Venture Forward

Mackenzie Copley runs a non-profit health services organization that deploys 1000+ student volunteers from five colleges and universities in and around Washington DC. He’s only 23 but he has already caught the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other national and international health agencies with the ground-breaking work he does with One Tent Health.

Lina Zdruli is an entrepreneur who uses food for social good. She runs a start up, Dafero, that employs women-at-risk to produce healthy snack foods. Lina, whose been featured in Forbes and on the Voice of America, draws on her experience at both the World Bank and the United Nations to run a company that is making an impact at several different levels.

Keith Ives founded an international development firm that helps USAID, NGOs and international organizations that are working to reduce poverty and inequality and respond to crises, evaluate the impact of their programs on the ground. 

Three football players at Georgetown founded GOODProjects, an organization that is now impacting thousands of kids and their families in DC’s underserved neighborhoods. 

Sahaj Sharda launched Happy Price, a company that sells access to a dynamic pricing algorithm that helps businesses price their products optimally.

Hannah Williams developed Truckr, a mobile app that connects people to food trucks nearby to provide a more convenient and efficient food truck experience.

Denis Craig co-founded Farley Craig Capital, a venture fund that backs underrepresented founders and empowers new investors to participate in the venture-capital ecosystem.

Margarita Womack is the CEO of M’Panadas, a healthy food company that makes empanadas and sauces that are offered in grocery stores and hotels and large venues across the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. Margarita is also a scientist and a mother of three who understands the need for healthy, tasty snacks and meals on the go.

Juliette Silvain is the founder of CAVALL, a mobile app company that brings buyers and sellers of horses together at major equestrian competitions.

Zach Oschin co-founded Elenas, a social selling platform headquartered in Bogotá Colombia that is taking the beauty products industry by storm. In just over a year, Zach and his team have recruited 14,000+ Colombians to join the company to sell make up and accessories to women in their social circles. 

Shavini Fernando is a Georgetown alum with a life threatening disease who invented a medical device to prolong and enhance the lives of the millions of people who suffer from this ailment. Her company, OxiWear, has turned this device into a fashionable accessory that monitors the oxygen level in the blood, and signals when that level drops dangerously low.It’s a niche product for people with pulmonary hypertension, who need to know immediately when their blood oxygen level drops. On a moment’s notice, this personalized accessory will call 911 and phone-a-friend, to save the life of the wearer.

Venture Forward is a series of conversations with Georgetown entrepreneurs that explores the roads they’ve traveled to launch their companies, and unexpected turns that mark their paths. Season One features the stand out companies that won Georgetown’s most prominent pitch competition.