Venture 15 Awards and Honors Named During Event
Dec 09, 2025 04:25PM ● By WNC Business
Venture Asheville’s year-end celebration was held last week at The Orange Peel and it was a night where the fastest growing start-ups were ranked and honors were handed out to people and organizations who are advancing entrepreneurship in Western North Carolina.
In his recap of the event, director of Venture Asheville Jeffrey Kaplan noted:
"Let me give you some data on the winners tonight: the average age of these startups in just 4 years old, same as my daughter. And notably, that means they are post-pandemic created ventures," he wrote.
He added that "11 of the 15 ranked companies are first-time winners. More than half are woman, 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."
Winners of the Venture Asheville Honors awards were:
- The Shining Rock Award: Ann-Marie Miller of SOS-AVL
- Mentor of the Year: Betty Shotton
- Investment Deal of the Year: The Pisgah Fund and Backrs
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Jessie Dean of Asheville Tea Company
- Ecosystem Support Organization of the Year: OBA - Outdoor Business Alliance
- Venture Asheville Vanguard Award: Optimist Ventures Donors, Investors, Mentors, Speakers, & Founders
Check out the rankings list below:
1. Level, Jacob Haug
2. Souhouse, Erik Fabian and Jennifer Yoko Olson
3. 18 Chestnuts, Ilona Kossoff and Steven Kossoff
4. Fuel Goods, Laura Jorgensen and Courteney Lowe
5. Pirani Life, Danielle Del Sordo and Brandegee Pierce
6. Home Team Soccer Tournaments, Eric Usher and David Turner
7. SOS - Senior Oral-Health Services, AnnMarie Miller, Diana Moiseyev, Kelly Flanders, and Pat Wagner
8. Cultivate Management Inc., Devin Deholl, Jared Shirley, and Shiloh Mielke
9. Matcha Nude, Samantha Coffin
10. Pie.Zaa, Tyler Koch
11. Asheville Tea Company, Jessie Dean
12. Devil's Foot Beverage Company, Benjamin Colvin Jacob Baumann, Vashti Colvin, Aaron Wilson, and Carly Reese
13. French Broad Pastry, Dune Pierre Michel
14. Marla Amplification, Anthony Hernandez
15. Online Training Concepts, Sara Martin and Shane Parreco
Source: Venture Asheville