by Katie Calabro | Oct 4, 2022
Founded in 2012, 305 Fitness is an underground non-stop dance cardio workout that infuses dance moves, sports drills, and high-intensity interval training. Classes feature a live DJ and rhythmic light show. 305’s unique brand also emphasizes inclusivity and body-positivity. Called “rave-meets-workout,” 305 Fitness operates in Boston, DC, Miami, LA, Chicago, and SF, with more certified instructors leading classes across the country.
305 Fitness was founded by Sadie Kurzban ‘12, who drew inspiration for her business from ENGN 1010. Read her profile in the Brown Alumni Magazine here. The venture received the Brown Venture Prize in 2008, and was the first recipient of funding from Van Wickle Ventures in 2019. It has also been featured in Forbes, the Today Show, and ESPN.
Photo Credit: Sadie Kurzban
by Katie Calabro | Sep 30, 2022
Beam Impact helps connect consumers with social impact causes by turning purchases into nonprofit donations. Beam partners with brands committed to giving back and nonprofits committed to making a difference. Customers can shop from partner brands through the app, and donate a portion of their purchase to nonprofits at no cost. In 2021, donations made through Beam’s app funded over 7 million meals for food insecure communities, 250 hours of free therapy for Black and LGBTQ+ communities, and more.
Viveka Hulyalkar ‘15 and Alex Sadhu founded Beam Impact in 2017. Read their profile in Forbes here. Beam Impact was named on the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 list, and raised over $13 million in funding in 2022.
Photo Credit: Beam Impact
by Jonas Clark | Sep 25, 2022
Casper, a sleep company that found an unmet need in a $14 billion industry, was founded 2014 by Neil Parikh, ’11, Gabriel Flateman, ’12, and T. Luke Sherwin, ’12. These founders teamed up to create a seamless and unique customer experience while also positively impacting the sleep revolution. Casper now features an expanded line of sleep products and has donated more than 700,000 products to people in need of a place to sleep.
Neil Parikh was a 2015 Forbes 30 under 30 awardee, and Casper was profiled by Forbes in 2019.
From left: Gabe Flateman, Neil Parikh, and Luke Sherwin.
Photo Credit: Joao Canziani
by Katie Calabro | Sep 22, 2022
Fanium is a sports technology company that curates in-depth fantasy football content for users. The app was featured in TechCrunch’s list of best fantasy football apps in 2013. Founder Grant Gurtin ’12 sold Fanium to CBSSports. He then spent two years at CBSSports, helping to relaunch the SportsLine.com brand and take it from zero to $500k in monthly recurring revenue. He has since started a second company, Trend, and is an active angel investor.
Photo Credit: Grant Gurtin
by Jonas Clark | Sep 16, 2022
Imperfect Foods was founded by Ben Chesler, ’15, a food waste entrepreneur who is actively working to change the food system to reduce waste and increase the amount of affordable produce available to consumers. After co-founding the Food Recovery Network, the largest student movement against hunger and food waste, Ben Chesler moved into the for-profit space with Imperfect Foods.. At Imperfect, Ben created a supply chain of “ugly” produce and other groceries that would normally go to waste in the supply chain, and turning that into products that can be sold to consumers.
Imperfect now has over 200,000 customers across 25 markets and has rescued over 100 million pounds of food. In September 2022, Imperfect Foods was acquired by online grocer Misfits Market to take their impact to a larger scale.
Photo Credit: Ben Chesler
