University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and Horn Entrepreneurship are proud to announce the 37 2021 Blue Hen 17&43 Award winners.
The Blue Hen 17&43 Awards recognize the fastest-growing companies and most promising ventures founded or led by UD students and alumni. Companies on the fastest-growing list are determined by growth rate and must have total revenue of $1,000,000 for the past 3 years. Ventures on the most promising list are evaluated on impact potential. Each year the list of applicants grows more impressive, with 2021 as no exception. The number of applicants almost doubled in both categories which led to an even more competitive selection process.
SponsorUnited is being honored as the fastest-growing company at the Awards. Founded by Bob Lynch, AS Class of '02 and a four year football player for the Blue Hens, SponsorUnited achieved an impressive 177% growth rate in 2020 with 75 employees.
SponsorUnited’s software platform is transforming the world of professional sports and entertainment sponsorship decisions. It utilizes technology and proprietary data to help brands, properties and agencies efficiently research, buy and sell sponsorships. More than 95% of the major professional sports teams have adopted the platform.
“I am sincerely honored to be recognized with the Blue Hen 17&43 Fastest Growing Award,” said Lynch. “Building a successful startup takes perseverance, inspiration and the ability to work towards challenging goals with diverse and talented individuals – all things that I learned on the field and in the classroom at the University of Delaware.”
Other award winners topping the list in the Fastest Growing category include Grey Market Labs, led by Founder Kristopher Schroeder, EG ‘00, and Princeton Hosted Solutions, led by Founder Brad Bono, AS ‘91. Grey Market Labs, a cybersecurity and data privacy company, achieved an impressive 120% growth rate with 12 employees including alumna Emily Kresho, EG ‘21. Princeton Hosted Solutions, a cloud-based telecom services company, made the Blue Hen 17&43 Fastest Growing list for the 4th time with a 94% growth.
The 2021 Fastest Growing Companies listed in growth rate order are:
SponsorUnited led by President and Founder Bob Lynch, AS ‘02
*Grey Market Labs led by CEO Kristopher Schroeder, EG ‘02
*Princeton Hosted Solutions led by CEO Brad Bono, AS ‘91
*GrillGrate led by Co-owners William “Brad” Barrett, BE ’79 and Susan Barrett, BE ‘79
Context Business Lending, LLC led by President and CEO Meredith Carter, AS ‘03
Host Merchant Services led by CEO Lou Honick, EG ’98
*CadmiumCD led by Co-founders Peter Wyatt, EG ’96 and Michelle Wyatt, EG ’95
*BillingPlatform led by CEO Dennis Wall, BE ’92
*Norwalt led by CEO Mike Seitel, EG ’87
NewsWhip led by President Brett Lofgren, EO ‘09
*Diamond State Financial Group led by Founder Raymond Bree, BE ’78;President and CEO Christopher Burgos, BE ’99; Executive Joshua Shaver, ‘BE 07; Executive Ketul Mody, BE ‘06
*TechSolutions, Inc. led by President Rick Monnig, BE ’91
*CompuData, Inc led by President and CEO Angela Nadeau, AS ’82
Ascendant Group led by CEO Raoul Davis, BSPA ’04
*Ferris Home Improvements led by Vice President and Co-owner Kelley Pastic Ferris, AS ’05
*KMRD Partners led by Co-founder and Principal Robert Dietzel BE ’88
*Bloom daily planners led by Co-founders Michelle Trincia Askin, AS ’10, and Kaylyn Minix DiNardo, BE ’09
*The Siegfried Group, LLP led by CEO and Founder Rob Siegfried, BE ’81, Executive Vice President William Schieffer, BE ‘84; Executive George Siegfried, EG ‘83; Executive Andrew Lavelle, BE ‘01; Executive Amy Devlin, BE ‘89
* Semihandmade led by CEO John McDonald, AS ‘89
* denotes a multiple year award winner
The Most Promising category contains many founders and changemakers who are disrupting existing industries, improving systems and creating innovative products and services. These ventures are assessed based on the venture’s innovativeness, milestone accomplishment, current and future revenues, job creation and social impact.
The 2021 Most Promising Companies listed alphabetically are:
3DiNow led by Founder David Woods, AS ‘82
8myles led by Founder Myles Powell, EG ‘12
Backyard Gig led by student Co-founders Suryanuj Gupta ’23 and Shahroze Ali, ‘23
BarVision led by Founders Joe Nolan, BE ‘72, and Vance Kershner, EG ‘79
Carbon Reform led by Co-Founder Nick Martin, EG ’16 and Co-Founder Joanne Norris, Phd ’23
ContainIQ led by Co-Founders Nate Matherson, BE ’16 and Matt Lenhard
*First Founders, Inc. led by Founder Garry Johnson, III, HS ’17, MS ’18
FunkkOFF! Inc led by Founder & CEO Joelle Flynn, AS ‘94
*GOBLIN led by Managing Partner David LaRoche, BE ‘98, Co-Founder Dee Ridgeway, BE ’98 and CEO Stephen Hoops, BE ’98
HxInnovations Inc. led by Co-Founder Nicole Homer, AS ’05
Legacy Lock led by Founder Cynthia Gale, AS ‘85
Mental Health Global Network led by Founder Kelly Marzoli, BE ‘18 and Juliet Meskers, AS '19
*Patient Sortal led by Founder Kenny Eck, HS ’17, MS ’18
SL24 UNLOCKE THE LIGHT Foundation led by Founder Christopher Locke, BE ’84, Board Member Michele Whetzel, BE ’84 and Board Member Jeff Lang, BE ’83
Space In Africa led by student Founder Temiday Oniosun, ‘26
Stemmer led by student Founder Sam Goetz, ‘21
TRIC Robotics led by Founder Adam Stager, EG ’11, Ph.D ‘20
Whether led by CEO Vijay Jayachandran, Phd ’98
* denotes a multiple year award winner
The Blue Hen 17&43 Award winners will be formally recognized at the annual Blue Hen 17&43 Award presentation which will be held virtually on October 14.
About the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
For more than 100 years, the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics has invested in its students and communities, giving back philanthropically and with its valuable skills. A top-ranked business school, the Lerner College creates impactful initiatives that advocate for diversity and inclusion across industries. It’s 150+ faculty conduct research on meaningful topics like third world economic development, cybersecurity, women’s leadership, corporate social responsibility and more. Through collaborations with students and alumni, the Lerner College creates businesses that work to solve society’s greatest problems.
About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at the University of Delaware. Currently ranked among the best entrepreneurship programs in the US, Horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.
