Draft:Riana Lynn

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Riana Lynn
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationAlma Mater University of Carolina - Chapel Hill & Northwestern University
OrganizationJourney Foods
TitleFounder and CEO of Journey Foods

Riana Lynn is a founder, scientist, investor, AI patent holder, and creative director.[1][2] She is the founder and CEO of the software startup Journey Foods which uses an "in-house automated scientist," JourneyAI to create micro foods-nutrient-dense snacks, but now creates product formulations and plans for global food companies.[3][4][5] [6] She was also the founder of the former FoodTrace Inc, a Chicago-based technology platform, designed to help food businesses with growth and supply chain management by providing insight to industry executives on food sourcing origins.[7][8][9][10]

Early Life[edit]

Lynn was raised by her parents who were food activists, yoga leaders, and real estate entrepreneurs in Chicago, Virginia, and Evanston, Illinois.[8] She attended Roycemore School and Evanston Township High School where she led her team to multiple AA state track championships and was a National Merit Scholar.[11][12][13]She spent her childhood in her family's Evanston Garden, Illinois. Her life experience and early entrepreneurship tries prompted her to become an entrepreneur to start her first software business in 2014 to help grocers, consumers, and restaurants figure out where their food comes from.[14][15]

Education[edit]

Riana was a student-athlete and graduated with a B.S. in Biology major and Chemistry minor from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.[11][8][12][13] She learned web development while studying biology and chemistry at the University of North Carolina.[16][10] She later interned at the White House while pursuing a dual master's in public health and policy at DePaul and Northwestern University.[14][13]

Career[edit]

She started her career journey by founding her first food company while studying public health in graduate school at Northwestern University and working in a research lab at University of Chicago Medicine.[16] While in graduate school, she started an internship at the white house during President Barack Obama's first and second term in the office of Public Engagement and Council of Women and Girls led by Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen.[17][11] Her role was later expanded to support management of African American Leaders in Business and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[17]

In 2012 she launched her company, Rivive Group, which was later acquired by A Better Life Holdings, LLC run by CNBC's investor Marcus Lemonis of "The Profit," where she continued to work as the business development director even after her company was acquired [14][18][19][20][13] Lynn was among the speakers at The Black Star Project's Sunday University held on September 27, 2015, that was attended by 40 community members including the CEO's of Fortune 500 companies and international government leaders globally.[21] Lynn served as the Google - Code 2040 Entrepreneur in Residence in 2015 when FoodTrace's potential was recognized by a Google-backed nonprofit, for its program aimed at promoting Latino and Black tech entrepreneurship.[14][22][23] [17]In 2019, she started Journey Foods, an AI-powered platform that support research and development for ingredient suppliers, CPG companies, and manufacturers using AI to drive nutrition improvements in recipes.[24][25][16] In her career, Lynn has graced hundreds of different stages as a public speaker, keynote, and panelist including Keynoting IBM's Innovation conference in 2020, Food AI Summit held on October 25, 2023, in Alameda, SXSW future of food on March 2021, and BigIdeasATX3 held on October 26, 2022, hosted by Silicon Hills News.[26][27][28][29]

Awards and Recognition[edit]

  • On December 6, 2016, Lynn was among the six Salute Her Award honorees and she was honored with Toyota Green Initiative Award.[30]
  • In 2017, the Pitchbook platform listed her among 28 black founders and investors making an impact in tech.[22]
  • Chicago Crain’s 20 in their 2020s[31]
  • MIT 35 under 35[1][20]
  • In 2020, her company, Journey Foods, was awarded a $100,000 investment funding in the Black in Tech Summit organized by Capital Factory.[32]
  • In 2023, she was among the final list of C-Suite honorees by Cosmo and digitalundivided (a nonprofit geared toward catalyzing economic growth for Latina and Black female entrepreneurs)[33] [34]
  • She was also among the Inc. Founders House Headliners during the third annual Inc. Founders House as SXSW held on March 2023 at Foxy's Proper Pub.[35]
  • On February 26, 2024, she was acknowledged in the list of 83 Black founders and investors to know in 2024 by Pitchbook.[36]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Next Generation Changemakers". globalaffairs.org. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  2. ^ "Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs: Female Leaders of Innovation and Food Technology". The Hatchery Chicago. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  3. ^ "Riana Lynn". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  4. ^ "Partner Across the World, Across Genders for Food Change". Food Tank. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  5. ^ "Joy Ofodu, Coordinator of #ShareBlackStories - xoNecole". www.xonecole.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  6. ^ "Google awards $100K each to five Black-led Austin startup companies". FOX 7 Austin. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  7. ^ Tarr, Tanya. "How Starbucks And Other Major Corporations Are Negotiating Very Public Apologies". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  8. ^ a b c Team, Northwestern MutualVoice. "Northwestern Mutual BrandVoice: The New Entrepreneurial Face: Minority Business Women". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  9. ^ "8 awesome black female Tech Founders you should know. – Leading Ladies Africa". Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  10. ^ a b SAP.iO (2022-07-20). "Inspiring Innovators: Riana Lynn CEO and Founder of Journey Foods, On being a serial entrepreneur • SAP.iO". SAP.iO. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  11. ^ a b c www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/inno/stories/profiles/2022/01/20/journal-profile-riana-lynn.html. Retrieved 2024-03-29. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ a b LLC, Cusp Conference. "Riana Lynn | FoodTrace". Cusp Conference. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  13. ^ a b c d "Alumni Spotlight: Riana Lynn '08 | Celebrating Carolina's Diversity". acred.unc.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  14. ^ a b c d Galland, Zoe (April 3, 2015). "2015 20 in their 20s". CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Retrieved March 29, 2024.[dead link]
  15. ^ "Riana Lynn - Gaingels". gaingels.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  16. ^ a b c "The Future 5 of Austin Tech, Q4 2021 | Built In Austin". www.builtinaustin.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  17. ^ a b c "African American Entrepreneurs - Help our kids see who they can become". Fight For Hope. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  18. ^ Sanchez, Dana (2018-07-19). "10 Black Founders And Investors Who Have Had Exits". Moguldom. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  19. ^ "Seven Black Women Whose Companies Were Successfully Acquired". POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of people of color in tech. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  20. ^ a b Shepherd-Brierley, Zara (2023-08-31). "10 Black Women Who Have Achieved Successful Acquisitions". UrbanGeekz. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  21. ^ "Mentoring Works and Is Desperately Needed in Black Community; Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad at DuSable Museum; Stop The Violence March in Gary, Indiana; FoodTrace CEO Takes Black Community to Technology School at Sunday University". myemail.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  22. ^ a b Tom, Mikey (February 26, 2017). "28 black founders and investors making an impact in tech". Pitchbook.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024.[dead link]
  23. ^ foodnavigator-usa.com (2019-01-23). "Next generation snacks –aka 'micro foods' – will pack a stronger nutritional punch, says Journey Foods". foodnavigator-usa.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  24. ^ "Forecasting future food trends | 2019-09-17 | Food Business News | Supermarket Perimeter". www.supermarketperimeter.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  25. ^ LauraLorek@gmail.com (2022-08-28). "25 Austin-Based Startups to Watch in 2022". SiliconHills. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  26. ^ "The Spoon Weekly: The Edible Barcode". The Spoon. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  27. ^ LauraLorek@gmail.com (2022-09-20). "BigIdeasATX Speaker Series Shines a Spotlight on Austin's Best and Brightest Startups". SiliconHills. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  28. ^ Cruz, Olivia (2021-03-02). "Zero Hunger | Zero Waste: Supporting Innovation for a Sustainable Food System". SXSW. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  29. ^ "Celebration innovation and achievement during Black Business Month". www.foodbeverageinsider.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  30. ^ NNPAFreddie (2016-12-15). "Café Mocha Radio Salute Her Tour Concludes with a Celebration of Chicago's Phenomenal Women BlackPressUSA". blackpressusa.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  31. ^ "Riana Lynn - Chrysalis Capital". Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  32. ^ Innovates, Dallas; DRC, Gloria Salinas, Managing Director, Economic Development (2021-04-07). "Capital Factory Embraces a Virtual-First Model and Shows the Power of Tech in Texas". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved 2024-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "The 2023 New C-Suite Is Here to Shake Things Up". Cosmopolitan. 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  34. ^ "New C Suite 2024 — digitalundivided". digitalundivided.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  35. ^ Inc. "INC. TO HOST THIRD-ANNUAL INC. FOUNDERS HOUSE AT SXSW". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  36. ^ Knickerbocker, Kelly (February 26, 2024). "83 Black founders and investors to know in 2024". PitchBook.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024.[dead link]
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