Adam Vincent, 35, launched ThreatConnect to offer a Salesforce.com-like product for the security industry. The 43-person company, which has raised $4M, helps security teams at Fortune 500 companies and government agencies aggregate threat data into a single platform, no matter the source. It then provides a place to analyze the data and lets users take action to block malicious activity and protect the networks. Revenue has increased over 500% in the past year and it’s expected to double in 2015. The company has plans to hire over 40 people this year and move into larger space in Arlington.
What you didn’t know about Adam:
He’s most relaxed on a boat with good music and a beer in hand.
He’s been told he looks like Val Kilmer from Top Gun, which may or may not be the reason he joined the Air Force.
He can fix just about anything, including a C5 Galaxy and toy microphones.
He tries to attend Oktoberfest in Germany every year.
He comes from a musical family, except for him.
Eric Koester, 37, co-founded Main Street Genome with Scott Case in 2013. Its Vendor IQ product uses data, technology and mobile apps to make it easier and more transparent for small business owners to buy goods and services from their vendors and suppliers. The 16-person company works with restaurants and food vendors in the Mid-Atlantic and plans to expand to other regions this year. Before Main Street Genome, Eric co-founded Zaarly, a San Fran-based company that builds mobile marketplaces for home services providers. Among its backers are Kleiner Perkins, Ashton Kutcher and Meg Whitman. (His most recent startup is 3-month-old Quinn.)
What you didn’t know about Eric:
It’s always been his dream to run the bases at a Nats game as one of the presidents (preferably Honest Abe).
His favorite dog is a pug, and his family has two named Bailey and Riley.
He’s a fan of Startup Weekend, Enstitute, the Wish App, Tim Ferriss and Lifehacking, and Mashups.
His favorite entrepreneur is Dean Kamen, inventor of many things, including the Segway, medical devices like the autosyringe and robotics prosthetics, new Stirling electric generators and water purification solutions. He also likes his commitment to US First, a robotics competition to increase kids’ interest in science and tech.
He traveled around the globe on a cruise ship during college with Semester at Sea. Now Eric and his wife, Allison, have a goal to visit all 100 wonders of the world from Hillman Wonders.
Frank Taylor’s company is dominating a niche market as the only national provider of robotic massage chairs for rent or lease. Launched in 2010, its customers include event marketers like IBM, Sprint, Wells Fargo, Google, Jones Lang Lasalle, and Hyundai who use the massage chairs at events to increase dwell time in their branded environments and support relationship-based sales strategies. Uber Offices recently leased massage chairs for all of its locations. Frank, 27, launched the company while a senior at William & Mary. Restin, which has two employees, has raised $135k in outside funding and is cash flow positive with revenue in the mid six figures.
What you didn’t know about Frank:
He earned his first dollar at age 3 by playing the role of “Trouble” in a Virginia Opera production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
He grew up on the water in Norfolk, VA, and has sailed everything from 16-foot racing boats to a 116-foot square rigger.
At 16, he spent over a month in the Netherlands training and playing in an international soccer tournament.
He found a dirty, sun-burned, all-white puppy abandoned on the street seven years ago. It’s now a 100-pound Argentine Mastiff and Frank’s best friend.
In college, he showed up on the first day of a graduate level entrepreneurship course three years in a row before they finally let him in.
