Under 30 Local Arizona: Founders, Creators and Athletes Redefining Business and Culture in Phoenix
Organizers of a nationwide Under 30 initiative have continued a multi-year effort to spotlight up-and-coming business and cultural leaders in local communities, and this year they focused on Arizona. The effort, which began with a local list in 2023, expanded into a Phoenix-based summit and an Under 30 Local Arizona list that names 30 of the state’s most promising founders, athletes and creators. The curators behind the list staged the first of three Phoenix events this year, and the local class reflects the varied ways young people in the state are launching companies, building audiences and changing expectations about who belongs in the room.
The Arizona cohort includes marketing founders who are reshaping how local businesses promote themselves online, creators who are securing conversations with major music and entertainment figures, and athletes using competition to broaden public understanding of ability and inclusion. In advance of the larger list, five participants were selected for expanded interviews that illuminate their paths and the mechanics behind their work. Attendees at the Phoenix summit heard panels and presentations that underscored how these founders and creators are connecting with local markets and national audiences alike.
Attendees watch a panel on the stage of the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Phoenix, highlighting the founders, athletes and creators shaping Arizona.
Daniel Wall, 29, is the founder of Behind The Wall and a self-taught presence in media and entertainment whose trajectory reflects years of patient experimentation. He says he was drawn to conversations and curiosity long before deciding interviewing would be his focus. “I started making content when I was around 12 or 13,” he recalled, though early efforts were limited by parental concerns about social media. It wasn’t until he committed to consistent posting that his work gained traction. Wall notes that the first viral spike came only after about 150 posts, a moment that could have discouraged many. Instead, he treated the uneven results as part of learning: “I didn’t really see it as failing. I just saw it as part of figuring it out.” Over time, he reports having published more than 10,000 videos and accruing over 4 billion views across platforms.
Wall is frank about his approach. He never studied journalism in a formal program; rather, he says his curiosity about the industry drove him to listen and ask questions in ways that felt authentic to him. That authenticity, coupled with repetition, is the argument he offers as a “hot take” on how the entertainment world actually works: “Most people think the entertainment industry is about talent, but it’s really about consistency. There are incredibly talented people who never get seen, and there are people who just kept showing up and figured it out over time.”
Ahmad Alatrash, 28, has taken a different route to scale. As the founder of Fresh Street Mex, he moved from a single to-go storefront to operating more than ten dine-in restaurants. Alatrash described the fundamental lesson of that expansion as a matter of discipline rather than simple replication. “When we started with a single to-go storefront, we thought scaling simply meant repeating what worked in more places,” he said. “What we learned is that real scaling isn’t repetition, it’s discipline. You don’t expand what you hope works; you expand what’s already proven to hold up, consistently, under pressure.”
Alatrash also pointed to the idiosyncrasies of running a restaurant in Arizona: the desert climate, strong local pride in Mexican food, and a fast-growing population with high expectations for flavor and hospitality. Those conditions, he said, required relentless attention to freshness and systems that preserve quality across locations. Financially, he reported that the company made $13 million in revenue last year, and he attributed most of that growth to a focus on a core menu that drives repeat traffic, complemented by community engagement through fundraisers and local partnerships that turn new guests into regulars.
Amy Bockerstette, 27, is a competitive golfer and the founder of the I GOT THIS Foundation. Her rise to national visibility began with a 2019 round played alongside a PGA Tour pro, a moment that went viral and changed the course of her public life. The visibility, she said, translated quickly into invitations and opportunities: in the first year after that round she did many interviews, played in tournaments and was asked to appear at 29 different events across the country. To channel the attention into sustained work, her family launched the I GOT THIS Foundation on her 21st birthday, asking for donations in lieu of traditional gifts.
Bockerstette has used the platform to advocate for athletes with intellectual disabilities and to press institutions to expand inclusive pathways. She described the underlying obstacle she faced early in her career as low expectations from others—people who saw her diagnosis before they saw her abilities. That dynamic, she said, often manifested in skepticism about whether she could compete or handle responsibility. Bockerstette called for colleges, sponsors and governing sports bodies to create more opportunities for inclusion—citing the U.S. Golf Association’s adaptive programs and the U.S. Adaptive Open as an example of organizations that have embraced athletes with disabilities.
Nina Cedro, 27, and Erica Kazuko, 28, are cofounders of TalaKō Creative, an agency that draws on their Filipino and Japanese heritages. The partners selected a name that intentionally references their cultural roots: “Tala” is a Tagalog word for star or shining light, while “Ko” means child in Japanese. For the pair, the agency’s name is a deliberate signal of approach and intent—an emphasis on childlike creativity and imagination used to shine a light. Their work is framed by that origin story, and the naming choice underscores how cultural identity can be a foundation for branding and creative direction.
The expanded profiles included here were edited for length and clarity. They offer a window into a larger Under 30 Local Arizona class of 30 leaders working in hospitality, media, sports and creative services across the state. Each profile reveals distinct strategies for growth—whether through relentless content creation, disciplined operational systems, turning a viral moment into an enduring cause, or rooting a creative business in cultural identity. The collection of interviews highlights different paths to influence and business-building in Arizona’s current economic and cultural moment.
Activity and Reactions on X
Live searches for “Under 30 Local Arizona,” “Forbes Under 30 Phoenix,” and the names of profiled individuals show moderate but primarily local engagement tied to the summit. @Forbes and summit attendees shared panel highlights and group photos, amplifying visibility among Arizona business and creator circles. Participants including Daniel Wall reposted coverage, reinforcing his emphasis on consistency. Amy Bockerstette’s inclusion drew supportive replies from disability-advocacy accounts that echoed her calls for expanded inclusive sports pathways, though no new verified operational details or revenue figures beyond those in the article appeared in posts. Discussion of TalaKō Creative and Fresh Street Mex remained limited to congratulatory mentions from local users. Overall activity has not extended into national viral conversation, staying concentrated among Arizona-based founders, the listed cohort, and event attendees.