Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based Founder operating in the Banking space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Immad Akhund
CEO & Founder of Mercury Technologies
Immad Akhund is the CEO and Founder of Mercury.
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About Mercury Technologies: Mercury is the banking stack for startups.* FDIC-insured accounts, debit cards, currency exchange, APIs, 3rd party integrations & more.
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Neil Mehta
Founder, Managing Partner of Greenoaks
Neil Mehta is the founder and a managing partner of Greenoaks Capital. Greenoaks is a leading investment firm focused on internet and technology businesses. Greenoaks makes concentrated, long-term investments in enduring businesses globally.
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About Greenoaks: Greenoaks is a global investment firm specializing in technology companies.
Dileep Thazhmon
Co-Founder & CEO of Jeeves
Dileep Thazhmon is the Co-Founder and CEO at Jeeves.
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About Jeeves: Jeeves is a fintech company that brings financial solutions to businesses globally.
Serena Williams
Founder of Serena Williams Foundation
Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in women’s singles tennis. The Women’s Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on six separate occasions. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she became the World No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, and regained this ranking for the sixth time on February 18, 2013, becoming the oldest world no. 1 player in WTA’s history. Williams is also the reigning French Open, US Open, WTA Tour Championships and Olympic ladies singles champion. In 2008 Williams helped to fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya. She received a Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundation in 2003 for work in breast cancer. Williams has also been involved in a number of clinics at schools and community centers, particularly those which have programs focusing on at-risk youth; she has also won the “Young Heroes Award” from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Inland (2003) and the “Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award” (2004). In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Williams, along with other ATP and WTA stars decided to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a charity event in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims.
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About Bumble, Bumble Fund, Serena Ventures, Serena Williams Foundation: The Serena Williams Fund was established to promote equity; through education, gender, race, disability…
Brandon Krieg
CEO and Co-Founder of Stash Financial
Brandon Krieg is the Co-Founder of Collective Returns, Inc. and has been its Chief Executive Officer since July 11, 2016. Brandon Krieg served as the President of Collective Returns, Inc. until July 11, 2016 and serves as its Executive Director.
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About Stash Financial: Stash is a personal finance app that combines banking, investing, and advice into one platform.
Asya Bradley
Founder & COO of First Boulevard
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About First Boulevard: First Boulevard is a fintech startup that aims to address the generational wealth gap for Black Americans.
Donald Hawkins
Founder & CEO of First Boulevard
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About First Boulevard: First Boulevard is a fintech startup that aims to address the generational wealth gap for Black Americans.
Sankaet Pathak
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Synapse
Sankaet Pathak is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Synapse.
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About Synapse: Synapse is a banking platform that enables companies to provide financial products to their customers.
Bryan Keltner
Co-Founder & Chief Compliance Officer of Synapse
Bryan Keltner is the Co-Founder & Chief Compliance Officer of Synapse.
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About Synapse: Synapse is a banking platform that enables companies to provide financial products to their customers.
Amy Gips
Founder of Astia Angels
Founder at Astia Angels.
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About Astia Angels: Astia Angels is a global network of both female and male angel investors that invest in high-growth companies.
Skye Isard
CTO & Co-Founder of Sandbox Banking
Skye was a software developer at MIT CSAIL and Harvard Management Company before co-founding AlphaPack. He holds degrees in both Computer Science and Psychology from Tufts University. He strives to correctly balance his obsession with building maintainable software with the need to deliver immediate customer value. He has learned there are few easy answers. Skye loves running, poker, and pretending to be a competent cook.
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About Sandbox Banking: Sandbox Banking provides Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) technology to banks, credit unions, and fintechs
Dario Vergara
CTO & Co-Founder of LendingFront
Formerly SVP of technology for OnDeck. Most recently, VP of Technology for Bonobos, the largest apparel brand ever built on the web in the US.
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About LendingFront: Small business lending software platform for banks and other financial institutions
Jorge Sun
CEO & Co-Founder of LendingFront
Founding team member and Chief Credit Officer for OnDeck. Most recently, Head of Small Business Credit at Capital One Bank.
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About GATHER & SAVE, LendingFront: Small business lending software platform for banks and other financial institutions
Steven Smith
Co-Founder & CEO of Finicity
Steven Smith is Finicity’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He has strong strategic and tactical business skills and combines them with a passion to develop products and services that make a positive difference in people’s lives. Prior to co-founding Finicity, Steve served as a senior member of the executive team at Megahertz Corporation, the world’s leading supplier of data communication products for mobile computers. At the close of his nine-year tenure, Megahertz had more than 1,200 employees and claimed more than 50 percent of the North American PC Card market. Most recently, Steve led the acquisition and management of a global industrial engineering and manufacturing firm. Under his direction, the company became a leading supplier of critical service control equipment for chemical and petrochemical plants. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Utah.
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About Finicity: Finicity provides open banking services, real-time financial data access and insights.
Nicholas Thomas
Co-Founder of Finicity
Nicholas Thomas is a Co-Founder & President at Finicity.
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About Finicity, Nordmark Group: Finicity provides open banking services, real-time financial data access and insights.
Aryeh Bourkoff
Founder & CEO of LionTree
Mr. Bourkoff is the founder and CEO of LionTree LLC, an independent investment bank. He previously served as Vice Chairman and Head of Americas Investment Banking at UBS, which he joined in 1999. He was also a member of the UBS Investment Banking Executive Committee. Other positions Mr. Bourkoff held within UBS include Joint Global Head of Telecom, Media, and Technology Investment Banking and Head of the Media and Communications Research Group. Before joining UBS, he served as a high-yield research analyst at CIBC World Markets from 1997-99 and Smith Barney from 1995-97. Mr. Bourkoff is a director on the boards of select private companies. He is also a chair of the entertainment, media, and communications division of the UJA-Federation of New York and a member of its digital media executive committee; a member of the New York Philanthropic Advisory Board of UNICEF; a trustee of the Foundation Fighting Blindness; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. – See more at: http://www.tribecadisruptiveinnovationawards.com/aryeh-bourkoff-founder-and-ceo-liontree-llc/#sthash.YRJMs0Ws.dpuf
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About LionTree: LionTree Partners is a service provider and investment banking fund that invests in media, technology, and telecommunication.
Colin Walsh
CEO and Co-Founder of Varo Money
Colin Walsh is the brainchild behind Varo and its mission to revolutionize banking. Colin and his team founded Varo to create a better way of banking that empowers consumers to be more in control of their financial lives. He believes too many people are not well served by the big banks, which have created a significant opportunity for innovators. Varo is building a seamless retail banking solution that addresses big pain points for the ~20 million millennial Americans (ages 22-36) who are creditworthy yet still manage their money on a month-to-month basis. These Americans are often one unexpected event away from running into financial trouble, which can prevent them from building savings and investing their money around longer-term goals. Varo has designed a product that allows its customers to see their full financial picture, understand how they’re spending, and access lending and savings products to smooth cash flow and build wealth over time. Varo’s frictionless, mobile-first banking solution does not charge overdraft fees or punitive interest rates, thereby eliminating the harmful fees traditional banks rely on to make money from this large segment of consumers. As proven in other industries, innovators who introduce products people love at lower cost often create massive disruption. We believe the time for such a change in retail banking has arrived. Understanding banking and how people manage their money is a vital part of developing such a new mobile banking platform. Walsh is perfectly positioned to do this with more than 25 years of retail financial services industry experience. His knowledge and expertise is guiding the Varo team to deliver a platform that allows users to effortlessly cover their expenses and build their wealth, so they can get on with their lives.
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About Varo Money: Varo is a digital bank that offers innovative, premium banking services wrapped in inclusive design.
Varun Deshpande
Co-Founder of OnJuno
Varun Deshpande is the Co-Founder at OnJuno.
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About Nuo, OnJuno: OnJuno is a cross-border Neo Banking Platform that aims to give users across the world a high yield account to grow their savings.
Siddharth Verma
Co-Founder of OnJuno
Siddharth Verma is the Co-Founder at OnJuno.
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About OnJuno: OnJuno is a cross-border Neo Banking Platform that aims to give users across the world a high yield account to grow their savings.
Ratnesh Ray
Co-Founder of OnJuno
Ratnesh Ray is the Co-Founder at OnJuno
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About Nuo, OnJuno: OnJuno is a cross-border Neo Banking Platform that aims to give users across the world a high yield account to grow their savings.
Andrei Cherny
CEO and Co-Founder of Aspiration
Andrei Cherny has spent nearly twenty years working to make the financial system more open and fair. He combines a background as an advisor to some of America’s top companies, the co-founder and president of a media start-up, a financial fraud prosecutor, a historian, a White House aide, a Navy reserve officer, and a nationally-recognized economic policy expert. Andrei has provided strategic counsel to companies such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Bank of America. He launched and grew Democracy Journal to one of the most widely read idea journals in America. There, he helped start the successful fight for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A former Clinton White House aide, he was the youngest White House speechwriter in American history. His 2000 book, The Next Deal, showed how business and government would be transformed by people’s demands for more and better choices. He is also the author of the The Candy Bombers. He graduated from Harvard University and from the University of California Berkeley law school. Source: https://www.aspiration.com/team
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About Aspiration: Aspiration offers retail banking and investing services that enable customers to spend and save their money in ways that protect the planet.
Joseph N. Sanberg
Co-Founder of Aspiration
Joe Sanberg is a public and private-sector entrepreneur and investor harnessing the power of innovation to improve the quality of life for all. He is Co-Founder of Aspiration, an online financial company built for everyone. Aspiration serves people at the heart of their financial lives – their banking account – in a trust-based model that empowers people to choose whatever fee they think is fair (even zero) and enables them to bank, invest, and spend in accordance with their values. Joe is regarded as one of the nation’s leaders in the fight to end poverty. Joe has been the leading advocate for California’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income families. Joe not only lobbied California to pass the credit, but in 2015 when the state didn’t allocate enough money for outreach, Joe created CalEITC4Me. This community organizing program has connected working California families with $4 billion of state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits. A native of Southern California, Sanberg attended Servite High School in Anaheim where he has created an International Leadership Program that supports students learning Mandarin and visiting China. Sanberg graduated from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude.
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About Aspiration: Aspiration offers retail banking and investing services that enable customers to spend and save their money in ways that protect the planet.
Ravishankar Gundlapalli
Founder, President & Chief Solutions Officer of MentorCloud
Ravishankar Gundlapalli is the Founder, Executive Chairman, President, and Chief Solutions Officer at MentorCloud.
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About Founder Institute, MentorCloud: MentorCloud is a cloud-based mentoring platform for enterprises to accelerate digital transformation, employee engagement and retention.
Eric Zinterhofer
Founder of Searchlight Capital Partners
Eric Zinterhofer was elected to the board of directors of Charter on November 30, 2009 and as non-executive Chairman of the board on December 1, 2009. In 2010, Zinterhofer founded Searchlight Capital Partners, LLC, a private equity firm. Previously, he served as a senior partner at Apollo Management, L.P. and was with Apollo from 1998 until May 2010. From 1994 to 1996, Zinterhofer was a member of the Corporate Finance Department at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. From 1993 to 1994, he was a member of the Structured Equity Group at J.P. Morgan Investment Management. Zinterhofer is a director of Dish TV India Ltd., Integra Telecom, Inc., Hunter Boot, Ltd. and Leo Cable, LLC. Previously, Zinterhofer was a director of Central European Media Enterprises, Ltd., iPCS, Inc., Unity Media SCA and Affinion Group, Inc. Zinterhofer received B.A. degrees in Honors Economics and European History from the University of Pennsylvania and received a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
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About Searchlight Capital Partners: Searchlight Capital Partners is a private investment firm operating in North America and Europe.
Stephen D Owens
Managing Director & Founder of Staple Street Capital
Steve is a co-founder and Managing Director at Staple Street Capital where he jointly oversees all aspects of the firm’s investment activities. Prior to founding Staple Street Capital, Mr. Owens was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group where he was a member of the firm’s U.S. Buyout team. During his tenure at Carlyle, he co-founded the firm’s Global Consumer & Retail Group, was a senior member of the firm’s Global Communications & Media Group, and executed and oversaw investments in the business services and transportation sectors. Mr. Owens was responsible for sourcing, executing, overseeing and exiting investments across a variety of industries and served on the boards of a number of Carlyle portfolio companies. Mr. Owens received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and graduated with distinction from Emory University. Mr. Owens currently serves on the board of directors of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX), Ironline Compression and Aaroma Holdings.
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About Staple Street Capital: Staple Street Capital invests in attractive middle market companies where we can partner with management to create value.
Donna Wells
Founder and CEO of Valencia Ventures
A nationally-recognized technology executive with an exceptional track record in driving strategic innovation and rapid growth in Fortune 500 and start-up environments. Ms. Wells is a former software company CEO and led US marketing for two Fortune 500 companies. She holds degrees from Wharton and Stanford and teaches entrepreneurship at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ms. Wells is an Audit Committee Financial Expert and has served on public, private and SPAC boards since 2010. She was named Board Director of the Year by the Women in Information Technology organization in 2021.
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About Stanford Graduate School of Business, Valencia Ventures: Valencia Ventures offers strategic board, investment and advisory aervices for companies seeking to define and hold the leading edge.
Chris Bridges
CEO & Co-Founder of VITAL CARD
Co-Founder of VITAL CARD.VITAL is the world’s first social credit card that offers unlimited cash back rewards when you use it and share it. The more you share, the more you earn!
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About Grays Peak Capital LP, VITAL CARD: VITAL is the credit card that pays you to share and spend responsibly.
Ajay Gopal Royan
Founder & Managing General Partner of Mithril Capital Management
Ajay Royan co-founded and leads Mithril Capital, a firm that makes long-term investments in transformative and durable enterprises. At Mithril, Ajay has led investments in innovative companies across multiple industries, such as robotics, healthcare, enterprise software, bio- technology, nuclear energy, and finance. He serves on the boards of many of Mithril’s portfolio companies, including Auris, Adimab, C2FO, GreyOrange, Fractyl, and AppDirect, helping them to navigate the rocky road of growth by working with founders on competitive and organizational strategies as well as addressing macro trends. Before forming Mithril, Ajay was a managing director at Clarium Capital Management, where he focused on unlevered growth investments. Ajay began his career at Braxton Associates, formerly Deloitte Consulting. Ajay serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was elected to the Presidents’ Circle of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a charter member and board director of C100 and serves on the board of directors of Fulbright Canada. Ajay grew up in India, Abu Dhabi, and Canada. He is a graduate of Yale University.
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About Mithril Capital Management: Mithril is a global technology investment firm investing in the technology, macroeconomics and finance sectors.
James Dondero
Co-Founder and President of NexBank
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About Highland Capital Management, Highland Funds, NexBank, NexPoint Advisors, NexPoint Real Estate Strategies Fund: NexBank delivers customized institutional banking, commercial banking, and mortgage banking services.
Artur Schaback
COO – Co-Founder of Paxful
A native of Estonia, the land of Skype. Artur earned his stripes building out the tech around financial infrastructure.
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About Paxful: The global peer-to-peer platform building a financial system for the 100%— one Bitcoin at a time.
Ray Youssef
CEO & Co-Founder of Paxful
Ray is the co-founder and CEO of Paxful, the peer-to-peer global finance platform with over seven million users. Ray and his co-founder Artur started Paxful in 2015 to help everyone gain financial freedom through equal access to finance. Ray started out as an entrepreneur in 2001, when he founded a successful ringtone business and then had a series of start-ups before setting up Paxful. At Paxful, Ray is CEO and looks after growth, marketing, customer service and operations. Ray also founded the Built With Bitcoin Foundation that uses Bitcoin to create opportunity and thriving communities by providing access to clean water, quality education, and healthy food and a healthy environment via sustainable farming.
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About Paxful: The global peer-to-peer platform building a financial system for the 100%— one Bitcoin at a time.
Tom Steyer
Co Founder of Beneficial State Bank
Tom Steyer initially found success as the founder of Farallon Capital Management, where he built a $30 billion portfolio. Today, he is the founder and president of NextGen Climate. Steyer is an advocate for clean energy and has spent an abundance of money to support politicians in favor of clean energy policies and initiatives. Steyer is a graduate of Stanford and Yale Universities.
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About Beneficial State Bank: Beneficial State Bank is an FDIC-insured Community Development Financial Institution that serves businesses, nonprofit and individuals.
Tom Durovsik
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FreedomPay
A marketing and new product development visionary, Tom has held leadership positions with some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands, followed by a string of highly successful start ups focused on emerging technologies including; internet, cloud computing and mobility. Tom has built a strong reputation in the business community as a focused leader, a strong hands-on operator and a successful entrepreneur. As a Product Director for Pepsi Cola, among the world’s leading consumer brands, Tom focused on marketing and new product development for Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and an array of new beverage products. Later, Tom served as President and minority equity partner at The Franklin Mint, a manufacturer and direct marketer of collectibles. Under Tom’s leadership, the company grew sales from $150 million to over $1 billion annually with more than 5,000 employees spanning the globe. Tom spearheaded the global expansion of marketing to 35 countries while reinvigorating product development and expanding manufacturing, fulfillment and customer care facilities to meet worldwide demand. In 1995, Tom founded Intelihealth in partnership with US Healthcare and Johns Hopkins University. Intelihealth was the first company to provide personalized branded health care information to all forms of electronic media including the then-new medium of the Internet. Intelihealth.com won a “Webbie” for best health-related site in 1999 along with a “People’s Choice Award”. Aetna, Inc., the world’s largest insurer, acquired Intelihealth in 1999. In 2000, Tom founded FreedomPay the leading cloud-based payment, mobile and incentive platform. Today, the FreedomPay Commerce Platform serves global banks, Fortune 1000 corporations, elite healthcare institutions and is a leading provider of payment solutions to the United States government, serving over 20 federal agencies. In 2013, FreedomPay was selected by Microsoft as its commerce platform partner for the global banking and retail sectors. Tom is a founding member of The Cancer Support Community, a global nonprofit that provides emotional support, education and hope to cancer patients and their families. His wife, Jill, is Chair for the national organization’s Cancer Survivorship Research and Training Institute located in Philadelphia. Tom holds a BA from Drew University and an MBA from George Washington University.
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About FreedomPay, The Cancer Support Community: FreedomPay is a white label e-commerce platform for banks, retailers and healthcare organizations to deliver cloud-based user experiences.
Felix Orwa
Founder/CEO of SOTE
Felix Orwa is the Founder & CEO of Sote. He is a former professional pilot.
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About SOTE: Sote is building the digital logistics infrastructure and largest B2B marketplace for Africa.
Scott Yacko
Founder/CTO of SOTE
Scott Yacko is the CTO & Co-founder at Sote.
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About SOTE: Sote is building the digital logistics infrastructure and largest B2B marketplace for Africa.
Caitlin Long
Co-Founder & CEO of Avanti Financial Group
Caitlin Long is chairman and president of Symbiont, the market-leading smart contracts platform for institutional uses of distributed ledger technology. Caitlin previously spent 22 years on Wall Street in senior roles, working for Morgan Stanley (2007-2016), Credit Suisse (1997-2007) and Salomon Brothers (1994-1997). During her career she started and ran three new businesses, was a top-ranked equity research analyst for the life insurance sector, and worked directly for the co-CEOs on a business restructuring in Zurich. Caitlin has been active in bitcoin since 2012 and blockchains since 2014, and she served on Morgan Stanley’s internal blockchain working group in 2014-16. MarketsMedia awarded Caitlin its 2016 Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Blockchain, and Institutional Investor named Caitlin to its list of the most influential people in pensions during her final 3 years on Wall Street. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD, 1994), the Kennedy School of Government (MPP, 1994) and the University of Wyoming (BA, 1990).
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About Avanti Financial Group: Avanti Financial Group is an operator of a crypto-asset banking company used to focus on providing regulated services for digital assets.
Bryan Bishop
Co-Founder & CTO of Avanti Financial Group
Bryan Bishop is a Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Avanti Financial Group.
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About Avanti Financial Group: Avanti Financial Group is an operator of a crypto-asset banking company used to focus on providing regulated services for digital assets.
Ari S. Goldberg
Founder and Chairman of RNMKR
Ari S. Goldberg is the founder of RNMKR.
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About Barber Surgeons Guild, RNMKR: RNMKR is an investment firm that applies proven business practices multiplied by the scale of the internet.
William Herrmann
Founder and Managing Partner of Wilshire Phoenix
Prior to establishing Wilshire Phoenix, Bill was with BNY Mellon (BNYM) for 10+ years across several global teams, most recently as Vice President of Dealing and Trading. Throughout Bill’s tenure at BNYM, he managed a credit risk portfolio of over $10Bn and led in the closing of 100+ large-scale corporate deals (structured credit, derivatives, and restructurings). Bill also managed teams, oversaw projects, and led bank-wide initiatives. In addition to his responsibilities at Wilshire Phoenix, Bill advises numerous companies and proudly serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), and as a Director for the Hedge Fund Association (HFA).
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About Wilshire Phoenix: Wilshire bridges the gap by introducing institutional-like investment products to the market and making them available to all investors.
Zach Bruhnke
Co-Founder & Janitor of HMBradley
Zach is the Co-Founder and Janitor at HMBradley. Prior to that, he was an Entrepreneur In Residence at HVF Labs.
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About Cloudbill, HMBradley: HMBradley is a digital banking platform that develops programs to reward savers.
Dmitry Gritskevich
Co-Founder of HMBradley
Dmitry Gritskevich is the co-founder of HMBradley. He attended Baruch College, Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, and Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC).
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About HMBradley: HMBradley is a digital banking platform that develops programs to reward savers.
Germain Cassiere
Co-Founder & CTO of HMBradley
Germain Cassiere is the Co-Founder and CTO at HMBradley. He attended the University of Notre Dame.
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About HMBradley: HMBradley is a digital banking platform that develops programs to reward savers.
Vilash Poovala
CEO and Co-Founder of Oyster
Vilash Poovala has over 19 years of product management and business development experience (mobile, e-commerce, financial services and payments). He has joined Allegro as Chief Product & Technology Officer of Allegro EMEA in January 2017. As a member of the leadership team he focus on the successful execution of Allegro’s strategic Objectives by Establishing the company’s tech and product vision, steering the product roadmap and leading all aspects of the company’s technology development. Vilash has served as an adviser and / or developer for several payments / commerce startups; most notably, they Of These startups, PlayerScale, was acquired by Yahoo in May 2013. His fascination and passion for payments was first sparked while building cutting edge products to ease wallet online checkout payments at his first startup, Globeset which was acqui-hired to Visa in 2000. Most recently, Vilash was the co-founder and CTO of Clip, and mobile POS provider in LATAM. In addition this being the CTO, he helped raise $ 40M in multiple rounds of funding. Prior joining this clip, Vilash was the Sr. Director of Products for Consumer and Merchant Acceptance at V.me by Visa. He successfully launched V.me wallet and checkout across the top 33 of the US e-tailers. Vilash also worked at PayPal where he focused on rolling out new markets and products like PayPal debit card and Transactional Credit.
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About Infinitec Solutions GmbH, Oyster: Oyster is a provider of digital financial services intended for freelancers, startups, and SME’s.
Alexander Leishman
Co-Founder and CEO of River Financial
Alexander Leishman is a Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of River Financial. Prior to that, he was the Engineer and Investor at Polychain Capital and the Security Software Engineer at Airbnb.
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About River Financial: River Financial is a Bitcoin financial institution allowing long-term investors to buy, sell, and manage Bitcoin.
Andrew Benson
Co-Founder and COO of River Financial
Andrew Benson is the Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at River Financial.
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About River Financial: River Financial is a Bitcoin financial institution allowing long-term investors to buy, sell, and manage Bitcoin.
Dimitri Dadiomov
Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Treasury
Dimitri Dadiomov is an Associate at NextView Ventures. Dimitri is the Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Treasury.
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About Harvard Business School, Modern Treasury: Modern Treasury offers a payment operations platform used to simplify and modernize business payments.
Sam Aarons
Co-Founder and CTO of Modern Treasury
Sam Aarons is Co-Founder and CTO at Modern Treasury.
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About Modern Treasury: Modern Treasury offers a payment operations platform used to simplify and modernize business payments.
Neel Ganu
Co-Founder of Finch
Neel Ganu is the Co-Founder of Finch.
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About Finch: Finch is a seamless, all-in-one account that provides the benefits of investing with the flexibility of checking
Maya Nijhawan
Co-Founder & CMO of Finch
Maya Nijhawan is the Co-Founder and CMO at Finch.
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About Finch: Finch is a seamless, all-in-one account that provides the benefits of investing with the flexibility of checking
Nico Simko
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Clair
Nico is Clair’s Chief Executive Officer and one of its Co-Founders. He manages the company’s overall strategic direction and its relationships with its shareholders and customers. Prior to co-founding Clair, he was at J.P. Morgan, leading the M&A due diligence process on a broad range of payments companies for the firm’s Wholesale Payments division. He managed M&A, investment and partnerships due diligence on 10+ payments FinTechs worth over $25 billion. Originally from Switzerland and Argentina, Nico holds a B.A in Economics from Harvard University.
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About Clair: Clair is a mission-driven digital banking platform that is breaking the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle by offering flexible on-demand pay to America’s workforce.
Alex Kostecki
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Clair
Alex is Clair’s Chief Operating Officer and one of its three Co-Founders. He oversees the company’s banking, product, and technical operations, ultimately ensuring that Clair is able to deliver a best-in-class financial experience for its customers. Previously with Deloitte Consulting in New York City, Alex was the lead Manager on M&A deals for clients in the payments space, from ideation to close. Alex led several strategy projects for credit card launches, customer service strategies, and marketing strategies, generating upwards of $5 million in revenue. Alex has been published in the Wall Street Journal, and holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
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About Clair: Clair is a mission-driven digital banking platform that is breaking the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle by offering flexible on-demand pay to America’s workforce.
Chris Britt
Co-Founder & CEO of Chime
Chris Britt is a Co-Founder and serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Chime.
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About Chime: Chime helps everyday people achieve financial peace of mind, together.
Clayton Gardner
Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Titan
Prior to co-founding Titan, Clayton was an analyst at a NY-based fundamental long/short equity hedge fund, where he led consumer technology investing. Previously he was an investor at Farallon Capital Management and Cerberus Capital Management investing in public and private companies. Clayton graduated summa cum laude from The Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. Clayton earned a BAS in Computer Science and a BS in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Statistics and a minor in Mathematics. Originally from Chicago, he is most passionate about investing and software.
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About Titan: Titan is an operating system for active investment management, powering investment products, and experiences for retail investors.
Max Bernardy
Co-Founder/CTO of Titan
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About Titan: Titan is an operating system for active investment management, powering investment products, and experiences for retail investors.
Marc J. Leder
Co Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital Partners
Marc J. Leder is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of investment firm Sun Capital Partners, Inc., having more than 25 years of engagement in leveraged buyouts, investment banking, and business operations. Prior to the establishment of his firm in 1995, he had served in various positions at Lehman Brothers, including senior vice president. He is an alumnus of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. Currently, he sits on the advisory board of the University of Pennsylvania Huntsman Program and serves as a member of the boards of directors of the Berggruen Museum in Berlin and the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation.
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About Sun Capital Partners: Sun Capital Partners is a private investment firm
Rodger Krouse
Co Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital Partners
Co-Chief Executive Officer at Sun Capital Partners.
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About Sun Capital Partners: Sun Capital Partners is a private investment firm
Shamir Karkal
CEO and Co-Founder of Sila
Shamir, a software engineer turned fintech innovator, co-founded Simple with Josh in 2009 and remained the company’s CFO until 2015. Today, he serves as BBVA’s Head of Open APIs. Prior to Simple, Shamir was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. specializing in strategy for financial institutions in Europe, the Middle East, and the US. Shamir holds a bachelor’s in computer science, a master’s in information technology, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
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About Sila: Sila is an API platform that provides banking and payment infrastructure-as-a-service for software teams.
Alexander Lipton
Co-Founder, CTO of Sila
Alexander Lipton is Founder and CEO of Stronghold Labs, Co-Founder of Distilled Analytics, Partner at Numeraire Financial, Connection Science Fellow at MIT, and Visiting Professor of Financial Engineering at EPFL. He is an Advisory Board Member at several FinTech Companies. In 2016 he left Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he served for ten years in various senior managerial roles including Quantitative Solutions Executive and Co-Head of the Global Quantitative Group. Earlier, he held senior managerial positions at Citadel Investment Group, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Bankers Trust. In parallel, Alex held several prestigious academic appointments at NYU, Oxford University, Imperial College, and the University of Illinois. Before switching to finance, Alex was a Full Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois. In 2000 Alex was awarded the first ever Quant of the Year Award by Risk Magazine. Alex published seven books and more than a hundred scientific papers. His next book “Financial Engineering – Selected Works of Alexander Lipton” is to appear shortly.
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About Sila: Sila is an API platform that provides banking and payment infrastructure-as-a-service for software teams.
Isaac Hines
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Sila
Isaac is a former finance director and general manager in the energy sector, where he oversaw upwards of $200m in projects.
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About Sila: Sila is an API platform that provides banking and payment infrastructure-as-a-service for software teams.
Pierpaolo Barbieri
Founder of Ualá
Pierpaolo is founder and CEO at Ualá and Executive Director at Greenmantle, a macroeconomic and geopolitical consulting firm and senior associate at the Applied History Center of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was also Chief Strategist of the Brevan Howard Argentina Fund. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pierpaolo studied at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude and his senior honors thesis was awarded the Thomas T. Hoopes ’19 prize. He was elected Lt. Charles Henry Fiske III Harvard-Cambridge scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded an MPhil in Economic and Social History and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. His first book, Hitler’s Shadow Empire: The Nazis and the Spanish Civil War, was published by Harvard University Press in the USA and UK, Penguin Random House in Spain and Latin America, Mondadori in Italy, and Citic in China. Pierpaolo’s journalism has been featured in The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, CNN, and the New Republic. He used to write regularly for El País. Before Greenmantle, Pierpaolo worked for Goldman Sachs, Soros Fund Management, and Bridgewater Associates.
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About Ualá: Ualá is a fintech company that offers a financial ecosystem through an app, linked to a free international Mastercard card.
Everett Cook
Co-Founder / CEO of Rho Business Banking
Everett Cook is a Co-Founder at Rho Business Banking.
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About Rho Business Banking: Rho Business Banking is a digital banking platform for startups and high-growth companies.
Steve McLaughlin
Founder, CEO & Managing Partner of Financial Technology Partners
Steve McLaughlin is the Founder and CEO of FT Partners and former senior banker at Goldman Sachs covering FinTech and Financial Services for over 20 years. Steve was recently named “Investment Banker of the Year”, ranked #2 Investment Banker in Silicon Valley by The Information and ranked Top 5 on Institutional Investor’s “Online Finance 35” list of most influential people in FinTech.
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About Financial Technology Partners: Financial Technology Partners is an investment banking firm focusing on financial technology.
Joel Washington
Founder & COO of Level
Joel is founder and COO of Zero.
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About Level: Level is a neobank and mobile banking app that provides next-level banking for modern consumers.
Bryce Galen
Founder & CEO of Level
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About Level: Level is a neobank and mobile banking app that provides next-level banking for modern consumers.
Shawn Melamed
Co-Founder and CEO of Spiral
Shawn Melamed is a serial fintech entrepreneur that founded Spiral. He is the former Managing Director of Morgan Stanley’s Technology Business Development and Innovation Offices. He also founded software company Correlix, which was acquired by TSA, and led StrikeNet to its M&A with TMX Group.
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About Spiral: Spiral is a provider of a banking solution for the charitable sector.
Raj Patel
Co-Founder, COO & CFO of Mantl
Raj Patel is the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Co-Founder of Mantl.
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About Mantl: Mantl is a banking technology company that provides workflow management and automation tools for banks and credit unions.
Matthew Gorelik
Founder, Chairman & CEO of Township Capital
As the founding chief executive officer and board chairman of Township Capital, Matthew Josef Gorelik works with accomplished and experienced professional sponsors and operators around the globe. In his 20+ years of experience in Private Banking and Brokerage industry, Matthew Gorelik continues to be highly regarded as an expert in capital management. His entire career has been focused on cultivating relationships and bringing more value to his clients. These skills work very well hand in hand, attributing to much of Gorelik’s success in the financial industry. Throughout his career, he has personally served some of the world’s wealthiest families. He’s masterfully created lasting relationships with powerful capital sources including individuals, life insurance companies, conduit leaders, agencies, and banks. Matthew Gorelik has personally handled, both sourced and negotiated, nearly $5 billion in structured capital for many of the aforementioned parties. His dedication to client service and knowledge of the industry has given his client base the confidence that any client deserves to have in a significant venture. To say the least, he is a leader in the industry. Gorelik’s successful career began with 15+ years as the Senior Vice President for Citi, one of the world’s leading financial institutions. After developing great relationships and learning a great deal about the industry, Matthew Gorelik moved on to become the Managing Director for Jefferies, and soon after, J.P. Morgan. After gaining what he could from these massively successful entities, Gorelik was inspired to move forward with his own venture in Township Capital. Investing as a passive partner, Township Capital provides critical funding for specific companies without contributing to ongoing business operations. Matthew J. Gorelik and the rest of the Township Capital team primarily focus on new, ground-up, commercial property developments, adaptive-reuse real estate projects, and value-add opportunities. In addition to its headquarters in Los Angeles, California, Township Capital maintains regional offices in Bingham Farms, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. When he isn’t busy overseeing daily operations at Township Capital, Matthew Gorelik is active with the iGlobal Private Equity Real Estate Summit and participates in panel discussions at iGlobal conferences in both Los Angeles and New York City. He is also an active member of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In his free time, Mr. Gorelik avidly travels the world and enjoys playing golf.
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About Township Capital: Township Capital is a real estate private equity and mortgage banking firm.
Stephane Lintner
CEO & Co-Founder of Jiko
Stephane is the CEO and co-founder of Jiko. Prior to founding the company, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs & Co, operating as a senior strategist on the Equities Trading Floor where he modernized various businesses across the floor, including exotic derivatives to ETFs, swaps, and other products. During his career he led number of cross-divisional and international efforts, always leveraging technology and finding synergies to modernize the bank. He graduated from Caltech with a PhD in Applied and Computational Mathematics. He also holds degrees in Machine Learning and Computer Science from the Ecole Normale Superieure in France.
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About Jiko: Jiko is a financial technology company that offers a new way to store and move money.
Rocky Motwani
Co-Founder of Jiko
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About Jiko: Jiko is a financial technology company that offers a new way to store and move money.
Earl Robinson
CEO and Founder of Consequent Capital Management
Earl Robinson is CEO and Founder of Consequent Capital Management, boards of managers of the firm and the firm’s parent company. He leads the firm’s alternatives, real estate, and special situations investment practices. He is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Earlier in his career, Earl helped launch a $700 million distressed debt and special situations investment firm. He also served as a Senior Vice President in the leveraged buyout and special situations verticals at a $2 billion private equity and pension fund investment advisory firm. At JPMorgan Investment Management – Americas, he acted as Operations Officer with $440 billion in assets under management and, prior to that, as a Vice President. He began his career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Prior to founding Consequent, Earl was the CEO of the New Orleans Startup Fund and PowerMoves.NOLA. He secured significant financial and strategic support from Morgan Stanley, the Knight Foundation, the Case Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and others to execute a national, inclusive venture capital ecosystem strategy. Under Earl’s leadership, PowerMoves.NOLA companies and alumni gathered more than $30 million in startup and growth capital in less than two years. Earl is a member of the development team and equity investor group for the Four Seasons Hotel in New Orleans. The $384 million project is the largest real estate development effort in New Orleans since the development of the Super Dome in 1976. The Four Seasons New Orleans team made the largest commitment to Minority Business Enterprises and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in the city’s history. Earl serves on the board of Ebony Media Holdings, LLC. Earl received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Columbia Business School. He attended Columbia as a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow.
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About Consequent Capital Management: Consequent is a registered multi-strategy Investment Management and full-service Investment Consulting firm
Jason Meltzer
Co-Founder & CTO of Papaya
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About LA CTO Forum, Papaya, SightCine: Papaya is a developer of an online mobile application and payments technology designed to simplify bill payment for consumers.
Patrick Kann
CEO and Co-Founder of Papaya
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About Papaya: Papaya is a developer of an online mobile application and payments technology designed to simplify bill payment for consumers.
Xavier Gury
Co-Founder & CEO of Wind Capital
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About Tempow, Via ID, Wind Capital: Wind Capital is investing in environmental industries and luxury goods/services.
Christopher Galvin
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Hypur
Christopher E. Galvin is the Founder/Chairman/CEO at Hypur Inc.
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About Hypur: Hypur automates many tasks, ensuring consistent application of policies and allowing staff to focus on serving clients, not doing paperwork.
Michael Sinnwell
Co-Founder | President | Chief Operations Officer of Hypur
As a leading architect of cutting-edge payment platforms, Michael has developed technology for industry leaders including PULSE® élan, Discover®, MasterCard® and Visa® and has led information technology business initiatives and strategy to develop payment and settlement platforms for all payment types – including credit, debit, prepaid, stored value, ACH, P2P and mobile wallet. Working closely with our development team, Michael drives Hypur product development and manages all operational functions.
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About Hypur: Hypur automates many tasks, ensuring consistent application of policies and allowing staff to focus on serving clients, not doing paperwork.
David Querciagrossa
Co-Founder | Chief Financial Officer of Hypur
David leads the finance and accounting functions at Hypur. With over 22 years of experience in accounting and finance, David has held senior-level finance positions with both high-growth public and private companies ranging from start-ups to $4 billion international enterprises. He has extensive expertise in financial modeling, capital markets, investor relations, and building finance teams, and he is a Certified Public Accountant.
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About Hypur: Hypur automates many tasks, ensuring consistent application of policies and allowing staff to focus on serving clients, not doing paperwork.
Zak Grove
Co-Founder & CEO of Zoro Card
Zak Grove is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zoro.
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About Zoro Card: Build credit with a debit card.
Christos Moisides
Co- Founder and President of Invictus Equity Group
Christos Moisides is the Co-Founder and President of Invictus Equity Group, an Entrepreneurial Investment Fund located in Detroit, Michigan USA. As a Detroit based real estate developer, restaurateur and entrepreneur, Christos is an executive member in the Family owned Detroit development and management company, 400 Monroe Associates, since 2007. Christos oversees the Family Office and their real estate holdings and management of nearly 2 million square feet of commercial, hospitality and industrial property. Their current holdings include 2 hotels and 4 restaurants generating over $35 million in annual revenue as well as industrial facilities with Foreign Trade Zone Designations and Fortune 50 clients along with governmental contracts for property management.
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About Invictus Equity Group: INVICTUS EQUITY GROUP is an entrepreneurial investment fund and turnaround enterprise.
Kenan Pulak
Co-Founder and CTO of Point Card
Kenan Pulak is the co-founder and CTO at Point. He was a lead iOS engineer at Metal Payments.
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About Point Card: PointCard is a mobile banking app that offers debit cards and credit cards rewards.
Sid Parihar
Founder of Point Card
Sid Parihar is the founder at Point.
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About Point Card, Tayble: PointCard is a mobile banking app that offers debit cards and credit cards rewards.
Des Hague
Founder and Chief Executive of Hague Enterprises, LLC. (formerly known as Aegis Enterprises, LLC.)
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About Hague Enterprises, LLC. (formerly known as Aegis Enterprises, LLC.), VIPER – Enterprise Acceleration, WC&P (William Caruso&Partners, LLC.): Advisory & investment firm providing expansion, start-up & turn around venture capital investments & executive leadership devt. programs.
Gilles Gade
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of Cross River Bank
Gilles Gade is a founder of Cross River Bank (CRB) and has served as its Chairman, President and CEO since its inception in 2008. Gilles is steering CRB as an innovation-driven state-chartered bank and a provider of fully compliant financial solutions to the marketplace lending and payments sectors. Gilles possesses over 20 years of experience in investment banking and venture capital including Co-Founder and Managing Director of Chela Technology Partners and Chela Internet Ventures, a boutique investment bank and venture fund focusing on emerging technologies and telecommunications; technology investment banker at Barclays Capital; and FIG investment banker at Bear Stearns. Gilles started his career in 1990 at Citicorp Venture Capital. Gade graduated from the MBA Institute IMIP (Groupe IPESUP) in Paris with an MS in International Management.
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About Cross River Bank: Cross River is a financial institution that offers technology and banking services to consumers and businesses.
Erik Beguin
Founder & CEO of Austin Capital Bank
Erik Beguin is the Founder & CEO of Austin Capital Bank.
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About Austin Capital Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Federal Reserve Board: Austin Capital Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that offers investor real estate financing.
Erik Beguin
Founder & CEO of Austin Capital Bank
Erik Beguin is the Founder & CEO of Austin Capital Bank.
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About Austin Capital Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Federal Reserve Board: Austin Capital Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that offers investor real estate financing.
Arjun Thyagarajan
Co-Founder & CEO of Solid
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About Solid: Solid is a Modern Banking Platform that instantly creates bank accounts & cards for your customers.
Suresh Venkatraman
Co-Founder & CTO of Solid
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About Solid: Solid is a Modern Banking Platform that instantly creates bank accounts & cards for your customers.
Michael Tedesco
Founder & Managing Partner of Momentum Cyber
Michael Tedesco is one of the top technology dealmakers of his generation, with over 20 years experience advising CEOs and boards of companies both large and small at all stages of their lifecycle. He has advised on 100+ completed M&A transactions with aggregate value in excess of $125 billion. Before founding Wellspring, Michael was the Head of US M&A and Global Technology M&A at Jefferies. He held a similar role at Citi Global Markets until 2010 in addition to serving as co-head of Americas Technology Banking. Michael has experience particularly in special situations advisory assignments, with complex Founder / Board / Investor dynamics. Such advisory roles were recognized five times for the IDD Technology Deal of the Year. Through Wellspring Growth Partners, he is an active direct investor in and advisor to disruptive companies across the technology and consumer products spectrum. Investments include FIGS, Westward Leaning, WriteLab, EnerAllies, The Influential Network, Duckworth Wool Co, Peep, Geoscale and MoxTV. Before earning his MBA Michael was a Project Engineer at Conoco and played a major role inthe Polar Lights joint venture, the first oilfield development project in Russia involving an American firm. Harvard MBA with High Distinction (Baker Scholar and John Loeb Finance Fellow) and BSci Industrial Engineering Montana State University
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About Momentum Cyber, Wellspring Growth Partners: Momentum Cyber is a financial advisory firm that provides mergers and acquisitions and strategic advice to the cybersecurity industry.
Eric McAlpine
Founder & Managing Partner of Momentum Cyber
Eric McAlpine has spent over 20 years in the Technology industry as a strategic advisor to Boards, Founders & CEOs, a two-time founder, and award-winning engineer. He is a highly sought out speaker on the Cybersecurity market at major industry conferences, private events, and corporate gatherings sharing insights into M&A, capital markets, and industry trends. Eric is a Founder & Managing Partner at Momentum Cyber a firm he co-founded in 2018 along with Dave DeWalt and Michael Tedesco. Momentum Cyber is the premier trusted strategic advisor to the Cybersecurity industry providing bespoke high-impact advice combined with tailored senior-level access from incubation to exit. Eric is one of the top dealmakers in the Cybersecurity industry with a prolific M&A track record advising on and orchestrating deals with industry leaders such as ADT, Symantec, McAfee, Proofpoint, Mimecast, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Amazon, CenturyLink, Google, Intel, and many more. Prior to co-founding Momentum Cyber, Eric was Founder & Managing Partner of Momentum Partners, the precursor to Momentum Cyber. Earlier in his career, Eric served as a Managing Director with Blackstone where co-founded Blackstone’s Silicon Valley office and led the firm’s Cybersecurity advisory practice. In 2010, Eric was recognized by Steve Schwarzman with the CEO Star Award and featured along with a profile on one of his transactions in Blackstone’s 25th anniversary Annual Report for extraordinary contributions to the firm. Eric began his Wall Street career at Salomon Smith Barney and Citi where he served as a senior member of the Enterprise Software Investment Banking team leading sector coverage in Security. Prior to a career on Wall Street, Eric served his country as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force where he was honored as the Military Engineer of the Year in 2000 for his engineering contributions to the Joint Strike Fighter Program, which included saving taxpayers $80 Million through an innovative stealth recoating design. Eric earned an MBA with Distinction from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management where he was a 2-year Wade Fetzer Scholar. He also earned a BS Civil Engineering from Purdue University on an Air Force ROTC Scholarship as well as his MS in Engineering Management from the University of Dayton where he was a Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute scholar – both full ride scholarships. Eric lives in Ross, California with his family and is an avid world traveler, die hard Cubs fan, collects vintage vinyl records, and loves art, music, wine and fine food.
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About Momentum Cyber: Momentum Cyber is a financial advisory firm that provides mergers and acquisitions and strategic advice to the cybersecurity industry.
Steve Abreu
CEO & Founder of Newfi Lending
Steve Abreu is the founder and chief executive officer of [Nexera Holding](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/nexera-holding#/entity), a dynamic startup that sets the standard for efficiency and transparency in the lending marketplace. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of San Francisco.
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About Newfi Lending: Newfi Lending is reshaping the mortgage experience through a combination of proprietary technology and product innovation.
Michelle Constantine
Co-Founder & EVP Risk of Newfi Lending
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About Newfi Lending: Newfi Lending is reshaping the mortgage experience through a combination of proprietary technology and product innovation.
Dan Vene
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of iCapital Network
Dan Vene is a Co-Founder and one of the Managing Partners of iCapital Network where he leads enterprise-level platform integration with banks, asset managers, wirehouses and other large-scale organizations. Prior to founding iCapital, Dan Vene was head of private real estate capital raising at Fir Tree Partners, a $12.5 billion AUM multi-strategy investment firm. He was also formerly a partner at Eaton Partners where he was responsible for real estate and real asset fund origination, structuring, and distribution. Dan Vene previously was Founder and CEO of Earnings.com, a leading financial database, and aggregator of corporate events, which was acquired by Thomson Financial in 2001. He received a BS degree in finance and marketing from Cornell University and is a member of PREA and NCREIF. He holds FINRA licenses Series 7 and 63 as well as an FSA license.
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About iCapital Network: iCapital Network is an online platform for alternative investments and investors.
John Robertshaw
Co-Founder, Board Member, Former Chairman of iCapital Network
John Robertshaw is a Co-Founder at iCapital Network. Over twenty-five years of alternative investment experience through various senior roles including at Credit Suisse, DLJ, and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Robertshaw is currently a Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of iCapital Network, a financial technology platform for alternative investments with tech-based solutions for investors, advisors and asset managers. iCapital was included in the 2018 Forbes FinTech 50 and services more than $6 billion in invested capital across more than 14,000 underlying accounts. Strategic partners and investors in iCapital include JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), Blackstone (NYSE: BX), BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK), The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), Credit Suisse Group AG, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (NYSE: MS), and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: UBS). Until 2016, Mr. Robertshaw served as a Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC. He served as Co-Head of the Private Fund Group at Credit Suisse from 2004 through 2013, during which time the Private Fund Group represented more than 170 funds raising in excess of $250 billion. Mr. Robertshaw also served as a member of the Asset Management Operating Committee as well as the Alternative Investments Operating Committee at Credit Suisse. Mr. Robertshaw has strong long-term relationships with the Star Mountain team including previously reporting to Chairman Brian Finn who held various roles including Co-President and Head of Asset Management at Credit Suisse. Mr. Robertshaw joined Credit Suisse in November 2000, when the bank merged with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), where he was a Managing Director in the Private Fund Group. Mr. Robertshaw joined DLJ in September 1995 from Salomon Brothers, where he was in charge of Private Equity Placements. Mr. Robertshaw holds a BA from Yale University and in 2007 he was voted “One of the Most Influential People in Private Equity” by Private Equity International. As an aligned Senior Advisor, Mr. Robertshaw assists Star Mountain Capital with strategic advice and thought leadership to help the firm and its portfolio investments maximize value.
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About iCapital Network: iCapital Network is an online platform for alternative investments and investors.
Nick Veronis
Managing Partner & Co-Founder of iCapital Network
Nick Veronis is a Co-Founder and one of the Managing Partners of iCapital Network where he oversees Origination and Due Diligence. Nick spent 11 years at Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a middle market private equity firm where he was a Managing Director responsible for originating and structuring investment opportunities. At VSS, he specialized in the business information services sector and helped spearhead the firm’s investment strategy in the financial software and data sector, including its investment in Ipreo. Nick was previously an operating advisor to Atlas Advisors, an independent investment bank based in New York. He began his career as a financial journalist for The Boston Business Journal, was a reporter for The Star-Ledger, and an associate in the New Media Division of Newhouse Newspapers. He holds a BA degree in economics from Trinity College and FINRA licenses Series 7, 79 and 63.
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About iCapital Network: iCapital Network is an online platform for alternative investments and investors.
Gena Vazquez
Co-Founder of Fundpire
Gena’s background is primarily in Technology (Hardware Manufacturing/Engineering), Entertainment, Film Production and Venture Capital.
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About Fundpire, Legacy Entertainment Partners, Monte Carlo Pictures, LLC: Online plateform matching the best ideas with the best investment.
Michael Dougherty
Founder of Dougherty & Company
Founder and Chairman of Dougherty Financial Group LLC, a collection of seven financial service companies in 14 states managing assets in excess of $42 billion. Dougherty Financial Group was formed in 1977. Dougherty previously served on the board of directors of Countrywide Bank, N.A. and Carol Health Corporation. He currently serves as a director of the University of Minnesota Physicians. He is also a trustee of the University of St. Thomas.
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About Dougherty & Company: Dougherty & Company is a full-service investment bank.
Uri Tintore
Co-Founder of Belvo
Uri Tintore is the Co-founder and co-CEO of Belvo. Before that, he worked as CEO of Verse Technologies and co-founded Capella Space
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About Belvo: Belvo is the open finance API platform that enables users to connect their accounts to an app.
Tim Parsa
Co-Founder and CCO of Airtm
Founder & Funder of early-stage fintech/blockchain ventures, including AirTM, Fintech Server, Cadoo, Monoji, Uphold, Wayfex, Blockibles, and Femup. 20+ years of entrepreneurial success in media, telecom, and tech. U.S.-trained lawyer with strong U.S. and International compliance background.
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About Airtm, Cadoo: Airtm is a a blockchain and bank-connected digital wallet and peer-to-peer exchange platform.
Joshua Kliot
Co-Founder and Product of Airtm
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About Airtm: Airtm is a a blockchain and bank-connected digital wallet and peer-to-peer exchange platform.
Sheena Allen
Founder and CEO of CapWay
Sheena Allen was born in Terry, MS and is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where she received a dual degree in Psychology (B.S.) and Film (B.A.). In 2011, Sheena started her first company, Sheena Allen Apps, and bootstrapped the app company to millions of downloads. In 2018, she started her second tech startup, CapWay, which gave Sheena the title as the youngest female in America to own and operate a digital bank. The fintech company connects underserved millennials and Gen-Z to today’s cashless economy. In 2016, Sheena made her premiere in She Started It, a documentary film that follows five women around on their startup journey. In 2017, she released her first print book, The Starting Guide, about her early journey in tech, being a nontechnical founder, and business 101 tips. Sheena has been featured in various publications, including Inc Magazine and Black Enterprise. Sheena is a 2018 Business Insider Under 30 Innovator, part of the 2019 class of Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30, and the 2019 Inc. Female Founders 100 list.
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About CapWay, Partytell: CapWay is a digital bank creating financial access and opportunities for everyone.
David Brasfield
Executive Chairman, CEO and Founder of NXTsoft
Mr. Brasfield, founder and CEO of NXTsoft and ThreatAdvice, has demonstrated a track record of success in creating and developing several technology companies from inception to successful exit over the last 30 years. In these ventures, Mr. Brasfield has successfully developed and implemented strategies for sales, marketing and software product development. He is the founder and former CEO of Tri-Novus Capital, LLC, SBS Corporation, SBS Data Services, Inc., Brasfield Technology, LLC and Brasfield Data Services, LLC, all of which were providers of automation technology solutions for community financial institutions. He has been a director of a community bank and is currently a member of other boards in the Birmingham area. Mr. Brasfield holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
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About NXTsoft: NXTsoft is a secure data and connectivity solutions platform with over 1,900 Financial Institutions as our clients.
