Kellogg Zell Fellows Program

Congrats to Zell 7, Amit Gupta & Cardiosense! #GoForGreatness!

Next, in our series highlighting the Zell Fellows 11th cohort, we're happy to share more about ETA track member, Richard Hunt. Born and raised in the small town of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Richard has been surrounded by small business and entrepreneurship from a young age. Though he is the fourth “Richard Hunt” in his family lineage, he is the first not to pursue a career in dentistry and enter the family practice, which his mother and father currently lead. His parents’ business, and the ways it has been a positive asset for its team members and the community, has been an enduring inspiration to Richard and guides his purpose as he pursues entrepreneurship on his own.   After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, began his career in Piper Sandler’s Industrials M&A group, advising private equity-owned companies. He then spent three years as an investor at Blue Sage Capital, where he first had the opportunity to partner directly with family and founder-owned businesses. There he witnessed firsthand the sensitivities and difficult decisions that founders must contend with in deciding to sell their business while seeking to preserve their legacy and take care of their employees.   After finishing his MBA at Kellogg, Richard plans to return to his home state of North Carolina, where he intends to pursue a traditional search for a business to acquire and lead through its next phase of growth. In the meantime, he is looking forward to a few rounds of golf and road-tripping with his wife and fellow Kellogg classmate, Charlotte, and their Clumber Spaniel puppy, “Pig.” #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11

Huge congratulations to Z11's Scott Tsangeos & Olympus on winning $25,000 in non-dilutive cash at last night's Venture Cat Competition! #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11 

Nicole Cuervo (Zell 9) & Springrose #goforgreatness!

New Venture Zell Fellow Scott Tsangeos, MMM, is driven by a passion for harnessing technology to foster self-improvement and empowerment. Having experienced the transformative impact of strength training in his own life, he founded Olympus to share its remarkable benefits with others. While he first turned to weightlifting as a means of staying active after years of team sports, Scott soon discovered that the mental and psychological dividends of strength training far exceeded the physical aspects. Setting goals, holding himself accountable, and tracking performance metrics define both his approach to fitness as well as his venture. Olympus is sports performance software that helps coaches and personal trainers build winning athletes. By harnessing the power of data analytics to measure program effectiveness over time, Olympus provides D1 collegiate athletic programs and gyms the insights they need to optimize performance and reduce injury risk for their athletes. 💪 💪 💪 If you want to learn more about Olympus, come check out Scott & the team as they compete in this year’s VentureCat 2024 hosted by The Garage at Northwestern University on Wednesday, 5/22. 💪 💪 💪 #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11

Next up in our Zell spotlights is Maria Cecena Vargas! Business-minded from an early age, Maria V.'s first successful negotiation was with a small corner store owner, convincing him to exchange a jar of her father’s heirloom beans for a bag of chips. This deal inadvertently taught her father, a small-scale farmer in Mexico, that he could eliminate the wholesaler and negotiate directly. Watching firsthand the work ethic, determination, and grit her father used to grow something from nothing has shaped Maria’s passion for entrepreneurship.    An experienced operator of 14 years, Maria started running her first restaurant at age 21 for Mason Harrison Ratliff (a multi-brand QSR restaurant franchisee). As an owner, operator, multi-unit leader, and partner, she has built, closed, renovated, turned around, and acquired stores to grow and increase the franchise profitability.     At Kellogg, Maria found a community of like-minded entrepreneurs worth the 802-mile flight every week from the suburbs of Dallas to Chicago. She hopes to build a legacy of growth for businesses, ensuring that what is created goes beyond the next deal by adding value to others.    #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11

🙌 Z11 Kimberley K. Charles & her co-founder Kiyan S. 🙌

Meet Dr. John Fortunato, a member of the NV track of the Zell Fellows! John is a clinician, researcher, father of four, Evening & Weekend MBA student, and entrepreneur with a mission to improve care through better patient-doctor engagement. He specializes in the care of children with complex gastrointestinal disorders and takes a multidisciplinary team approach. With this in mind, he co-founded Health Vista and the Health Vista Passport – a patient-centric tool empowering parents of children with complex medical conditions.    Dr. Fortunato's entrepreneurial journey began with a startup in 2023 after he was confronted with the difficulty parents faced in managing their children’s health data. This startup raised $50,000 to develop MVPs to improve healthcare communication.    As a Pediatrics Professor at Northwestern University and Director at Lurie Children’s Hospital, his expertise also contributes to the 445th Airlift Wing as an Air Force flight surgeon. Despite his professional endeavors, it’s his family— his wife and four sons—who inspire him to continually strive for innovation in pediatric healthcare. #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11

Our latest Zell 11 spotlight is about Shivek G.. Shivek was born into a joint family in India, with three generations living together, where business and entrepreneurship were everyday conversations. Drawing inspiration from his family, Shivek embarked on an entrepreneurial journey — establishing and growing a textile manufacturing business in India to a $25M+ venture in 5 years. His journey is rooted in a mix of family legacy and a personal belief that businesses should be more than a source of wealth but also a positive force in the communities they serve. After his successful entrepreneurial journey in India, Shivek’s aspirations led him to the US. At Kellogg, he discovered a new avenue in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) and developed a keen interest in acquiring a lower-middle market company. With ETA, Shivek sees an opportunity to continue his entrepreneurial journey, steering another business toward new heights. He is particularly drawn to niche B2B service businesses, a sector where he can leverage his tech acumen and past business experiences to drive growth for both the community and the business, a potential area of mutual interest for our potential business partners. Fun fact about Shivek: despite a childhood struggle with asthma, he completed a seven-day trek in the Himalayas, reaching an altitude of 15,000 ft, a feat unimaginable in his asthmatic days. #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11

Tiffney Kathir, the self-proclaimed world’s biggest sweet tooth, has stopped buying ice cream entirely over the last five years since becoming a vegan. She found that current ice cream brands were no longer meeting her needs, failing to be both indulgent and healthy. 🍦That’s why she founded Tilt Desserts, a first-of-its-kind non-dairy frozen dessert made using the key ingredient: the chickpea.🍦 Before launching her venture, Tiffney honed her skills as an R&D scientist specializing in consumer-packaged goods innovation. Most recently, she worked as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, contributing her expertise to the billion-dollar Always brand. Tiffney’s diverse experiences in R&D, strategic marketing, and her entrepreneurial pursuit with Tilt reflect her commitment to creating consumer-focused brands that enhance the quality of everyday life.  Outside of Tilt, she’s the Co-President of the Kellogg Marketing Club, and you can often find her out and about in Evanston with her rescue dog Archie or getting competitive at her local OrangeTheory studio. Tilt is launching in Chicago this month and in NYC this summer! If you want to be one of the first to gain access to pre-orders, be sure to sign up for their mailing list at tinyurl.com/tiltdesserts and follow at @tiltdesserts! #GoforGreatness #KelloggZellFellows #ZellFellows #Zell11