In a first for the publication, Forbes has compiled a "30 Under 30 Local" list highlighting Austin's most innovative entrepreneurs and trailblazers. Austin was one of 10 innovation hubs in North America to get its own version of the prestigious Forbes list, along with Toronto, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle.

The inaugural 30 Under 30 local lists are meant to "spotlight the bold entrepreneurs, leaders and changemakers" in these cities, Forbes says.

To come up with the local list, Forbes first solicited nominations for people under age 30 with Austin-based businesses in the categories of art and style, media, entertainment, social media, science, sports, healthcare, energy, enterprise tech, and more.

Winners were determined by a panel of judges comprising local business leaders and North America "Under 30 Class of 2023" recipients. Austin's judges include Love.Life co-founder and president Betsy Foster; Snoopslimes founder and CEO Jungmin Kang; LiveOak Venture Partners founding partner Krishna Srinivasan; Jasper AI co-founder Chris Hull; and Destiny founder Sohail Prasad.

The resulting 30 Under 30 Austin honorees range from activists to beverage business founders, artificial intelligence pioneers, and more. (There are actually 38 people on the list, as several co-founders are listed together.)

"Driven by a University of Texas talent pipeline and an influx of young entrepreneurs, Austin is an innovation hub that is empowering the next generation to challenge conventions," the list's author said.

Forbes did identify one glaring disparity in the Austin market: that women entrepreneurs are severely underrepresented in the local business leadership industry. Out of the 38 individuals on the list, only nine are women.

"While the city has made strides in recent years to create a more welcoming space for female entrepreneurs through groups like Women@Austin and the mayor’s newly formed Austin Women Entrepreneurs task force, female founders still need more support accessing capital, with women owning 30 percent of small businesses but receiving just 7 percent of [venture capital] funds in Austin," the report's author said.

The full roster of the Austinite entrepreneurs on Forbes' list (and their age as of publication) are:

• Irfan Alam, Frontrow Health founder (27)
• Aditya Bhatia, MeriPheri founder (20)
• Destin Bell, Card.io co-founder (24)
• Elle Beecher, The Board founder (28)
• Shriya Boppana, TV personality and activist (23)
• Caleb Dykema (27) and Zach Nichols (26), Vault Sports co-founders
• Kate Ferguson (28) and Lila Sullivan (27), Flourish Plant co-founders
• Rich Fortune, Hangtight co-founder (25)
• Victor Guardiola (25) and Jordan Hicks (25), Bawi co-founders
• Jake Hay, PopShorts partner (28)
• Dan Hnatkovskyy, NewHomesMate co-founder (27)
• Matthew Iommi (26) and Justin Rath (25), Fetii co-founders
• Miriam Laeky, Texas Legislative Black Caucus executive director (25)
• Mason Lynaugh, ATX DAO co-founder (27)
• Adrian Montoya, Summit Eleven co-founder (29)
• Teodoro Mefalopulos (28) and Blake Takushi (24), Idea Peddler partners
• Juan Carlos Munguia Castañeda, M Aerospace RTC co-founder (29)
• Jonathan Newar, Captain Experiences co-founder (28)
• Jonathan Newton (29) and Mark Phillips (28), Dream Con co-founders
• Joseph Noor (29) and Colton Pace (29), Ownwell co-founders
• Samuel Padilla, Google Cloud Digital Assets Team founding member
• Jenna Palek,Fun on Weekdays podcast creator and founder (25)
• Umar Brimah, Austin Venture Association director of platform (28)
• Nico Ramsey, ECPR Texas senior account executive (28)
• Connor Saeli, Waterboy co-founder (28)
• Victor Schwartz, Sonara co-founder (26)
• Katherine Snedeker, Gray for Glioblastoma Society founder (21)
• Makenzie Stokel, EVA co-founder (29)
• Luke Thorssen (25) and Rafaella Thorssen (31), Vlogmi co-founders
• Colin Tierney, Gold Tier Real Estate founder (25)