Meet the 2023 Fortune Founders Forum

So why did we create the forum? Entrepreneurship has never been easy, but it’s become particularly challenging of late. Raising capital is much harder, and the nearly nonexistent market for IPOs has had a ripple effect on startups of all stages. What’s more, in an increasingly distributed world where many founders lead remote or hybrid teams, entrepreneurs are navigating a new, and much lonelier, workplace reality.

The Fortune Founders Forum aims to connect these individuals to a network of equally talented and diverse peers who can share how they’re meeting the demands and opportunities of today—whether they’re developing an online coaching marketplace, a new A.I. model for health care applications, or communication tools for the incarcerated—and of tomorrow.

Click the photos below to read the profiles of the founders.

Omid Bakhshandeh and Nasrin Mostafazadeh, Verneek A.I.

Courtesy of Verneek AI

Amanda Calabrese, Sequel

Courtesy of Sequel

Lisa Dyson, Air Protein

Courtesy of Air Protein

Rebecca Gorman, Aligned AI

Courtesy of Aligned AI

Leo Grady, Jona

Stuart Isett for Fortune

Liana Douillet Guzmán, Folx Health

Courtesy of Folx Health

Alexander Hagerup, Vic.ai

Courtesy of Vic.ai

Edith Harbaugh, LaunchDarkly

Courtesy of LaunchDarkly

Kai Kloepfer, Biofire

Courtesy of Biofire Technologies

Helen Kontozopoulos, Odaia

Courtesy of ODAIA

Jill Koziol, Motherly

Courtesy of Motherly

Christie Marchese, Kinema

Courtesy of Kinema

Lindsey Michaelides, Strongsuit

Courtesy of Strongsuit

Maya Mikhailov, Savvi AI

Courtesy of SAVVI AI

Adam Miller, Instil

Courtesy of Instil

Kathryn Minshew, The Muse

Courtesy of Kathryn Minshew

Christine Moseley, Full Harvest

Courtesy of Full Harvest

Ashley Moser, MelodyArc

Courtesy of MelodyArc

Margaret Norris, Aidaly

Courtesy of Aidaly

Nadya Okamoto, August

Courtesy of August

Uzoma “Zo” Orchingwa, Ameelio

Courtesy of Ameelio

Troy Pospisil, Ontra

Courtesy of Ontra

Yash Sheth, Galileo Technologies

Courtesy of Galileo Technologies Inc.

Christine Tao, Sounding Board

Courtesy of Sounding Board Inc.

Brian Vallelunga, Doppler

Courtesy of Doppler

Ben Wright, Velocity Global

Courtesy of Velocity Global

David Wright, Pattern

Courtesy of Pattern

Kazuma Yamauchi, KZM and Company

Courtesy of Kazuma Yamauchi

The Fortune Founders Forum is a community of entrepreneurs chosen by Fortune’s editorial team to participate at the annual Brainstorm Tech conference, which took place in Deer Valley, Utah, in July. Our inaugural cohort was selected based on a variety of factors, including the potential impact of their companies, and reflected a diversity of geographies, sectors, and demographics.