Three Arlington County residents are among the finalists for the 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Qu CEO Amir Hudda, Symplicity CEO Matt Small and Zoobean CEO Felix Lloyd have all been recognized by the program that “honors entrepreneurs whose innovations shape the future and pave the way for a thriving economy and hopeful tomorrow.”
“Our independent panel of judges selected bold entrepreneurs who show resilience and adaptability as well as a dedication to solving real problems in business and society,” Lisa Kelly, co-director of the Mid-Atlantic program, said in a press release. “We are delighted to recognize their successes.”
Regional award winners will be announced during a ceremony on June 18. They will compete for the national Entrepreneur of the Year award in November.
A list of all finalists from Virginia, D.C. and Maryland is below.
- Gautam Ijoor | Alpha Omega | Vienna, VA
- Olivia Trivisani Bowker | Amivero |Reston, VA
- Bill Schaefer | Amyx | Reston, VA
- Jeff Beck | AnswersNow | Richmond, VA
- Arlene Wube and Lonye Ford | Arlo Solutions | Washington, DC
- Kathy Freeland | A-TEK | McLean, VA
- Kristen Valdes | b.well Connected Health | Baltimore, MD
- Dr. Areo Nazari | CaryHealth | Washington, DC
- Shawn Gundrum | CATHEXIS | Tysons, VA
- Richie Huffman | Celebree | Baltimore, MD
- Stefano Ratti | Chaberton Energy | Rockville, MD
- Kendall Holbrook | Dev Technology Group | Reston, VA
- Mark Jablonowski | DSPolitical | Washington, DC
- Mitchell Cho | FedWriters | Fairfax, VA
- Kirsten Brecht Baker | Jeenie | Washington, DC
- Jim Buck | Medcura | Riverdale, MD
- Gloria Bohan |Omega World Travel | Fairfax, VA
- Greg Craddock | Patriot Group International | Warrentown, VA
- Debbie Ailiff | Procare Ambulance of Maryland | Rosedale, MD
- Amir Hudda | Qu | Arlington, VA
- Shubhi Mishra | Raft | McLean, VA
- Dr. Josh Funk | Rehab 2 Perform | Germantown, MD
- Mohammad Elias | RELI Group | Catonsville, MD
- Dan Doll and David Simnick | Soapbox | Washington, DC
- Rob Schroder | SteerBridge | Tysons, VA
- Glenn Diersen | Summit Human Capital | Richmond, VA
- Matt Small | Symplicity | Arlington, VA
- Helen Stefan Moreau | The Midtown Group | Washington, DC
- Craig Halliday | Unanet | Dulles, VA
- Eric Gertler | US News & World Report | Washington, DC
- John Ackerly | Virtru | Washington, DC
- Ahmad Nassar | Winners Alliance | Tysons, VA
- Mark Drever | Xcelerate Solutions | McLean, VA
- Felix Lloyd | Zoobean | Arlington, VA
