Riana Lynn
Riana Lynn | |
---|---|
Citizenship | United States |
Education | Alma Mater University of Carolina - Chapel Hill & Northwestern University |
Organization | Journey Foods |
Title | Founder and CEO of Journey Foods |
Riana Lynn is a scientist, investor, Artificial Intelligence patent holder, and creative entrepreneur.[1][2] She is the founder and CEO of the software startup Journey Foods which uses an "in-house automated scientist," JourneyAI that now creates product formulations and plans for global food companies after launching with micro foods as nutrient-dense snacks called Journey Bites.[3][4][5] [6][7] She was also the founder of the former FoodTrace, 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.[8][9][10][11]
Early Life
Lynn was raised by her parents who were food activists, yoga leaders, and real estate entrepreneurs in Chicago, Virginia, and Evanston, Illinois.[9] 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.[12][13][14]She spent her childhood in her family's Evanston Garden, Illinois. Her business roadblocks in running a family juice bar and connection to family farming 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.[15][16]
Education
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.[9][12][13] She learned web development while studying biology and chemistry at the University of North Carolina.[17][11][18] She later interned and extended into a liaison role at the White House while pursuing a dual master's in public health and policy at DePaul and Northwestern University.[15][13]
Career
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.[17] 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.[19] Her role was later expanded to support management of African American Leaders in Business and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[19]
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 to scale up investment and ecommerce for the shows investments [15][20][21][22][13] Lynn was among the speakers at The Black Star Project's Sunday University in 2025 including the CEO's of Fortune 500 companies and international government leaders globally.[23] Lynn served as the Google - Code 2040 Entrepreneur in Residence in 2015 when FoodTrace's potential was recognized by the Google program.[15][24][25] [19]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.[26][11][27][17] 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 in 2023, in Alameda, SXSW future of food on March 2021, and BigIdeasATX3, hosted by Silicon Hills News.[28][29][30][31]
Awards and Recognition
- On December 6, 2016, Lynn was among the six Salute Her Award honorees and she was honored with Toyota Green Initiative Award.[32]
- In 2017, the Pitchbook platform listed her among 28 black founders and investors making an impact in tech.[24]
- Chicago Crain’s 20 in their 2020s[33]
- MIT 35 under 35[1][22][34][35]
- In 2023, she was among the final list of C-Suite honorees by Cosmopolitan Magazine and digitalundivided[36] [37]
- She was also among the Inc. Founders House Headliners during the third annual Inc Magazine Founders House as SXSW
- On February 26, 2024, she was acknowledged in the list of 83 Black founders and investors to know in 2024 by Pitchbook.[38]
References
- ^ a b "Next Generation Changemakers". globalaffairs.org. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs: Female Leaders of Innovation and Food Technology". The Hatchery Chicago. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Riana Lynn". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ "Partner Across the World, Across Genders for Food Change". Food Tank. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "Joy Ofodu, Coordinator of #ShareBlackStories - xoNecole". www.xonecole.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "Google awards $100K each to five Black-led Austin startup companies". FOX 7 Austin. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ Ferguson, Alexander (2021-07-16). "Using Data Analysis to Improve Food | Riana Lynn from Journey Foods". UpTech Report. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Tarr, Tanya. "How Starbucks And Other Major Corporations Are Negotiating Very Public Apologies". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ a b c Team, Northwestern MutualVoice. "Northwestern Mutual BrandVoice: The New Entrepreneurial Face: Minority Business Women". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ "8 awesome black female Tech Founders you should know. – Leading Ladies Africa". Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b LLC, Cusp Conference. "Riana Lynn | FoodTrace". Cusp Conference. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ a b c d "Alumni Spotlight: Riana Lynn '08 | Celebrating Carolina's Diversity". acred.unc.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Riana Lynn - Track & Field". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ a b c d Galland, Zoe (April 3, 2015). "2015 20 in their 20s". CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Retrieved March 29, 2024.[dead link]
- ^ "Riana Lynn - Gaingels". gaingels.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ a b c "The Future 5 of Austin Tech, Q4 2021 | Built In Austin". www.builtinaustin.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "Riana Lynn | Keynote Speaker | AAE Speakers Bureau". www.aaespeakers.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ a b c "African American Entrepreneurs - Help our kids see who they can become". Fight For Hope. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Sanchez, Dana (2018-07-19). "10 Black Founders And Investors Who Have Had Exits". Moguldom. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Shepherd-Brierley, Zara (2023-08-31). "10 Black Women Who Have Achieved Successful Acquisitions". UrbanGeekz. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Forecasting future food trends | 2019-09-17 | Food Business News | Supermarket Perimeter". www.supermarketperimeter.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ LauraLorek@gmail.com (2022-08-28). "25 Austin-Based Startups to Watch in 2022". SiliconHills. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "The Spoon Weekly: The Edible Barcode". The Spoon. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ LauraLorek@gmail.com (2022-09-20). "BigIdeasATX Speaker Series Shines a Spotlight on Austin's Best and Brightest Startups". SiliconHills. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ Cruz, Olivia (2021-03-02). "Zero Hunger | Zero Waste: Supporting Innovation for a Sustainable Food System". SXSW. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ "Celebration innovation and achievement during Black Business Month". www.foodbeverageinsider.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Riana Lynn - Chrysalis Capital". Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ "Riana Lynn | LeadDev". leaddev.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Riana Lynn Bio". generalassemb.ly. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "The 2023 New C-Suite Is Here to Shake Things Up". Cosmopolitan. 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "New C Suite 2024 — digitalundivided". digitalundivided.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Knickerbocker, Kelly (February 26, 2024). "83 Black founders and investors to know in 2024". PitchBook.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024.[dead link]
- Living people
- 21st-century American businesspeople
- American women business executives
- 21st-century American businesswomen
- American food industry businesspeople
- American chief executives of food industry companies
- American women chief executives
- 21st-century American women scientists
- African-American business executives
- African-American women in business
- 21st-century African-American businesspeople
- 21st-century African-American women
- African-American investors
- American investors
- American company founders