Touré Owen

Touré Owen is the founder and CEO of Bella AI, a student information system and AI compliance agent for vocational and trade schools. Bella helps these institutions manage the complex web of regulatory requirements they must follow to remain eligible for federal student aid. Touré developed the vision for Bella while earning his MBA at Stanford. Looking for a career path beyond the Silicon Valley grind, he decided to pursue his passion, barbering. He enrolled part-time in barber college, taking the Caltrain from Palo Alto to East San Jose daily after classes to complete the 1,000 hours required for a California barber's license. While learning the craft, Touré began helping the owner of his school with reports and compliance. He was struck by the lack of modern tools available to navigate the requirements of nearly half a dozen state and federal agencies. Seeing how overwhelming the administrative burden for traditionally owner-operated schools like his was, Touré decided to help. He hacked together an MVP and saw it quickly transform the school's operations. Launched in Fall 2025, Bella currently serves a dedicated cohort of about a dozen schools, with plans to expand to over 100 institutions by 2026. As AI continues to displace white-collar careers and the value of a traditional four-year degree declines, trade school enrollments will surge. Overlooked for decades, these schools lack the tools and infrastructure to manage this growth. Bella AI will fill this void, automating administrative compliance burdens so school owners can spend less time on paperwork and more time investing in the students who represent the future of the American economy.