Newswise — Babson College has recognized ten alumni entrepreneurs as the 2015 Alumni Entrepreneur “Rising Stars”. These individuals have successfully distinguished themselves in their entrepreneurial endeavors, having founded businesses within the past ten years, making an impact in the marketplace, and generating notable media attention. Visit http://bit.ly/1INgWit

Bombas

Co-founders Andrew Heath M’12 and David Heath ’05

Bombas is an online retailer of specialty athletic socks, engineered and designed to look and feel better than others on the market. Bombas focuses on two key strategies: engineering a sock to match the advancement in today’s athletic shoe designs, and helping supply homeless shelters with the most requested clothing item - socks. As part of its social innovation mission, Bombas donates one pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair purchased. http://www.bombas.com/

Enertiv

Co-founders Connell McGill ‘08 and Pavel Khodorkovskiy ‘07

Enertiv is the developer of the EnertivEMS software platform and the EnertivTwo device, together providing a cost-effective and easy-to-install energy monitoring solution for generating actionable insights to save energy and money. Enertiv provides energy transparency, enabling clients to perform measurement and verification, find and resolve anomalies, benchmark against similar buildings, attain sustainability goals, and engage occupants. Enertiv’s software is developed in-house, and its hardware is prototyped, tested and manufactured in the USA. http://www.enertiv.com/

Esmeralda Lambert

Co-founders Esmeralda Lambert M’11 and Matthew Lambert M’11

Esmeralda Lambert offers hand-woven statement jewelry inspired by Latin and Caribbean influences. The elegant designs are handcrafted in collaboration with entrepreneurial artisan women in the Dominican Republic, and the Esmeralda Signature style consists of lightweight, intricate bead-weaving techniques using fine crystals, natural stones, cultivated pearls, beads, and sterling silver and gold-filled findings. As the business grows, Esmeralda Lambert expects to empower more entrepreneurial women artisans in her home country, and to create greater opportunities to support their livelihoods. http://esmeraldalambert.com/

NatureBox

Co-founders Gautam Gupta ’07 and Ken Chen ’06

NatureBox is the leading online service for snack food, providing an easy way to enjoy naturally delicious and distinctive snacks. All are nutritionist-approved and created exclusively for NatureBox by local growers and independent food producers. By creating its own line of products, the company intends to build a multi-channel and multi-category brand in the food industry. For every box NatureBox delivers, it also donates one meal to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. The pair maintains a goal of donating one million meals per year. https://naturebox.com/

Wanderu

Founder and CEO, Polina Raygorodskaya ’08

Wanderu, now rapidly expanding across the U.S. and Canada, helps make finding and booking inter-city bus and train travel easy, convenient, and fun. Wanderu was recently one of three finalists in the MaiTai Global entrepreneurship competition where Richard Branson, one of the competition judges, was so impressed with the startup that the business earned his personal interest as an investment candidate. Raygorodskaya is also Founder and President of Polina Fashion LLC-a boutique fashion, travel and luxury PR firm. And in 2007, Bloomberg Businessweek named her one of the “Best 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25” http://www.wanderu.com/

ZOOS Greek Iced Tea

Co-founder Niari Keverian M’12

ZOOS is a first-to-market, all-natural, real-brewed, caffeine-free, ready-to-drink Greek Iced Tea. Greek Mountain Tea has been an important staple in healthy Mediterranean diets for generations. Hand-picked from Greek mountaintops and brewed in its purist form, Greek Mountain Tea is believed to aid in health & wellness. ZOOS is available in three refreshing flavors - original, peach, and lemon. http://drinkzoos.com/

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society—while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. Visit www.babson.edu