VICTOR, N.Y. — When Samantha Taylor launched Olive Speech Therapy , in 2022, she was not just starting a private practice. She was rethinking how families experience speech-language services and how clinicians are supported in delivering them. Today, Taylor leads a growing team of eight speech-language pathologists serving families across the Rochester region. In 2025, she expanded her impact further with the launch of the Empowered Parent Network, a community-driven platform

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — When Stephanie Williams launched Family Concierge  in 2022, she wasn’t setting out to build just another nanny service. She was responding to a gap she had experienced firsthand . One that left both families and caregivers navigating a fragmented, often frustrating system with little guidance or long-term support. Based in Rochester, Family Concierge operates in the nannies and household staffing sector, providing families across Western New York with highl

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — By the time Connor Peters graduated college at 19, he had already launched a business, managed IT systems, and identified a problem he couldn’t ignore. Today, as CEO of Locke , a Rochester-based cybersecurity company founded in 2022, Peters is building software designed to solve one of the most persistent and overlooked challenges in modern IT, identity. Peters grew up in Geneseo, New York, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems f

BROCKPORT, N.Y. — After spending more than a decade teaching English to students around the world, found herself ready for a new challenge. Today, she is the founder of VerbaVista , an early-stage EdTech company launched in 2025 that aims to help English-language educators plan lessons more effectively using technology built by teachers, for teachers. LaScala-Lodato’s path to entrepreneurship was anything but conventional. A native of Port Jefferson, New York, she earned a ba

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Long before venture capital became a mainstream career path, Pavan Kumar Tallavajhula was building startups at the edge of the internet’s first wave. Today, as a partner at 3pmVentures , Tallavajhula brings nearly three decades of global operating, investing, and advisory experience to Rochester’s growing startup ecosystem. Founded in 2018, 3pmVentures focuses on early-stage startup investing and strategic advisory, drawing on Tallavajhula’s background in te

Rochester, N.Y. — As more small businesses compete for attention in an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Hannah Lavigne has built a business around helping brands stand out with clarity and intention. As the owner and head designer of Sage James Creative , Lavigne works with entrepreneurs and small businesses to translate their ideas into cohesive websites, branding, and digital identities. Founded in 2019, Sage James Creative is a website design and branding studio ser

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — When Shelley Elkovich launched For Bitter For Worse  in early 2020, she wasn’t just introducing another beverage brand, she was reimagining what it means to raise a glass. Her company, now based in Rochester, makes complex, non-alcoholic cocktails designed for people who want to celebrate without compromise. For Elkovich, the story began with both passion and necessity. “I’ve always been the designated bartender in my friend group,” she said. “I love flavor,

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After three decades in the food and beverage industry, Rochester native Thomas Seymour is channeling his expertise into a new kind of coffee experience. As co-founder of Moka Energy, a startup launched in 2024, Seymour is on a mission to reinvent how consumers get their caffeine, by transforming the ritual of coffee into a portable, flavorful, and clean-label snack. For Seymour, coffee has always been personal. “I was introduced to coffee at a very young ag