Venture Asheville’s year-end celebration on Dec. 4, 2025 was a chance to spotlight growth, grit and community. We counted down the Venture 15—the region’s 15 fastest-growing startups—and presented Venture Asheville Honors to individuals and organizations advancing entrepreneurship in Western North Carolina.
Each award was handcrafted by Echoes of the Forest using wood reclaimed from trees lost during Hurricane Helene. The pieces symbolize our community’s resilience and the new growth that followed the storm.
About this year’s winners:
- Youngest cohort of Venture 15 winners. Average age of these startups is just four years – notably, that means they are post-pandemic created ventures.
- 11 of the 15 ranked companies are first-time winners. More than half have women founders, which has been true all but one year of this event (2020).
- Together they employ 296 individuals, with plans to add an additional 138 in 2026.
- In 2025, they brought in $23 million in revenue.
- Collective lifetime revenues are over $57 million.
2025 Venture 15 Rankings:
To qualify for the Venture 15, companies must have a minimum of two years over $150,000 in revenue. Founders submit numbers to DMJPS who runs a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) calculation on each and ranks the ventures.
- Level (Founder Jacob Haug)
- Sourhouse (Founders Erik Fabian & Jennifer Yoko Olson)
- 18 Chestnuts (Founders Ilona Kossoff & Steven Kossoff)
- Fuel Goods (Founders Laura Jorgensen & Courteney Lowe)
- Pirani Life (Founders Danielle Del Sordo & Brandegee Pierce)
- Home Team Soccer Tournaments (Founders Eric Usher & David Turner)
- SOS – Senior Oral-Health Service (Founders AnnMarie Miller, Diana Moiseyev, Kelly Flanders & Pat Wagner)
- Cultivate Management Inc. (Founders Devin Deholl, Jared Shirley & Shiloh Mielke)
- Matcha Nude (Founder Samantha Coffin)
- PIE.ZAA (Founder Tyler Koch)
- Asheville Tea Company (Founder Jessie Dean)
- Devil’s Foot Beverage Company (Founders Benjamin Colvin, Jacob Baumann, Vashti Colvin, Aaron Wilson & Carly Reese)
- French Broad Pastry (Founder Dune Pierre Michel)
- Marla Amplification (Founder Anthony Hernandez)
- Online Training Concepts (Founders Sara Martin & Shane Parreco)
Venture Asheville Honors:
- The Shining Rock Award: Ann-Marie Miller of SOS-AVL
The Shining Rock Award honors a tenacious and resilient entrepreneur in the community—one who may be going through ups and downs but should stick with it and keep on striving. It goes to someone who deserves the recognition and elevated status the award brings, and may one day be the Entrepreneur of the Year.
- Mentor of the Year: Betty Shotton
The Mentor of the Year award honors someone who has impacted a high-growth venture to an exceptional degree. This award goes to an individual who exceeds expectations, is an ally, advocate and adviser to startups in a purely volunteer capacity.
- Investment Deal of the Year: The Pisgah Fund and Backrs
This award honors the pairing of investor and founder, together, that best showcases our values. This award is shared between the investment group and the startup, but Jeff was too cheap to make two awards.
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Jessie Dean of Asheville Tea Company
The Entrepreneur of the Year honor goes to a founder leading a skyrocketing high-growth venture who not only is making it rain, but also is a community leader. This person adds value to the entrepreneurial ecosystem either through mentorship, volunteering, progressive advocacy and community involvement.
- Ecosystem Support Organization of the Year: OBA – Outdoor Business Alliance
This award honors a resource partner, organization, or ecosystem support program that provides exceptional value in the form of support to the startup community.
- Venture Asheville Vanguard Award: Optimist Ventures Donors, Investors, Mentors, Speakers, & Founders
This staff pick award shines a spotlight on someone who has been integral to the ecosystem—someone you couldn’t imagine this place being the same without.