Young firms get a little national Inc.

A 1960s catchphrase warned, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Now, Inc. magazine says young folks can be trusted to provide the business world with valuable sparks of youthful innovation.

Three Boulder-based companies and their leaders are featured on Inc.’s “30 Under 30” list, which highlights young entrepreneurs who take risks to tackle big issues.

The honorees include: Sarah Schupp, now 30, of University Parent Media; and Yoav Lurie and Justin Segall, both 29, of Simple Energy Inc.

In addition to 30 for-profit companies, the magazine lauded an entrepreneurial nonprofit venture. This year’s honor went to Tyler Hartung, 28, Tyler Epstein, 26, and Teju Ravilochan, 25, of The Unreasonable Institute.

Schupp founded University Parent Media as her senior project at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business and turned it into a $1.8 million venture that produces print and online guides for parents of college students in partnership with nearly 200 universities and colleges in 34 states.

Simple Energy, which works with local utilities and designs online social games that reward energy conservation, is on track for $5 million in revenue in 2012. Lurie and Segall developed their idea at TechStars Boulder.

The Unreasonable Institute is an incubator for social enterprises devoted to solving world problems. Inc. described its founding trio as CU graduates who bring together “25 entrepreneurs for six intense weeks of mentoring, business developing and networking with the intention of scaling up international startups, each with a mission to address a pressing environmental or social need.”

The honorees were selected from more than 400 applicants for this year’s list.

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