Make wishtv.com your home page

Hoosiers named to Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′

INDIANAPOLIS and WEST LAFAYETTE (Inside INdiana Business) — Several Hoosier entrepreneurs are included on Forbes’ “30 Under 30 2020” list. The list focuses on 20 categories, each of which has 30 honorees who are described by the publication as “innovators and trendsetters who are changing the world.”

Forbes says each of the honorees went through a vetting process that leveraged the publication’s community of skilled reporters and judges.

Evan Rocheford, co-founder and chief executive officer of West Lafayette-based NutraMaize LLC, is included in the Food & Drink category. NutraMaize produces and markets “Orange Corn” developed by Rocheford’s father, Purdue University Professor Torbert Rocheford. The non-GMO corn contains higher levels of carotenoids and was originally developed to help areas in sub-Saharan Africa address vitamin A deficiencies.

In September, NutraMaize received more than $1 million in grants to further develop the corn.

The founders of Indianapolis-based tech company Socio were also included in the Forbes list under the Enterprise Technology category. They include Yarkin Sakucoglu, Joseph Watkins and Alihan Ozbayrak. The company has created a live event management software platform that counts Google, Microsoft, Pepsi and Comcast among its customers.

In July, Socio closed on a $6 million Series A round of funding that it said would be used to grow its staff and accelerate product development. The company currently boasts more than 60 employees at its offices in Indy and Istanbul. 

Socio was also named the top overall winner of Powderkeg’s inaugural Indiana Breakout Tech Culture Awards.

You can connect to the full Forbes “30 Under 30 2020” list by clicking here.