We are excited to share that several individuals from Revolution Growth portfolio companies have been named as finalists in EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 for the Greater Washington region. Please join us in congratulating Tobin Moore of Optoro, Bryan Gernert of Resonate, and Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru of sweetgreen.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program is recognized as one of the most prestigious business award programs in the country, and seeks to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work of entrepreneurs in various regions. These individuals were selected by a judging panel comprised of their peers, including previous award winners and greater Washington area business leaders.
Tobin Moore is the co-founder and CEO of Optoro, and helped found the company in 2008 after recognizing the business potential in reverse logistics. Along with his co-founder, Adam Vitarello (who serves as COO), Tobin has led Optoro since its initial launch in a Georgetown garage, and is credited with helping to grow the company into what it is today. Optoro continues to be recognized in the region, and is also a Venture Deal of the Year finalist at the 2014 Corporate Growth Awards by The National Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and an Emerging Firm of the Year finalist at The Tech Council of Maryland’s (TCM) 26thAnnual Industry Awards.
Bryan Gernert is the CEO of Resonate, which has raised more than $30 million in funding from firms including Greycroft Partners, iNovia Capital, and of course, Revolution Growth. He is a seasoned leader who has led businesses and startups through significant transformation and growth. Prior to joining Resonate in 2008, Bryan held management positions with Americas for Cybertrust and he grew another start-up into a $240 million business.
Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru are the three founders of sweetgreen, which launched in 2007. The brand has since grown into a well-known farm-to-table salad chain that recently opened its 24th location in Boston, and plans to expand to the west coast. Nicolas, Jonathan, and Nathaniel told Entrepreneur magazine they view sweetgreen “as a brand rather than a mere restaurant,” and another example of that brand is their highly anticipated annual sweetlife festival, which is this weekend in Maryland.
The Greater Washington award winners will be announced on June 19, and the winners will be eligible for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national program. We wish all the finalists the best of luck!
