Past Student Success Stories

Florida Atlantic's Forbes 30 Under 30 Honorees

Seven Florida Atlantic alumni. Six entrepreneurial ventures. One growing legacy of innovation.

Maxamilian Sherman ’21 | Ballz 4 Change

Sherman, a former Division I golfer, co-founded Ballz 4 Change with Michael Hulle. The company retrieves lost golf balls from lakes, canals and rivers, sanitizes them and resells them online at substantially lower prices than new golf balls.

Sherman earned his Business Administration degree in 2021 and also studied entrepreneurship at the College of Business. Florida Atlantic reported that the company was valued at $4.8 million, had approximately 135,000 customers, partnered with the South Florida PGA and was projecting $5 million in 2025 revenue.

Florida Atlantic Press Release 01/23/2025: Seventh College of Business Alumnus Honored by Forbes 30 Under 30

Ballz 4 Change Forbes profile: forbes.com/profile/ballz-4-change/

Arielle Baril ’20 | Rielli

Baril founded luxury swimwear brand Rielli in 2019 while earning her International Business degree at Florida Atlantic. Forbes selected her for its inaugural 2023 30 Under 30 Local: Miami list.

She started the company without outside funding or partners and initially sewed the swimsuits herself. Rielli gained significant exposure after Kim Kardashian wore one of Baril's designs, and the brand has appeared in outlets including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

Florida Atlantic Research Daily 7/15/2024: Florida Atlantic Alumna’s Brand Goes Global

Forbes 30 Under 30 Local Miami featuring Arielle Baril: forbes.com/profile/arielle-baril/

Kyle Lansing ’20 | StrawFish

Lansing co-founded StrawFish while attending Florida Atlantic. The company develops alternatives to single-use plastics using material derived from seashells. Forbes named Lansing and his co-founders to the 2024 30 Under 30 Social Impact list.

Lansing majored in Business Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and specifically credited the entrepreneurship curriculum and Adams Center with helping him ask the right questions while building StrawFish.

Florida Atlantic Press Release 3/20/2024: College of Business Alumnus’ Company Honored by Forbes 30 Under 30

At the time of Forbes' selection, StrawFish had generated $2.3 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2023, with customers including Royal Caribbean, Cava and Shake Shack.

StrawFish's Forbes profile: forbes.com/profile/strawfish/

Hannah Herbst ’20 | BEACON

Herbst was just 17 years old when Forbes named her to its 2018 30 Under 30 Energy list. She developed BEACON, or Bringing Electricity Access to Countries through Ocean Energy, a device designed to capture energy from moving water and potentially provide electricity in developing countries.

Herbst attended Florida Atlantic High School while simultaneously studying at Florida Atlantic University. She later earned her bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic. She was also named America's Top Young Scientist through the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

Florida Atlantic New Desk 12/17/2020: Florida Atlantic Grad, Entrepreneur Passionate About Helping People

Hannah Herbst's Forbes profile: forbes.com/profile/hannah-herbst/

Alex Schulze ’17 & Andrew Cooper ’17 | 4ocean

Schulze and Cooper were named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs list as co-founders of 4ocean.

Their story began after a surfing trip to Bali exposed them to the scale of ocean plastic pollution. They built 4ocean around a business model in which product purchases fund the removal of trash from oceans, rivers and coastlines. By 2022, Forbes reported that the company had removed more than 20 million pounds of plastic and trash.

Forbes News 02/25/2022: 4ocean Hits 20 Million Mark In Collecting Ocean Plastics, Starts Tackling Tires

Florida Atlantic Marine Research Lab Partnership: Meet Our Partner: Florida Atlantic University® Marine Research Lab

Florida Atlantic News Desk 03/04/2020: 4ocean Joins Research Park at Florida Atlantic University®

Update February 27, 2026: South Florida company celebrates 50-million-pound milestone at beach cleanup

4ocean's Forbes profile: forbes.com/profile/4ocean/

Jan Bednar ’14 | ShipMonk

While at Florida Atlantic, Bednar developed BedaBox, won the 2014 Florida Atlantic Business Pitch Competition and became part of the inaugural class at The Runway at Florida Atlantic, known as Tech Runway at that time. BedaBox eventually became ShipMonk. Forbes selected him for its 2018 30 Under 30 Retail & E-Commerce list.

ShipMonk subsequently grew into a major global e-commerce fulfillment company and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in growth capital. Bednar has since transitioned from CEO to Founder and Executive Advisor.

Update 07/13//2026: ShipMonk Named to Inbound Logistics’ 2026 Top 100 3PLs

Jan Bednar's Forbes profile: forbes.com/profile/jan-bednar/