Joining Apkudo has been a rewarding and energizing experience for me. That energy is a direct result of time spent with a brilliant leader with a shared vision to make a lasting impact on an industry, our customers, and our people. I am thrilled to announce that my colleague and friend, Josh Matthews, Co-Founder and CEO of Apkudo, is a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year® 2024 Mid-Atlantic program, sponsored by EY. The award honors the best of the best— founders and transformational CEOs who bootstrapped their businesses from inception and also raised outside capital to grow their companies.
Josh is a proven entrepreneur. What started in 2011 as a narrow but innovative technical solution to address how new phone models perform before hitting the market —has grown into a business that powers the entire connected device lifecycle, from launch to end-of-life.
Customers and the entire industry are paying attention. TAG Research named us one of 57 companies to watch in Climate Science 2023, and Apkudo was recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing companies through the Inc. 5000, ranked in the top half at 2,119.
A strong vision for a better world fuels Josh and Apkudo—and Josh’s personal commitment to sustainability helps ensure that Apkudo can hold itself up as an inspiring story at the intersection of technology, innovation, and the circular economy. Thanks to Josh and the inspiring team at Apkudo, we have created a rising tide for all connected device supply chain participants. Apkudo is dedicated to ensuring that devices, which might otherwise languish in forgotten drawers and pollute the planet, find their way into the hands of those who seek to be connected.
One of Josh's most impressive traits is courage—especially in creating a solution to a problem that most people don’t even know exists. Josh has always been intrigued by big problems that—at first— might seem highly risky, insurmountable, or unsolvable because he has always known that within those problems are usually opportunities for unique solutions and approaches with a big potential upside.
I’m very proud that the industry is recognizing all that Josh has done and continues to do.
Entrepreneur of the Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, identifying game-changing business leaders for nearly 40 years. The program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corporation; Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn Corporation; and Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC.
Learn more about the Entrepreneur of the Year Mid-Atlantic program and follow us on our journey to the regional awards celebration!
#EOYUS #EOYMidAtl, @ EY_US ey.com/us/eoy/midatlantic
