Meet the Women Entrepreneurs
Check back often as we continue to update this year’s lineup of women entrepreneurs!
Cassie Roach ’12 & Rebecka O’Brien ’11
Co-Founders of Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia
Cassie & Rebecka (pictured left to right) are the founders and owners of Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia LLC. They met at Pitt in 2010 and became fast friends. BWPT was founded in 2013 after hosting, what they had no idea was their prototype, at Hough’s Taproom for several months. They had so much fun hosting trivia, and loved going out and meeting new people, they decided to buy an LLC and start knocking on doors around the city to see if anyone else would hire them. To their surprise, several locations were interested in Tuesday Trivia! The problem was, there were only two of them, and they were used to co-hosting events together. It was time to split up and also beg their friends to join their team. Fast forward 8 years, through a global pandemic, and here they are, wiser and more determined than ever to connect people through pub trivia.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa, BWPT is now supported by an amazing team of 30+ charismatic and kind trivia hosts and three ingenious and creative writers. They are currently serving Pennsylvania and Ohio for in person pub trivia, team building, fundraising and private events. BWPT also offers virtual trivia, live on Zoom, which has allowed Cassie & Rebecka’s business to go worldwide, connecting anyone from anywhere.
Connect with Cassie on LinkedIn Connect with Rebecka on LinkedIn
Anna Li ’28
Founder & CEO of Korion Health
Anna is an MD-PhD student with a passion for using technology to increase access to and quality of healthcare and empower patients. She has over ten years of experience in cystic fibrosis research, which she was inspired to go into by one of her best friends from high school, and her PhD work focuses on weaponizing custom-engineered bacteriophages to treat antibiotic resistant infections, with the ultimate goal of translation into clinic.
As an engineer by training with experiences as both a patient and patient advocate, Anna is also very passionate about using ethically designed technology to increase efficiency and patient empowerment in the medical system. This passion led her to found Korion Health Inc. in her second year of medical school; Korion designs medical devices that empower patients to understand their own healthcare from the convenience of their homes, and aim to remove many of the barriers to healthcare.
In her spare time, Anna also cares for stray cats, and regularly visits the hospital with her golden retriever as a therapy dog team. Additionally, she is also a part-time actress, science fiction writer, conductor of the Pitt Med Musical Scope and Scalpel, and freelance composer.
Connect with Anna on LinkedIn
Zoe Frantz ’23
Owner of Zoe’s Customs Shop
Zoe is a student at the University of Pittsburgh studying Marketing with a concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She has been running a small business for over two years that was based in digital media marketing and graphic design. Currently, Zoe is enrolled in the Digital Marketing Institute to become certified in Google Ads and SEO, while also doing freelance design work.
Connect with Zoe on LinkedIn
Marlene van Nelson ’15
Founder of Trellis Legal
Marlene is the founder and principal attorney of Trellis Legal LLC. She founded the practice in 2016 after graduating from Pitt Law with a goal of making legal services more approachable, accessible, and transparent. She works with small businesses, non-profits, and individuals with a focus on transactional legal needs and has expanded her team to include another attorney and an admin. Marlene also works to promote social entrepreneurship and community engagement. Outside of the office she likes to cook, play volleyball, hike, and smoke meats.
Connect with Marlene on LinkedIn
