Awesome Inc

Destin George Bell is a senior at the University of Kentucky studying marketing. He shares his story about the company he founded LifeOffU in college.

From a young age, when he started selling candy out of his backpack to walking around the neighborhood with a lawnmower in high school, he’s been fascinated with business & finding ways to make money for himself. Since coming to the UK, he started a college marketing platform helping connect students to discounts, events, jobs, etc to places like Lyft, Malibu Jacks, Breakout Games, and more, generating over $12,000 in revenue. He is also the president of the UK Entrepreneurship and has brought the club back from death to 62 members & raising over $12,000 in funding over the first two months of the semester. He also recently became the CEO of Synerjii, a startup seeking to improve the way we network. As he nears graduation, he looks forward to sticking around Lexington and fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem both at UK & Lexington at large.

Mo Sloan of EZ-Chow sits down to share a little about his company and his personal life and he is onboarded and accepted into the Awesome Inc Fellowship Program. Mo Shares that in order for restaurants to be profitable and thrive in the digital age today, it's important for hospitality organizations to begin operating as e-commerce businesses. His solution is EZ-Chow.

EZ-Chow provides an all-in-one digital customer engagement platform for restaurants and hospitality companies. Our platform consists of POS-integrated ordering, loyalty application and capability, and digital marketing. By providing a digital customer engagement platform and focusing on increasing the number of times a customer engages digitally with a restaurant, our solution allows the restaurant to generate additional "off-premise" dining revenue with minimal costs.

Since 1984, NetGain Technologies has delivered IT services to companies across the South Central U.S. NetGain Technologies managed services allow clients to focus on their business growth, and Tim Burke, CEO NetGain Technologies' success, is secure in the knowledge that their IT infrastructure is always operational and serves their needs. With a multi-state regional footprint and a three-decade pedigree, the company has helped thousands of clients grow their businesses by leveraging best-in-class IT services and solutions.

Jason Jacobson was most recently CEO and an owner of NetGain Technologies before leading the sale of the company to a private equity group based in San Francisco. Jason graduated with dual degrees in Management and Finance from the University of Kentucky, where he also studied international business and finance in London. His focus when he started working at NetGain in 2007 was mergers and acquisitions.

During Jason’s time at NetGain Technologies, he helped to spin off a non-core asset of the company’s medical billing unit; acquired four I.T. companies in other cities in the region; and opened an additional branch office in Chattanooga, Tenn., after a competing company failed.

NetGain was named a Kentucky Best Place to Work for five consecutive years earning it a place in the Hall of Fame as well as being named to the list of top Managed Service Providers in the world since its inception in 2013.

Jason and his wife Shanda have two daughters and a son all age four and under. He enjoys golf, movies, and travel. Jason is also engaged in the Young President's Organization (YPO), serving on the organization's Bluegrass Chapter's board as well as the University of Kentucky’s Gatton School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.

Zach Jenkins of Syndicate is an extremely talented designer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He enjoys building brands and developing products, and when he’s not working he enjoys Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, and Ale8.

A few years ago, he released a product for Pelican that launched about as successfully as one could hope! His Spartan Cases MDX Lid Organizer exploded on Kickstarter. Spartan is dedicated to the efficient organization and protection of film and photography equipment. Zach's product has a great post on Medium as well as varying photography and gear community forums. 

Currently, Zach has some cool products in his pipeline, but his newest product is from Fifth Made.

Austin Willard is the founder of the Faithful Platform. In his life and work, he focuses on building relationships and stewarding what God has given to him. He is constantly exploring new opportunities for growth in the jewelry and wedding industry. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, playing golf, and fishing.  He is on the session (of a Congregation) at Tates Creek Presbyterian Church and helps lead a 210 Leaders group.

Since 2016, Faithful Platform has been helping guys walk through the process of buying their engagement, wedding, and anniversary rings by saving clients thousands of dollars, providing them with unlimited options, and educating them on the industry. Their approach separates them from typical retail stores. No longer are guys having to wonder if they got a good deal or not. Their goal is to make sure guys get the best ring for the best price.

Chase Minnifield is a former defensive back for the Washington Redskins and three-time entrepreneur who was recently inducted into the 2019 class of Forbes 30 under 30.

He currently serves as CEO of EZ Turn, the only vendor management digital platform that enables property managers in the student housing business to more efficiently manage, invoice, and communicate with contractors. In its first year, EZ Turn has acquired more than 30 clients and managed over $1M in invoices. With EZ Turn's EZ Scheduler, housing unit staff will be more efficient and give their property managers more free time to focus on different tasks.

Chase began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 25, post-NFL career, with his first company Helping Hand, LLC, which provides moving, cleaning and apartment turnover services for college dormitories and student housing complexes.

Alex Reed co-founded cleaning startup Truman’s following more than a decade at fan and light manufacturer Big Ass Fans, where he led an expansive marketing division that helped the company grow from $30 million in annual sales to more than $250 million.

Alex used innovative approaches to grow the company’s customer base by nearly 40 percent annually. At the same time, customer loyalty became so strong that repeat business accounted for half of all orders.

He oversaw its expansion beyond a business-to-business strategy to business-to-consumer with the 2012 debut of Haiku, the first Big Ass Fan for homes.

After their exit sale in 2017 for $500 million, Alex co-founded Truman’s with Big Ass Fans Chief Operating Officer Jon Bostock. The pair aims to disrupt the cleaning industry with the belief that cleaning should be green, simple,  convenient, and cost less.

Matt Miller is the founder of RAADZ, a digital advertising company that aims to revolutionize the way people interact with ads. He is the visionary behind the idea and the developer who created the platform. In all parts of life, he strives for improvement, thus how RAADZ was born. Outside of continuously improving the digital advertising world, he enjoys sports, games, and most outdoor activities.

Awesome Inc article: Focus on the Hot Dog

Lexington Entrepreneurship Day is designed to celebrate, support, and learn from some of the greatest entrepreneurs. Come learn more about the local Startup Ecosystem and the players working hard to make sure Kentucky becomes an even better place to innovate.

This day is generously sponsored by Alltech, one of Lexington's greatest innovative partners!

This is Panel Discussion with Twyman Clements - Moderated by Luke Murray MD, MBA. Space Tango facilitates microgravity research and manufacturing from right here in Lexington, KY. By exploring this new frontier with industries of all kinds, we can improve life on Earth. The founder, Twyman Clements, and Lee Todd, the former President of the University of Kentucky, discuss the early days of Space Tango and what it's like to be an innovator in Kentucky. Moderating the discussion is Luke Murray, Founder of Murray Medical and Awesome Inc.

Logan Burchett and Steven Plappert are the founders of Forecastr, a SaaS model to help startups with their financial planning. They see their product becoming the "Quickbooks" for financial planning and analysis.

Logan Burchett is the Outsourced CFO, and head of FP&A at Venture First. He has constructed over 100 financial models for startups, CFO for various startups, and helped to raise millions in early-stage funding. Steven Plappert is a Techstars alum & serial entrepreneur who founded Fantasyhub and grew it to 40,000 users. Has been working in finance/marketing at Venture First for the past two years. 

Both Logan and Steven have been well prepared because of their involvement with Venture First out of Louisville, KY, which exists to build an ecosystem for entrepreneurs, companies, and investors while providing support throughout their lifecycle. 

Listen to how these two are helping eliminate the barrier for startups as they raise capital.