Two Northern Kentucky University students are featured in Cincy Inno’s “Five Under 25” list, which highlight five Cincinnati-area entrepreneurs under the age of 25 worth watching. All five were nominated by community members.
Isaiah Kelly (Photo from Smoove Creations)
Graduate student Isaiah Kelly is featured for his company Smoove Creations, a custom shoe and apparel company, while senior Elizabeth “Liz” Shrout is featured for Avasha, a personal styling startup.
Isaiah founded Smoove Creations in 2017. Since then, he has assembled several accolades, including winning the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Cincinnati regional competition twice and winning second place at KY Pitch. Isaiah was also a participant in the Rice Business Plan Competition this past April.
“This originally started out as just a hobby of mine, now it’s evolved into something much greater,” said Kelly, who is pursuing is MBA at NKU. “It’s great to see years of hard work finally starting to pay off.”
Liz founded Avasha in 2020 with her friend, Ally Creech. The two worked with NKU faculty members and the INKUBATOR business accelerator program to bring the company, which started as a high school dream, to reality.
Elizabeth Shrout (right) with Avasha co-founder Ally Creech (Photo from Avasha)
“With the world becoming increasingly dependent on technology and virtual alternatives to services becoming available, the future of Avasha is set up nicely,” Shrout said. “I want to thank everyone who has helped me in getting this dream off the ground.”
Both Kelly and Shrout are students in NKU’s Haile College of Business. NKU professors and staff congratulated the students on their important recognition, citing the two students as premium examples for entrepreneurial success.
“Both of these students exemplify exactly what it means to be a student in the Haile College of Business,” said Dean Hassan R. HassabElnaby, Haile College of Business. “They are tireless workers, innovative entrepreneurs and visionaries. I’m so proud of their accomplishments.
More information about NKU’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship can be found at www.nku.edu.
Northern Kentucky University’s Haile College of Business
