DashStrom Named 2026 RealLIST Startup Honoree
- Mar 2
- 3 min read
DashStrom has been recognized as a 2026 RealLIST Startup honoree by Technical.ly — one of the country's most respected voices in local tech and innovation journalism.
About the Recognition
Each year, Technical.ly's editorial team conducts an extensive review of Pittsburgh's startup ecosystem to identify early-stage companies that are doing something genuinely meaningful. The evaluation goes beyond traction metrics as their journalists weigh societal impact, founder background and experience, community involvement, and the overall potential of each company to shape the region's future.
What This Means to Us
Being selected for this list isn't the result of an application or a sponsored placement. It's a journalistic call, made by writers who have been embedded in Pittsburgh's innovation scene for years and who know the landscape as well as anyone. That's what makes this recognition carry real weight for us.
We believe challenge builds a child's growth mindset; their dash. Kids grow braver, stronger, and more resilient when they're given space to struggle, laugh, try again, and cheer each other on.
DashStrom was built on a simple but deeply held conviction: that youth enrichment is most powerful when it's rooted in challenge, not comfort. We designed our program to put kids in situations where they have to dig deep, where the difficulty is the point, and where the breakthroughs they experience are entirely their own.
To have that work recognized alongside some of Pittsburgh's most forward-thinking emerging companies is energizing in a way that's hard to put into words. It tells us that the belief we built this on — that helping kids find their dash, that spark of grit and growth mindset — isn't just good for children. It's good for communities, for cities, and for the kind of future we all want to be part of building.
It also reminds us why we do this in the first place. Not for recognition, but because the work matters. Because the kids matter. Because every "I can't" that turns into "I did it" is a real, irreversible transformation in a young person's understanding of who they are and what they're capable of.
Where We've Been, Where We're Going
Since launching, DashStrom has expanded into schools, after-school programs, and community spaces across the SouthWestern PA / Pittsburgh region, Denver, CO and beyond. Our coaches show up every session with energy, intention, and a genuine commitment to the kids in front of them. And those kids? They keep showing us what's possible when someone believes in them and gives them room to grow.
Being on the RealLIST fuels us to keep going. To reach more schools. To train more coaches. To bring the DashStrom experience to more kids who need it — especially those who haven't yet had someone tell them that difficult things are worth attempting, and that they're more capable than they think.
More Schools
We are delighted to be welcomed into even more classrooms each semester, across SWPA, Pittsburgh, PA and Denver, CO.
Coaches
Our Coaches are committed to finding their purpose alongside the kids they serve and our community of coaches is growing.
Kids & Families
As each child discovers that they are capable of more than they originally thought, they are bringing their new perspective home to their families, causing a ripple effect throughout the communities we serve.
A Note of Gratitude
To the Technical.ly sponsors Innovation Works and Morgan Lewis: thank you for your support making these recognitions possible.
To our school leaders and partners: thank you for your likeminded values and quest to help each child develop a growth mindset.
To every coach who shows up with heart, humor, and high standards: you are the program. You are the reason DashStrom works.
To so many parents who share the greatest feedback we could earn, "My child loves your classes and looks forward to them every week. And we love how much more grit and resiliency we see at home, too." We don't take that lightly, and we never will.
And to every child who has been brave enough to try something hard, even when they weren't sure they could - this is for you. This will always be for you.
We're proud to be part of Pittsburgh's startup community. We're proud of what we've built and even more excited about what's ahead. This honor is a milestone, but it's not the destination. We're just getting warmed up.
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