The Golden Touch

Innovation MBA Student Golden Mashindi Balances Multiple Startups and Healthcare Management Dreams

In student entrepreneur Golden Mashindi’s world, innovation isn’t just a buzzword–it’s a way of life. From his parents’ grassroots healthcare efforts in Zimbabwe, to launching his inaugural startup company, Jet Ski 502 from a single secondhand personal watercraft, the University of Louisville Innovation MBA student and recipient of the 2025 Cardinal Challenge People’s Choice award is proving that each of his career goals is powered by purpose and rooted in community health and wellness.

Innovation Takes Root

Growing up in a family focused on providing community healthcare access through his parents’ nonprofit organization, at an early age, Mashindi gained exposure not only to creating and operating an organization but also to witnessing the extensive need for access to basic health and wellness in minority communities across the nation and around the world. Offering drive-thru clinics, donation drives and soccer camps in his parent’s home country of Zimbabwe each summer, he “saw firsthand the disparities people faced there and in minority communities here in the US,” he said.

Fueled by those mission experiences, Mashindi felt the calling to follow in his mother’s footsteps and pursue a medical career, deciding to earn a bachelor’s degree in public health with a pre-medicine track. “Public health gave me the foundation to understand community-level health issues while setting me up to pursue medical school,” he explained. His work in Zimbabwe also planted the seeds of interest in entrepreneurship, which laid the foundation for the eventual development and launch of his second startup G&E Solutions–a company geared toward creating and delivering technology-driven hygiene tools previously inaccessible to underserved communities.

From Crisis to Clarity

As a public health student during the rise of COVID-19, Mashindi became more immersed in providing public health aid. Assisting with COVID testing and vaccination, he soon advanced into leadership and operations roles, giving him “a front row seat to how healthcare systems run behind the scenes.”

Further into his undergraduate program, he participated in an executive internship that led him toward the healthcare management industry. “I realized I had a real passion for the business side of healthcare,” he said. After hearing from one of his professors about her experience in hospital leadership, he felt moved to pursue an MBA. Driven toward pursuing healthcare management while growing his existing business, Jet Ski 502, upon earning his bachelor’s degree, Mashindi chose UofL’s IMBA “because of its focus on entrepreneurship, something I was already diving into with my first startup.”

Navigating New Waters

Mashindi’s initial startup, Jet Ski 502, was already speeding ahead with friend and business partner Arnold Moto years before his career trajectory led him to the College of Business. “Arnold and I got close when my family moved to Indianapolis in 2018,” he explained. “We used to watch boats from my parents’ house and always wanted to be out there, but we couldn’t rent anything because we were underage.” Forming a plan, the two saved money and purchased a used jet ski. Their realization that there was a lack of access to the temporary use of jet skis sparked their first business venture. “We realized there were a lot of people like us, interested but with no access,” he said.

Looking to earn capital to grow Jet Ski 502, Mashindi participated in the University of Kentucky’s Von Allmen Bootcamp, winning first place. The pair used the funding to purchase more jet skis. After recognizing a necessary pivot from their original plan for 12 service locations in Indiana, Mashindi and Moto “created a new business model and validated it at numerous pitch competitions this past year and saw the potential for a product market fit in Louisville.”

Experiencing mixed reactions to the launch of Jet Ski 502 at Waterfront Park, the team has taken to heart the variety of feedback they have received about offering personal watercraft rentals to the public. “Jet skis are new to Louisville, so we’ve seen both excitement and concern,” said Mashindi. “A lot of people are happy to see something different…especially as the city brings in more vendors and small businesses. At the same time, some worry about safety on the Ohio River.” To uphold customers’ well-being first, he explained that, “We’re working closely with the right agencies to make sure we are prioritizing safety.”

Opening Doors to Discovery

With Jet Ski 502 successfully launched, in the fall of 2024, Mashindi turned his attention to the IMBA program at a pivotal point in his entrepreneurial career. While he was able to conceptualize and launch his inaugural startup, he sought to develop further skills that would help him present his products, notably his startup with fellow IMBA student Emmanuel Haynes, in a more polished and engaging way. The program “helped me learn how to model and pitch quickly,” he said, “which was huge in securing funding.”

Along with the knowledge gained specifically to his needs as a business owner, through the IMBA Mashindi, “gained access to mentors and a network that continues to support our growth,” he shared. “Without the IMBA, I wouldn’t have been able to build what we have now.” As part of gaining access to a growing network of business professionals and entrepreneurs, Mashindi credits Senior Executive Director of Graduate Programs Vernon Foster with opening doors to him, which ordinarily would have never been opened. “[He] supported me even before I officially joined the program,” he said. “He took the time to introduce me to key people in the community, invited me to networking events, and has consistently looked out for my growth.”

Developing his ability to think outside the box, ask critical questions, pivot his business model design for his second startup, G&E Solutions and speak to his entrepreneurial vision were key skills necessary to develop as an IMBA student and a business owner. Invaluable feedback from Management and Entrepreneurship Instructor Jack Manzella impacted Mashindi’s rapid growth, allowing him to excel as a graduate student and business leader. “He gave detailed feedback on our pitch decks, answered every question I brought to him and helped shape how I think through entrepreneurship,” he said. “From the start, he believed in the ideas we were building and always pushed me to keep going.” Mashindi attributes his education in the IMBA program to his success at the 2025 Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs Collegiate Pitch Competition. “I entered Jet Ski 502 and G&E Solutions, and ended up winning first and second place,” he said. “Having two businesses in the competition taught me how to refine ideas quickly under pressure and juggle multiple pitches at once. The feedback we received during that process shaped everything we’re doing now.”

The skills honed in his IMBA program also served him well in this year’s Cardinal Challenge event. Hosted by Brown-Forman, the Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship and multiple other sponsors, the 17^th annual event showcased the startup concepts of 13 UofL graduate student teams. Mashindi’s second startup, G&E Solutions, received numerous awards for its product, Portable Shower Solutions, earning a personalized gift package from area nonprofit organization Canopy, a $2,000 grant from the Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship and the honor of being named the event’s People’s Choice Award winner. This recognition affirmed their belief that innovation can benefit those in need. “Emmanuel and I worked so hard this past year to get to the stages we are at now with the business, and that moment was just another confirmation that we are still heading down the right path,” he shared. “We have so many people rooting for us, and that is the motivation we needed to keep going.”

A Bright Horizon

With goals to continue pursuing a career in healthcare management while maintaining his startup endeavors, Mashindi shows no signs of slowing down on innovation or progress. “I’m starting a Healthcare Administrative Fellowship at Norton Healthcare Norton Medical Group, where I’ll rotate through departments and work on high-impact projects tied to strategy, operations and patient care,” he said. “At the same time, I’ll continue building G&E Solutions and stay focused on launching 3sixty Waves–a hardware startup focused on men’s grooming,” he said. “We are working on an automated hairbrush for textured hair, [and] we are almost prototype ready.”

Are you looking to invest in an innovative new product from entrepreneurs with a proven track record of success? Mashindi and Haynes are currently looking for investors for their next launch. Visit them to learn more and contact them at 3sixty Waves on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Your business vision needs real strategy. Our Innovation MBA helps entrepreneurs like you turn your ideas into scalable solutions. Learn more and launch your dreams at https://business.louisville.edu/academics-programs/graduate-programs/imba/

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