Driven by a passion for resilience and sustainability, Angie aims to advance food and energy security. By combining innovation with her cultural heritage, she develops integrated systems that produce nutritious foods while capturing sustainable energy. Angie’s work empowers individuals and communities to become self-reliant in the face of environmental and economic uncertainties. She blends technology and traditions that nurture strong local support networks. She seeds lasting change by cultivating connections between people, food, energy, and the environment.

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Lauren Petersen

Creating and connecting with others both in and out of systems & processes, Lauren strives to create a culture of people + processes with their clients. Along with her background in healthcare, she has a deep passion for community development and facilitating change management with compassion.

Leveraging her background in healthcare and passion for community building, Lauren Petersen founded Thriving Roots to guide organizations through change with compassion. By focusing on both people and processes, Petersen strives to create inclusive cultures that empower employees and facilitate organizational growth. Through thoughtful change management, she aims to plant the seeds for organizations to thrive.

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Clifford Armstrong III

As the founder of Armstrong Vegan Foods, I am proud to be among the leaders in Alaska's plant-based food industry. Our commitment is to offer top-notch vegan staples, focusing on quality, taste, and sustainability. We strive to be a cornerstone in the community, promoting a healthy, environmentally friendly lifestyle through our diverse range of plant-based products.

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Becky Strub

Becky is the Founder of Alaskan Owned Apparel: Play Favorites, Go Local. Inspired by Alaskan Owned and Operated business leaders, we're strengthening the 49th State’s social fabric. Purchases support classroom visit tools for teachers while raising money to boost local scholarships. Community collaborations and student success drive our mission, and conveying that message seamlessly is an effort worth wearing. Whether you live in urban, rural, or remote Alaska—we look forward to getting in gear with you! Visit us today at AlaskanOwned.com.

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Claire Shaw

Driven by a dedication to supporting families, Lillian Heilveil and Claire Shaw founded Cradle to connect parents with a supportive peer community and mental healthcare experts. Having witnessed the lack of holistic care for parents welcoming a new child to their family, they developed a platform with critical resources that address the isolation, stress, and anxiety that new parents often experience. By making it easier to access specialized care, Cradle empowers parents to thrive along their journey while building resilience for the transition to parenthood.

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Joe Bredar

Joe Bredar founded Gabriel AI to revolutionize sales outreach through the power of artificial intelligence. Gabriel’s automated cold calling platform uses humanlike AI voices to personally engage thousands of leads, with minimal human effort. Driven by a vision of smarter, faster, and more efficient sales processes, Bredar built an AI-powered outbound system to act as a virtual sales team member. By curating customized call sequences, Gabriel enables individuals to reach scale and grow their businesses exponentially.

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Lillian Heilveil

Driven by a dedication to supporting families, Lillian Heilveil and Claire Shaw founded Cradle to connect parents with a supportive peer community and mental healthcare experts. Having witnessed the lack of holistic care for parents welcoming a new child to their family, they developed a platform with critical resources that address the isolation, stress, and anxiety that new parents often experience. By making it easier to access specialized care, Cradle empowers parents to thrive along their journey while building resilience for the transition to parenthood.

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Michael Dempsey

Passionate about art, Michael started a business to try to find a way for emerging artists to go from “starving” to easily making money online and actually seeing their creations as a business. He believes that if artists make more money, then the world gets more art. His web application creates a digital tip jar for artists as well as a way for them to connect and maintain relationships with their fans.

Sarena Hackenmiller

Recognizing the dilemma visitors face transporting bear spray out of Alaska, Sarena Hackenmiller founded Hey Bear! to provide a solution. Her service enables tourists to conveniently rent bear spray for the duration of their trip rather than purchasing cans they cannot fly or cruise with. Motivated by a desire to keep wildlife enthusiasts safe while exploring Alaska's rugged terrain, Serena streamlines access to this essential precautionary gear. By facilitating temporary use and local reuse, Hey Bear! aims to reduce waste and environmental impact as it meets the unique needs of an adventure travel destination.

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Shon Dozark

Shon Dozark owns Quality Screens, which provides fast, friendly window and patio screen repair services customized to each client’s unique needs. Motivated by a dedication to quality craftsmanship and customer satisfaction, Shon strives to conserve resources by repairing worn screens rather than sending them to landfills. By offering mesh options and custom screen building, Quality Screens makes comfort, pest protection, and sustainability achievable for community members.

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Siobhan (Gass) Cunningham

Siobhan Cunningham is a U.S. Air Force veteran, licensed clinical social worker, and military child with over 20 years of experience in behavioral health. This inspired Siobhan to establish Empower Women Veterans, a company focused on supporting transitioning veterans using creative resources and leadership training. By sharing her experiences dealing with depression and navigating civilian life, Siobhan encourages others to pursue their dreams and build communities of support. Her work strives to dismantle the stigma around military trauma and provide hope to those who have served.

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Tad Nelson

Tad is an M.S. Mechanical Engineering student who is excited to learn about entrepreneurship. He is interested in bringing new technologies to Alaska and solving our unique problems.

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Upstart Alpha Cohort 5

Cohort 5: Fall 2023

Margo Fliss

Connect with us:

1901 Bragaw Street, Suite 199 Anchorage, AK, 99508