshops for adult professional development on topics such as power privileges, microaggressions and race. 

Ralf Alwani (Cofounder, Urban Scale Interventions Belfast, 29 years old from the United Kingdom) 

Ralf Alwani believes in design-led innovation for social good. He has used his keen sense of design to create public spaces that reduce suicide, increase mental health and foster creative solutions for intervention. His company Urban Scale Interventions is a creative studio that uses design to solve social challenges for governments. 

Ralf graduated from the Royal College of Art (Architecture) in 2015. His interests lie in architecture and urban scale interventions. Joining the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in 2016 Ralf’s work currently focuses on the research and design of a project which looks at the emotional wellbeing of the bridges and banks around the River Foyle in Derry, Northern Ireland. 

For Ralf, architecture is nothing if it does not provide the community with a sense of relief, escape and utility.  He currently leads on the concept to delivery of Portview Belfast, a listed spinning mill that has National Heritage Lottery support to develop a hybrid site for creative industries, a national museum and advanced manufacturing school. ‘Our Future Foyle’, for Public Health Northern Ireland and government departments. A 20 million regeneration intervention of a 6 Mile loop of bridges and banks of the River Foyle, it looks at the local community and their impacted emotional wellbeing. The Urban Forest, a landmark festival in 2023 in partnership with the Eden Project which looks to reimagine a city centre highstreet. 

Bryan Manning (Cofounder Two Blind Brothers, ag 29 from New York) 

When Bryan was 7-years-old, he was diagnosed with a rare retinal eye disease that would leave him almost completely blind. His doctor told him (and his over 30 cofounder brother Bradford) to go home and learn Braille, as there was no cure. The University of Virginia graduates’ experience inspired their clothing line, which donates 100% of profits to retinal research. To date they have donated $500,000. 

And we can say…Bradford and Bryan Manning are curing blindness! They left their former careers in finance to start Two Blind Brothers. and, within 1 year, they propelled the small charitable clothing company into one of the fastest growing brands in the country with endorsements from Ellen DeGeneres, Ashton Kutcher, Richard Branson, NBC Nightly News, and many others. 

Their luxury clothing project is focused on quality, comfort, and “sense of touch”. The clothing is produced by a team of blind and visually-impaired workers in Dallas, Texas.  The funds from Two Blind Brothers are driving life-changing treatments that are already being used in patients such as “Voretigene Neparvovec”, a gene therapy developed by Spark Therapeutics. 

Jesaja Brinkmann (Cofounder Cara Care 28 years old from Berlin, Germany) 

Jesaja Brinkmann is the cofounder and co-CEO of Cara Care, a digital therapeutics company focused on chronic digestive diseases. More than 700,000 people have used the Berlin-based startup’s app for irritable bowel syndrome and other disorders. Cara Care has raised $11 million since 2016 from investors including Johnson & Johnson Innovation. 

Empowering people to live healthier and happier lives. Bringing digestive health beyond the pill. Building the first precision medicine solution for digestive health. Jesaja’s company combines microbiome insights with individual health data to match the right therapy to the right patients. 

Care Care stands in a league of its own thanks to its holistic multimodal therapy and patient-centric approach, which combines medicine, nutritional science, and mental and physical therapy. This approach has demonstrated significant improvement of symptoms and quality of life for people with GI issues. 

Want to read more about the Forbes 30 under 30 visionaries? Click here to see the full list. 

We hope these 4 stories have inspired you to pursue your dreams and aim high! And, if you need help in your journey, click here to learn more about how our programs can help you achieve everything you want!