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 New York based Founder operating in the Social 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.
Itai Tsiddon
Co-Founder of Lightricks
Itai Tsiddon was one of the 5 co-founders at Lightricks, an Israeli unicorn. He leads two deals a year, broadly ranging from 6-60m in size (early A to Pre IPO). Itai serves as a board member at Lightricks, Frame.io, Homesome, and Standard Bots and led Forter’s Series E pre IPO fundraise with Bessemer and Felix capital joining his TS as a solo capitalist.
Follow Itai Tsiddon:
About Lightricks: Lightricks develops creativity tools that enable its users to craft and share visual content on mobile devices.
_______
Alex Chung
Co-Founder & CEO of Giphy
Alex Chung is currently the founder and CEO of GIPHY. His latest startups include Artspace, a leading ecommerce destination for contemporary art, The Fridge, a private social network acquired by Google, and General Displays a GE venture developing GE’s next generation of HDTVs. He has also directed media technology for MTV, NBC, Comcast, Charter, and managed future technologies for Paul Allen’s R&D lab. He was one of the early architects of interactive television and started his career as a hardware engineer at Intel. He was named on Business Insider’s Top 25 most influential technologists in New York and has degrees in philosophy, electrical/computer engineering, and graphic design.
Follow Alex Chung:
About Giphy: Giphy is an online database and search engine that allows users to search, share, and discover GIFs.
Ali Hamed
Founder of CoVenture Holding Company
Ali Hamed is a managing partner and co-founder of CoVenture Holding Company, a firm that invests across the capital stack of tech-enabled companies. CoVenture often provides the first institutional equity and/or debt financing to business operations across financial services, new forms of media, platform economies or industries we are yet to imagine.
Follow Ali Hamed:
About CoVenture Holding Company, Crossbeam Venture Partners: CoVenture provides equity and/or debt financing to tech-enabled companies in areas such as financial services, media, and platform economies
Derek Jeter
Co-Founder of The Players’ Tribune
By the time he stepped away from baseball in 2014 after a historic 20-year career with the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter had established himself as one of the most respected men to ever have played the game. A five-time World Series champion and member of baseball’s exclusive 3,000-hit club, Jeter earned numerous accolades in recognition of both his on-field skill and his commitment to the community, including: World Series MVP (2000); 14-time MLB All-Star; 5-time Gold Glove Award; 5-time Silver Slugger Award; AL Rookie of the Year (1996); Roberto Clemente Award (2009); and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award (2009). His reputation is that of an unmatched leader both on and off the field; his name is synonymous with hard work, dedication and class. In retirement, Jeter now focuses on a variety of successful business ventures and entrepreneurial investments. Most recently, he helped launch The Players’ Tribune, an innovative multimedia company where world-class athletes share their honest and unique perspectives, bringing fans closer to the games they love. In November 2013, Jeter and Simon & Schuster announced the Jeter Publishing imprint, which includes both adult and children’s books verticals. The first booked released, The Contract, debuted at #2 on The New York Times Children’s Middle Grade Best Seller list. In October 2014, a full-color photo book called Jeter Unfiltered was released, providing fans an in-depth look at his life through never-before-published images taken over the course of his final season. He also serves as Partner and Brand Development Officer of Luvo, a transformational lifestyle food brand where he is involved in product development, brand awareness and strategic partnerships. Jeter continues to be the driving force behind the Turn 2 Foundation, which he established in 1996 to give back to the communities with which he has a close connection, including West Michigan, Tampa and New York City. He satisfies his passion for inspiring young people through initiatives – like the Jeter’s Leaders program – that promote academic excellence, leadership development, positive behavior, healthy choices and social change. During Derek’s baseball career, the Turn 2 Foundation has awarded more than $23 million in grants to create and support signature programs that motivate young people to turn away from drugs and alcohol and “Turn 2” healthy lifestyles.
Follow Derek Jeter:
About The Players’ Tribune: The Players’ Tribune is a content and technology platform developed by athletes for athletes to connect them with fans through storytelling.
Scott Heiferman
Co-Founder of Meetup
Scott Heiferman is a Co-Founder and CEO of [Meetup](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/meetup), the world’s largest network of local community groups. Over 50,000 Meetups (self-organized community events) happen each week. Millions of people in over more than 100 countries “use the internet to get off the internet” using Meetup, which is built on the idea that every town needs support groups, playgroups, bookclubs, business circles, running groups, community action groups, etc. Previously, Heiferman co-founded Fotolog, a photo sharing network where over 30 million people have uploaded nearly a billion photos. He also founded i-traffic, a top online ad agency in the 90s. He then fled the ad industry and was influenced by 9/11 to start Meetup. Scott graduated from The University of Iowa. He is an angel investor in Betaworks, Founders Collective, Virgance, 20×200, and others. Scott received the Jane Addams Award from the National Conference on Citizenship and was named an MIT Technology Review “Innovator of the Year”. He’s @heif.
Follow Scott Heiferman:
About Meetup: Meetup brings people together in thousands of cities to do more of what they want to do in life.
Joshua Stylman
Co-Founder, Managing Partner & CEO of Threes Brewing
Follow Joshua Stylman:
About TeamSnap, Threes Brewing: Threes Brewing is a brewery, bar & event space.
Jackson Vaughan
CEO & Co-Founder of Whim
CEO and Co-Founder of Whim
Follow Jackson Vaughan:
About Whim: Contacts ranked by availability and proximity
Rohan Pathak
Co-Founder of Whim
CMO and Co-founder at Whim.
Follow Rohan Pathak:
About Whim: Contacts ranked by availability and proximity
Banu Guler
Founder & CEO of Co–Star
Founder and CEO of Co-Star, the hyper-personalized, social astrology app bringing astrology into the 21st century. Fashion industry veteran, working with brands such as Diane von Furstenberg, Alex & Ani, Ann Taylor, VFILES, and Michael Kors. Began career as a graphic designer. After realizing the power of digital in the fashion space, shifted focus to creating immersive, digital experiences to integrate community and content into commerce. Studied psychology at NYU. Scorpio.
Follow Banu Guler:
About Co–Star: Co–Star is a real-time horoscopes bringing astrology into the 21st century.
Maurice Harary
Founder and CEO of Fluz
Maurice is a Founder of the Fluz App. He is a serial entrepreneur with a 10-year background in e-commerce. He currently manages over 20 e-commerce sites in the B2B and B2C environment, ranging from interactive learning-based experiences to price-competitive marketplace trading sites. Experience in all areas of e-commerce sites, ranging from custom e-commerce software development to operational planning. He has extensive experience in fashion eCommerce and marketplace selling.
Follow Maurice Harary:
About Fluz: Reinventing cashback to give you more. Get paid when you shop + when your friends shop. Earn Cashback Forever.
John Acunto
Co Founder/Chief Innovation Officer of Tsū
John Acunto is the Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Tsū and a Member of The Recording Academy and a Board Member at Leone Asset Management.
Follow John Acunto:
About Tsū: Tsū is a social media platform that shares ad revenue as well as provides tools that inspire content creation.
Josh Cohen
Founder & Partner of City Light Capital
JOSH COHEN IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE VIA CAPITALISM. HE BELIEVES THAT HOW YOU MAKE MONEY (AND WHAT YOU DO WITH IT ONCE YOU HAVE IT) MATTERS AND WANTS TO HELP IMPROVE THE WORLD, NOW. When considering how he wanted to be remembered, Josh turned to impact investing before it had a name, combining his experience as a venture capitalist, technology company executive, and family office CIO with his values. Thus, the idea for City Light was born: partnering with experienced entrepreneurs using technology to generate significant financial returns while having a measurable social impact. As a father of three boys, Josh’s sense of urgency to address issues such as education for underserved communities, tackling the global climate crises and keeping families safe has only continued to grow. It is this commitment that makes his work more than a passion, but a calling. Prior to founding City Light, Josh led direct investments for a Greenwich CT-based family office, worked in venture capital for a family office based in St. Louis, was a Partner in a private debt fund, and was the Director of Business Development for Mobility Electronics (NASDAQ: IGOI). He began his career as an investment banker in the technology group of Deutsche Banc Alex Brown in San Francisco. Josh co-founded (and is a Board member of) The ImPact, a member network whose mission is to inspire families to make impact investments more effectively. In addition, he is on the investment committee for a family office based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Josh sits on the Board of Directors for Ready Responders and is an advisor to OhmConnect, Trilogy, and Straighterline. Josh previously held advisory roles with 2U (Nasdaq: TWOU), Shotspotter (Nasdaq: SSTI) and Practice (Acquired by Instructure: INST). He is a frequent speaker on the topic of impact investing.
Follow Josh Cohen:
About City Light Capital: City Light is a venture capital firm that invest in impactful companies in the areas of education, safety and care, and the environment.
Brett Garfinkel
Co-Founder & CEO of SYLO
Brett Garfinkel is a Co-Founder & CEO at SYLO.
Follow Brett Garfinkel:
About SYLO: SYLO provides marketers and creators with 3rd-party validation and standardized measurement to confidently invest in influencer marketing.
Erick Schwab
Co-Founder & COO of SYLO
Erick Schwab is the Co-Founder and COO at SYLO.
Follow Erick Schwab:
About SYLO: SYLO provides marketers and creators with 3rd-party validation and standardized measurement to confidently invest in influencer marketing.
Michael Sanchez
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder & BOD of CafeMom
I co-founded CafeMom out of respect and admiration for moms. I play a lead role in driving the company’s strategy, growth, and overall operations. I get to think about many different aspects of the business – the team, what’s happening in moms’ lives, the product, marketing, sales, finance — and how they are all connected. I also get to work with an amazing group of people across the company. Prior to CafeMom, I was the Co-Founder and President of Do Something, a national organization that helps millions of young people get involved in their communities. I also co-founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of the profitable, ’94 Cup Daily, the nation’s only daily newspaper dedicated to the 1994 World Cup Soccer Tournament held in the United States. Columbia Law School, with honors; University of Virginia undergrad, where I majored in Economics.
Follow Michael Sanchez:
About CafeMedia, CafeMom: CafeMom is social networking site targeted at mothers and mothers-to-be offering a host of contents from pregnancy, relationships and more.
Andrew Shue
Co-Founder & BOD of CafeMom
I co-founded CMI Marketing with the vision to create an organization that would celebrate and reward moms for all that they do each and every day. n addition to CafeMom, I co-founded, along with Michael, the national non-profit organization Do Something, now the leading web-based effort getting young people to take action in their communities. In the 90’s as an actor, I had a leading role on FOX television’s “Melrose Place” for six years. I also played professional soccer in Zimbabwe, Africa, and Major League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Dartmouth College, BA in History
Follow Andrew Shue:
About CafeMom: CafeMom is social networking site targeted at mothers and mothers-to-be offering a host of contents from pregnancy, relationships and more.
Ulrik Bo Larsen
Founder & CEO of Falcon.io
Ulrik Bo Larsen founded Falcon Social in 2010 after working in the groove between marketing and technology for an A-list of global clients such as PANDORA Jewelry, Carlsberg, Georg Jensen, JWT, IUM, Mindshare and MediaEdge CIA. Prior to Falcon, Ulrik founded and ran the digital agency Mingler, producing data-driven, social campaigns and assets for a global audience. He also created the first Scandinavian social network and led it to a successful exit to Danish media company – JP/Politikens Hus.
Follow Ulrik Bo Larsen:
About Falcon.io: Falcon.io provides an SaaS platform that allows marketing departments to create, launch and measure social media campaigns in real time.
Michael Pryor
Co-Founder of Glitch
Michael Pryor is CEO of Trello, the tool that helps entrepreneurs organize their businesses and lives. He’s also the cofounder of Fog Creek Software, sits on the board of Stack Exchange, and currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters. When he’s not taking care of the office saltwater aquarium, he’s probably playing Kerbal Space Program.
Follow Michael Pryor:
About Glitch, Trello: Glitch is the friendly community where everyone builds the web.
Ben Anderson
Co-Founder and CEO of Amino Apps
Benjamin Anderson is a co-founder and CEO at Amino Apps.
Follow Ben Anderson:
About Amino Apps: Amino Apps enables people to discover, develop, and express their interests and passions.
Yin Wang
Co-Founder and CTO of Amino Apps
Yin Wang is a Founder at Amino Apps company.
Follow Yin Wang:
About Amino Apps, Narvii: Amino Apps enables people to discover, develop, and express their interests and passions.
Jonah Peretti
Founder & CEO of BuzzFeed
Jonah Peretti is founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, the first true social news organization that provides a pioneering mix of breaking news, entertainment and shareable content. Mr. Peretti, known for creating viral hits, tracking online social behavior and building technology to amplify buzz is also a co-founder of The Huffington Post. He has been called a “viral marketing hotdog” by the New York Times, “the poster boy of guerilla media” by AlterNet and a “computer-whiz” by The New Yorker. Fast Company named Mr. Peretti one of the “New Faces of Social Media” and named BuzzFeed as one of the “50 Most Innovative Companies” in 2012. Business Insider listed him as one of the “11 Rising Tech Stars to Watch in 2012.” Mr. Peretti is a graduate of the MIT Media Lab and has taught at NYU and the Parsons School of Design. His work has been covered by Time, the Economist, Fortune, and Business Insider and he has appeared as a guest on the Today Show, Good Morning America and CNN. In 2012, Mr. Peretti hired Ben Smith of POLITICO to lead as Editor-in-Chief. BuzzFeed reaches over 40 million monthly unique visitors and gets the majority of its traffic from social sources like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more.
Follow Jonah Peretti:
About BuzzFeed: BuzzFeed is a cross-platform digital media company delivering news and entertainment content to a global audience.
Alex Collmer
Founder & CEO of VidMob
Alex Collmer is the founder and CEO of VidMob, the world’s largest video creation platform.As the web transitions to a video-driven medium, Collmer recognized the need for businesses to have access to the world’s best video creators who could produce quality content for a variety of platforms that was affordable. Since founding the company in 2015, Collmer has raised more than $13M and counts the leading brands and agencies as clients. Combing an elegant interface with a roster of more than 5000 video creators enables anyone to maximize their video presence and make a brand impact with video. An engineer by training, Collmer’s career has always been at the intersection of technology, design, and consumer entertainment as those sectors have evolved. Prior to founding VidMob, Collmer was the co-founder and CEO of Autumn Games, a premier publisher of video game franchises. Under his leadership, Autumn Games developed successful partnerships with such personalities as Jimmie Johnson, the 7-time NASCAR champion and companies like Def Jam, the leading urban culture brand, as well as the award-winning fighting game franchise, Skullgirls. Previously, Collmer was a founder and board member of the New York Video School, an online film school focused on empowering people all over the world to become “video literate” (www.nyvs.com). Collmer received a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Engineering and was a certified E.I.T. in the field of structural engineering in the state of New York. Collmer sits on the board of several technology and media companies and has spoken at numerous universities and conferences on entrepreneurship and media. In his spare time, he coaches little league soccer and baseball.
Follow Alex Collmer:
About VidMob: VidMob is a video content creation network and platform where brands can create digital video ads with expert teams.
Jason Donnell
COO & Co-Founder of VidMob
Follow Jason Donnell:
About VidMob: VidMob is a video content creation network and platform where brands can create digital video ads with expert teams.
Zachary Hamed
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Clay
Zachary Hamed is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Clay.
Follow Zachary Hamed:
About Clay: The most beautiful and private home for the people and relationships in your life.
Matthew Achariam
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Clay
Matthew Achariam is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Clay.
Follow Matthew Achariam:
About Clay, Custora: The most beautiful and private home for the people and relationships in your life.
Bettina Elling
Co-Founder & CMO of Pace
Bettina Elling is the Co-Founder and CMO at PACE. She was the Co-Founder of Foundations Marketing Group before that.
Follow Bettina Elling:
About Pace, Proof Beverage: Pace is a fitness and social wellness platform that redefines mental health through groups that are effective, fun, social, and challenging.
Julie Anne Quay
Founder and CEO of VFILES
Julie Anne Quay is VFILES Founder and CEO and has over 20 years of experience in the fashion and media industries. Quay was Executive Editor for V Magazine before founding VFILES, and has worked for VH1, Vogue Japan and Australia, style.com, Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, and more leading industry figures.
Follow Julie Anne Quay:
About VFILES: VFILES—connect, discover, collaborate, and be a part of what’s next.
Ben Parr
Co-Founder and President of Octane AI
Ben Parr is a journalist, author, entrepreneur, investor, and expert on attention. Through his experience as a technology writer, venture capitalist, and prolific public speaker, Parr has coached dozens of young startups and Fortune 500 corporations on how to get attention for their products. Parr is a co-founder and managing partner of DominateFund, a venture capital firm that invests in and accelerates the growth of early-stage technology, software, and product startups through its expertise in the press, marketing, customer and user acquisition, viral products, and strategic celebrity partnerships. Previously, Parr was the co-editor and editor-at-Large of Mashable, where he wrote more than 2,400 articles on social media and technology, managed Mashable’s editorial team, and interviewed everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Mark Zuckerberg. He also served as a columnist and commentator for CNET. His work has been featured in a variety of media, including CNBC, CNN, Fox News.
Follow Ben Parr:
About DominateFund, Octane AI: Octane AI provides an all-in-one platform for engaging quizzes, data collection, and personalized Facebook Messenger and SMS automation.
Andres Domingo
Co-Founder & President of Mexican Summer records
Andres Santo Domingo is a New York City philanthropist and socialite, and the co-founder of Kemado Records. Santo Domingo is the son of Julio Mario Santo Domingo, a Colombian patriarch known as one of Latin America’s most influential businessmen. Andres Santo Domingo grew up in New York City where he attended St. Bernard’s School. He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut in 1996 and earned a BA in Comparative Literature in 2000 from Brown University. In 2002, Andres Santo Domingo co-founded Kemado Records, an independent record label based in Brooklyn in New York City. It is one of the few outlets that still supports vinyl. The label is linked to Mexican Summer and Software Records. Mexican Summer has expanded its catalog to nearly 100 releases across multiple formats. The labels are primarily centered around indie, heavy rock and roll. Their offices in Brooklyn include both a commercial recording studio and a first-floor retail store where they sell limited-edition vinyl, called Co-Op 87. In 2008, he married Lauren Davis, a contributing editor of Vogue, in an elaborate wedding in Colombia. In 2010, Lauren co-founded Moda Operandi, an online retailer where members can preorder designer clothing and accessories following runway shows. Andres Santo Domingo and Lauren live in New York City with their two children. Santo Domingo is a supporter of a number of charitable organizations. He’s served as a co-chair with his wife of a gala to benefit DKMS, an organization whose mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for blood cancer patients. Andres Santo Domingo and Lauren Santo Domingo have also been on the host committees of the Conservation International’s 25th Anniversary Event a benefit to establish the Institute for Environmental Sustainability and Peace Exhibit, Turnaround For Children, Save Venice, the MoMA’s Costume Institute Event, the Urban Hoedown to benefit the Art Production Fund, the Third Annual Spring Soiree to benefit the Fortune Society, Christie’s Green Auction to benefit Conservation International, Oceans, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Central Park Conservancy. In May 2013, Conservation International paid tribute to Andre’s father Julio Mario Santo Domingo for his lasting impact on the organization. He was introduced to CI by David Rockefeller Sr. and served on the board for seven years. CI presented Julio Mario Santo Domingo with the posthumous Global Conservation Hero Award. Andres and Alejandro accepted the award on behalf of their father. Andres Santo Domingo and Lauren Santo Domingo were named on Vanity Fair’s 2012 International Best-Dressed List. The New York Observer also named Lauren as one of the most influential people in New York calling her a digital-age socialite.
Follow Andres Domingo:
About Mexican Summer records: Mexican Summer records is a musical record label focusing on specialty formats.
Ryan Leslie
Founder/CEO of SuperPhone
Ryan Leslie, Co-founder & CEO, SuperPhone // direct cell: +1-646-887-6987 Grammy nominated recording artist, multi-platinum producer, and avid technologist. Ryan is the architect and ultimate case study for SuperPhone, Disruptive Multimedia (DMM)’s simple CRM for creators. In addition to logging studio time with Madonna, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Beyoncé, he launched the first internet pop star Cassie, who sold over 650K albums fueled by an aggressive pre-Twitter social media campaign on MySpace. Bravely opting to remove his latest album from iTunes, he used an inbound SMS campaign powered by SuperPhone to earn over $560K in D2C revenue from just 15K fans, a 4x multiple of royalties received on his major label debut which sold 180K copies. He holds a BA in Government from Harvard.
Follow Ryan Leslie:
About SuperPhone: SuperPhone is an intelligent mobile messaging platform that helps enterprise retail brands acquire, and engage with mobile customers.
Andre Swanston
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Tru Optik
Follow Andre Swanston:
About Tru Optik: Tru Optik is the Only Audience Measurement and Data Management Platform Built for OTT
Tamanna Dhamija
Founder & CEO of Convosight
Tamanna Dhamija is a Founder & CEO of Convosight.
Follow Tamanna Dhamija:
About Babydestination, Convosight: Convosight provides a management platform for community builders to help them grow and monetize their Facebook groups.
Tania Yuki
Founder & CEO of Shareablee
Tania Yuki is founder and CEO of Shareablee, a leading provider of social content analytics for business. She has spent most of her career in digital marketing, measurement and analytics, and was recently honored with a Great Mind Award from the Advertising Research Foundation and featured in Fast Company and Forbes as one of 12 women driving digital in New York. Tania began her career as a media and internet attorney, specializing in digital rights management, IP and film financing. After moving to the US from Australia she was seduced by digital and went on to run an online video content network as head of acquisitions and branding and has also led product management for comScore’s Video Metrix, the world’s leading online video ratings service. After leaving comScore she ran the TV Ad Solutions practice with TV advertising company Visible World, where she oversaw sales, product management and research and development and grew revenue more than 50% year over year. Tania is also the founder of wimlink, an organization that holds regular events and seminars promoting entrepreneurship, leadership and the professional development of women.
Follow Tania Yuki:
About Shareablee, wimlink: Shareablee is an online platform offering audience intelligence, competitive benchmarking, and insights for social media.
John S. Shriber
Co- Founder & CEO of Roomster
Follow John S. Shriber:
About Roomster: The leading multi platform roommate matching & shared housing application. IOS, Android & fully responsive design
Ragy Thomas
Founder & CEO of Sprinklr
Ragy Thomas is the CEO and founder of Sprinklr, a provider of enterprise software for customer experience management. Sprinklr was last valued at more than $1.8 billion in 2016. He founded Sprinklr in 2009, and the company now has 1900 employees around the world serving global clients such as Microsoft and McDonald’s. Prior to founding Sprinklr, Ragy was the president of Epsilon’s (NYSE:ADS) Interactive Services from 2006 to 2008, and the CTO of Bigfoot Interactive, an email marketing leader that Epsilon acquired in 2005. Ragy earned his M.B.A. in Finance and Information Systems from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and his Computer Science Engineering degree from Pondicherry University in India.
Follow Ragy Thomas:
About Sprinklr, Sprinklr Japan: Sprinklr provides enterprise software for customer experience management.
Tania Ahuja
Founder and CEO of Nobias
Tania Ahuja is Founder and CEO of Nobias and is Head of US Operations for Arkera Inc. She is a former director of Citigroup and serves on the Board of Overseers at Stern School of Business, NYU. Additionally, she sits on the board of other learning and art organizations including the Center of Advanced Study of India (CASI) at the University of Pennsylvania, Salome Chamber Orchestra, The Paper Bag Players, and is Chairman of the Board for the Summit Music Festival. Tania holds a PhD in Finance from Stern School of Business, New York University. She has a BS in Statistics and an MS in Operations Research.
Follow Tania Ahuja:
About Nobias: Software tools that help protect consumers from deceptive or misleading content on the internet.
Josh Backer
Co Founder – President, Advertising & SVP Operations of Unified
Founded Social Suitcase in 2009 – Boutique business development and sales consulting firm specializing in social media monetization products and brand advertising. – Sold to TrafficMarketplace in March 2010 Founded DankApps in 2008 – Bay Partners funded social network application company – Donated thousands of dollars to cause based charities through the “Social Change” brand of applications Founded Teach the People in 2007 – TechCrunch40 company – fbFund grantee Emory University, Atlanta GA – Graduate Instructor, Dept. of Comparative Literature “Sick Lit.: Literature and Discourses of Illness and Disease” The Padeia School, Atlanta GA – Part-time Faculty “Pollack to Smithson: Modern and Contemporary American and European art from 1935-1975” “Art and Politics in the 20th Century”
Follow Josh Backer:
About Unified: Unified equips marketers with information and intelligence they need to make the best decisions about their social advertising investments.
Jason Beckerman
Co-Founder of Unified
Jason oversees all product, technology, and organizational strategy at Unified. Prior to co-founding Unified, Jason was co-founder and CEO of Social Suitcase, an innovator in the brand engagement space that was acquired by Connexus. He has held executive roles at a number of social media companies, including his tenure as co-founder and CEO of Teach The People, a Facebook Fund Grant Company and a TechCrunch 40 Finalist. Jason’s experience also extends to financial services and enterprise software, including positions at Merrill Lynch, Siebel, and Salesforce.com. At Salesforce.com he managed the release process for the largest on-demand CRM rollout in the history of the cloud at the time. Jason received a BS in Entrepreneurship and Information Systems from Quinnipiac University and a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.
Follow Jason Beckerman:
About Unified, Unified: Unified equips marketers with information and intelligence they need to make the best decisions about their social advertising investments.
Iyah Romm
Founder and CEO of Cityblock Health
Iyah Romm is a Founder and CEO at Cityblock Health.
Follow Iyah Romm:
About Cityblock Health: Cityblock Health is a tech-driven healthcare provider for those in underserved communities.
Bay Gross
Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer & VP Strategy of Cityblock Health
cofounder Cityblock
Follow Bay Gross:
About Cityblock Health: Cityblock Health is a tech-driven healthcare provider for those in underserved communities.
Arjun Rai
Founder + CEO of Woofy, Inc.
ON A MISSION TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THE POWER OF VISUALIZED DATA SCIENCE FOR DIGITAL MARKETING AT HELLOWOOFY.COM AND WOOFY.AI. Arjun is a New York City based entrepreneur originally from West Windsor, New Jersey (aka Princeton Junction). Since high school, Arjun has been networking with some of the most well known entrepreneurs and even worked on a few projects and startups of his own. Upon graduation, Arjun pursued his career opportunities and came to New York City where he enrolled at the New York Institute of Technology in 2011 with scholarships and grants. Following a few weeks into college, Arjun launched his second startup, fuelbrite.com, a social media agency focused on small businesses and startups, and a student-focused organization, TheBizDen. After interning at a PR and ad agency in the summer of 2012, Arjun quickly saw the need for yet another startup within the tech space and raised a seed investment round to build it out. That startup became Wrkbench.io which was a virtual collaboration space designed for creative and visual people (we liked to say we make visual conversations). After spending a few years and learning the ins and outs of running a venture backed startup, Rai set out to modernize another industry related to his former passion of social media. The startup would be known as Woofy which is a social media management driven by artificial intelligence to help small to medium sized businesses with digital marketing. Arjun currently lives in New York City with his girlfriend, two cats and a dog. Arjun went to the NYIT School of Management (majoring in Small Business and Entrepreneurship). He also holds several notable awards and is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and Golden Key International Honour Society. Professionally, Arjun is also a member of The One Club, The Art Directors Club, The Advertising Club of NY, Social Media Marketing Society and the IVY Connect Club.
Follow Arjun Rai:
About Woofy, Inc., wrkbench.io: Woofy is an online social media marketing platform.
Deevee Kashi
Founder & CEO of Deed
Deevee Kashi is the CEO and founder of Deed. He previously worked at The Butter Group as a Director of Promotions and Marketing.
Follow Deevee Kashi:
About Deed: Deed provides a social impact platform to connect people with causes and businesses with social impact.
Tarik Sansal
Founder & CEO of Romio
Tarik Sansal is an internet entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and CEO of Romio, a smart social real estate search engine which leverages neighborhood networks (Romio is going live shortly). Previously, Tarik was the founder of onTargetJobs.com, currently #3 vertical job site behind Dice and Linkedin. Tarik created the original strategy for onTargetJobs.com and assembled the original management team by bringing in Allen Paschal as CEO and Curt Thompson as CFO. onTargetJobs.com is a Warburg Pincus backed company (WarburgPincus.com). Prior, Tarik started InvestmentPositions.com, a job site focused on recruitment of investment professionals which evolved into RecruitmentBox, a multi vertical recruitment technology provider to vertical publishers. Tarik started his careers in investments. He was the 1st investment analyst at Moon Capital (www.MoonCapital.com), the emerging markets hedge fund. He is passionate about leveraging socially conscious internet ventures to make a positive social impact. He also has ideas around new alternative investment models which leverage a socially conscious approach to deliver superior returns to investors. Tarik wrote white papers which were published and reference in financial media such as The Financial Times.
Follow Tarik Sansal:
About Romio: Romio let’s you book “trusted” local services (Housekeeper, Runner, Dog Walker…) through recommendations from local experts and friends
Rob Fishman
Co-Founder of Brat
Rob Fishman is co-founder of Niche and a BuzzFeed contributing editor. He formerly worked at Kingfish Labs and Huffington Post. Rob formerly led social media for The Huffington Post and Aol. His previous company, Kingfish Labs, was acquired in 2012 by BuzzFeed, for which he is now a contributing editor. He holds degrees from Cornell and Columbia University.
Follow Rob Fishman:
About Brat, Yoke: Brat is a teen-leaning digital production company.
Josh Mailman
Founder of Serious Change
Follow Josh Mailman:
About Serious Change: Serious Change is here to get a secure and sustainable energy system for Britain. Using current research we aim to show the country the
Jeff Chen
Co-Founder of Pixlee TurnTo
Cofounder at Pixlee TurnTo. MIT ’12, Facebook ’12, RSI ’07.
Follow Jeff Chen:
About Pixlee: Pixlee TurnTo ia a Social UGC, Influencer Marketing, and Ratings & Reviews company.
Matthew Kalmans
Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Applecart
Follow Matthew Kalmans:
About Applecart, University of Pennsylvania: Applecart’s Social Graph technology allows customers to leverage interpersonal relationships to target and influence at scale.
Beri Meric
Founder & CEO of IVY
Follow Beri Meric:
About IVY: IVY is a Social University that provides a lifetime of new experiences, friendships, and inspiration.
Adam Fields
Chief Architect & Co-Founder of Graphika
Follow Adam Fields:
About Graphika: Graphika identifies social communities and influencers within them, mapping spheres of influence on topics & content you care about most.
Barak Shragai
Co-Founder & CEO of IMGN Media
Follow Barak Shragai:
About IMGN Media: IMGN is a tech-media company specialized in producing and programming social content for Gen Z audiences.
Marcy Simon
Founder of The Social Project
Marcy Simon is Board of Advisors at Talenthouse.
Follow Marcy Simon:
About The Social Project: The Social Project is a self-sustaining, non-profit business dedicated to eradicating South African poverty.
Ran Harnevo
Co Founder & CEO of Homeis
Ran is a veteran in the media and Internet industry and specializes in managing and deploying content and media assets. Ran is currently the CEO of 5min Media, the online largest video syndication platform, which he founded in 2007. Prior to starting 5min Media, Ran’s experience included working as a deputy editor at Tel-Aviv Magazine, where he managed the website and covered politics and sports. Ran earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University, after serving as a fighter pilot in the Israeli army. Ran currently resides in New York.
Follow Ran Harnevo:
About Homeis: Homeis develops a software platform that builds a better Internet for immigrants.
Pete Cashmore
Founder & CEO of Mashable
Pete Cashmore is the founder and CEO of Mashable, the leading source of news, information & resources for the Connected Generation. Pete founded Mashable in 2005 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland when he was 19. His passion for sharing how web tools and social networks were transforming human interactions and reshaping cultures drove him to create Mashable. Always an entrepreneur, Pete has continued to push Mashable to evolve from a tech blog to a global media company built around technology. He leads Mashable’s strategy and his innate sense of the web and its community, are core to the company’s operations and future growth. He has been described as the “Sage of Media” and considered one of the most influential voices of his generation– on and offline. Pete was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2012. He was featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list, named one of Ad Age’s 2011 influencers, and was named a Young Global Leader by The World Economic Forum.
Follow Pete Cashmore:
About Mashable: Mashable is a media company for the connected generation and voice of digital culture.
Aneto Okonkwo
Co-Founder & CEO of Chatdesk
Follow Aneto Okonkwo:
About Chatdesk: Supercharge your support team and transform customer service into sales
Nick Shiftan
Co-Founder & CTO of Curalate
Nick Shiftan is Co-Founder and serves as Chief Technology Officer and Director at Curalate.
Follow Nick Shiftan:
About Curalate: Curalate optimizes digital commerce for discovery.
Jonah Goodhart
Co-Founder of Montauk Labs
Follow Jonah Goodhart:
About Montauk Labs, WGI Group: Montauk Labs is an entrepreneurial venture for exploring new and impactful ideas and technologies.
Sachin Doshi
Co-Founder of Scroll
Sachin Doshi is the Co-Founder at Scroll.
Follow Sachin Doshi:
About Scroll: Scroll is creating a sustainable experience that puts amazing content in front of engaged users without all the noise.
Hassan Miah
CEO and Co-Founder of Robin8 Inc
Hassan Miah has nearly three decades of experience in the entertainment industry, which began when he was based in Los Angeles working as a Partner in KPMG Peat Marwick where he was an entertainment and business valuation consultant. He then moved to Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where he served as the head of new media and began to expand into the digital space, which was still in its infancy. Since then Hassan Miah has been able to combine his passion for new media and entertainment to create services that help music and video fans. He was the CEO of Xing Technology Corporation, the first consumer MP3 recording company. He is the Founder and CEO of UrFilez (www.urfilez.com), a cloud-based digital music company with proprietary recommendations technology. He also spent time at the Intel Capital, where he was the Managing Director of Media & Entertainment.
Follow Hassan Miah:
About One Llama Labs, Inc, Paybby, Radio One Llama, Robin8 Inc: influencer search engine and marketplace, Robin8, an influencer search engine and marketplace.
Miranda Tan
CEO & Founder of Robin8 Inc
Tan has over 10 years experience in PR and marketing. Prior to MyPRGenie, Tan was the president of Excite Media Group, where she specialized in PR and marketing for start-ups and fast growth companies including McKinsey & Company, National Imaging Associates (acquired by Wellpoint), MindTree Consulting, Cognizant Technology Solutions, NYU, Opinion Research Corp and Peoplesoft (acquired by Oracle). Prior to Excite Media Group, Tan founded ExcitePR, a $2 MM hi-tech PR agency. Tan merged ExcitePR with a $15M PR and marketing firm in Silicon Valley. Tan has a BS from Cornell University and a JD from St. John’s University School of Law. She is admitted under the New York Bar.
Follow Miranda Tan:
About Robin8 Inc: influencer search engine and marketplace, Robin8, an influencer search engine and marketplace.
Scott Young
Co-Founder/ Chief Product Officer of Transmit.Live
Scott Young is Co-founder of Transmit.Live. A veteran of the digital video technology space, Scott has built and contributed to the growth of tech startups from seed stage to IPO and exit.
Follow Scott Young:
About Pitchmob, Transmit.Live: The first ever live video marketplace for large scale broadcasters and advertisers.
Duke Barnett
Co-Founder & President of Transmit.Live
Duke Barnett is the Co-Founder and President of Transmit.Live.
Follow Duke Barnett:
About Transmit.Live: The first ever live video marketplace for large scale broadcasters and advertisers.
Jesse Walden
Co-Founder of Mine
Follow Jesse Walden:
About a16z crypto, Mediachain, Mine: Mine is building tools and protocols to realize a future of decentralized media.
CJ Dunne
Co-Founder & CEO of SageSpot
CJ Dunne is the Co-Founder & CEO at SageSpot.
Follow CJ Dunne:
About SageSpot: SageSpot is the social platform that transforms world-class Creators’ most passionate followers into paid subscribers.
Will Crager
Co-Founder & COO of SageSpot
Will Crager is the Co-Founder & COO at SageSpot.
Follow Will Crager:
About SageSpot: SageSpot is the social platform that transforms world-class Creators’ most passionate followers into paid subscribers.
Tom Sella
Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer of Boxee
Today Tom Sella is a VP of Product at WeWork. Boxee’s inception was a shared Eureka! moment between Tom Sella and Avner Ronen – while they were using XBMC’s open-source software, they envisioned the potential to dramatically change their home media consumption experience. In Boxee’s infancy, Sella jumpstarted the Israeli R&D operation, architecting, coding and deploying the first Boxee software product. As Boxee evolved, Sella was instrumental in Boxee’s foray into the world of Consumer Electronics, and was behind some of the Boxee Box’s most notable ID innovations including the RF remote control and dual-sided QWERTY keyboard design. Later, Sella worked closely with Boxee’s manufacturing and hardware partners, bridging the gap between the amazing Boxee software engineering team and the challenges of managing a hardware device. Prior to Boxee, Sella served various operations and systems engineering roles with infrastructure start-ups. Sella was also active in the WordPress community as an advisor and source code contributor, and started a multi-user Hebrew blogging platform. Before beginning his professional career, Sella served in the elite IDF intelligence unit, 8200.
Follow Tom Sella:
About Boxee, WeWork: Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with social networking features, designed for the living room TV.
Alex Rahaman
CEO and Founder of StrikeAd
Alex Rahaman is the Partner at Idekapital Fund.
Follow Alex Rahaman:
About Adimo, FluxLoop, Idekapital, Shenorock Ventures, StrikeAd, Urban Analytix: StrikeAd Fusion, a proprietary technology platform for agencies and advertisers to plan, execute, and evaluate their mobile advertisements.
Taylor Justice
Co-Founder & President of Unite Us
Follow Taylor Justice:
About Unite Us: Unite Us provides a collaboration and coordination software, streamlining the delivery of health and social services.
Andrew Price
Co-Founder/Director of Outreach of Unite Us
Follow Andrew Price:
About Decisive Point, Unite Us: Unite Us provides a collaboration and coordination software, streamlining the delivery of health and social services.
Eddie Geller
Co-Founder and CEO of Tinybeans
Eddie Geller has been an entrepreneur and investor in the online world since 1994. Eddie was the founder and CEO of Unique World. A successful management consulting business that grew to a 100 person, $15m business before successfully exiting to a large US company in 2011. Since then, Eddie has been actively involved within the startup community and was the founding investor/director of LayPay. He was responsible for driving the strategy and commercial partnerships to ensure that it launched to market. He is now a non-exec director on the board and looks forward to seeing LayPay build a wonderfully successful payments business that customers rely upon and love! As a seed investor in PushStart in early 2012, Eddie saw something special in Tinybeans. Tinybeans was one of the startups that was incubated through the Pushstart program and was a certain standout. Over 2012, Eddie mentored the Tinybeans team and fell in love with the opportunity and decided to invest and become active. Through 2013, Eddie drove the commercial aspects of the business which enabled him to take on the CEO role in early 2014. Now he drives the organisational strategy, partnerships and growth prospects and has aspirations to create the largest nurture network in the world reaching 100M users by 2019.
Follow Eddie Geller:
About Tinybeans: Tinybeans is a journaling and photo-sharing app that inspires parents to connect with their loved ones.
Brendan Alper
Founder & CEO of Hater
Follow Brendan Alper:
About Hater: Hater is a dating app that matches people based on the things they hate.
Jennifer Xia
Founder & Co-CEO of FreeWill
Jennifer Xia is the co-founder and co-CEO of Freewill.
Follow Jennifer Xia:
About FreeWill: FreeWill offers philanthropy and estate planning tools for donors and fundraisers to donate simpler.
Patrick Schmitt
Co-Founder of FreeWill
Patrick Schmitt is the founder and Co- CEO of Freewill.
Follow Patrick Schmitt:
About FreeWill: FreeWill offers philanthropy and estate planning tools for donors and fundraisers to donate simpler.
CJ Follini
Founder & CEO of Welcome to COMPANY
CJ is an entrepreneur and award-winning media producer with a passion for technology that transforms our productivity and workplace culture. CJ’s latest venture – IMMINENT – has created the only holistic employee engagement operating system in existence. Known as Employee360, the big idea for workforce productivity begins with purpose. IMMINENT believes your employees are your first customers and the most authentic brand ambassadors. So it is our mission to create technology and content that harnesses employees’ passion for doing good and help them share their stories. Because happy employees = happy customers. Giving + Habitat + Wellbeing + Social = Inspired™ CJ recently launched the first VR & AR studio dedicated to employee engagement.
Follow CJ Follini:
About Golden Seeds, IMMINENT Digital, Noyack Medical Partners, Ten Paces Media, Welcome to COMPANY: Welcome to COMPANY is an online and offline social network connecting collectors of contemporary art.
Jeremy Frommer
Founder & CEO of Creatd
Jeremy Frommer is an American financier and entrepreneur based in New Jersey. His career includes over two decades on Wall Street, working as a hedge fund and portfolio manager, and on the sell-side of the financial industry, building and selling two financial services companies. He is CEO of Jerrick Ventures Inc., a company that acquires, develops and produces content across all forms of media. Frommer is depicted in Michael Lewis’ novel Flash Boys. In 2012, Frommer discovered the “Guccione Collection,” a large collection of unpublished works and photos owned by Bob Guccione, the founder of the Penthouse empire. Frommer graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany, with a B.A. in philosophy, and studied at the London School of Economics.
Follow Jeremy Frommer:
About Creatd, Vocal: Creatd is an IT company that provides technologies that solve problems for the creative community.
David Karp
Founder & CEO of Tumblr
David Karp, a web developer and entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Tumblr, a micro blogging platform and social networking website. Prior to that, he worked at Davidville, UrbanBaby, Frederator Studios, and Tekserve. David Karp was born on July 6, 1986, and currently resides in New York, United States.
Follow David Karp:
About Tumblr: Tumblr, a microblogging platform and social networking website, enables users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog.
Sam Ben Avraham
Founder & CEO of Liberty Fairs
Follow Sam Ben Avraham:
About Liberty Fairs: Liberty Fairs, the newest brainchild of Sam Ben-Avraham ushers in a new era in fashion trade events.
Seth London
Founder of Ground Control Partners
Seth London is a Founder of Ground Control Partners. Seth is a veteran of the Obama White House, two presidential campaigns, and Revolution, a Washington D.C.based venture capital firm. At Revolution, Seth conceptualized and ran the Rise of the Rest Tour – Steve Case’s ambitious effort to level the playing field for startups operating in non-traditional tech ecosystems like Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. He developed the plan, assembled the coalition, handled the logistics, and led the team to accelerate startup community development and deploy capital in underserved regions. Seth also worked closely with Revolution’s partners and executives to guide the firm’s public policy engagement on issues relevant to entrepreneurs, from immigration reform to JOBS Act implementation. Prior to joining Revolution, Seth spent 6 years working for President Barack Obama. Beginning in 2007, and eventually spanning two campaigns and six states, Seth held leadership positions in major battleground states including Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. From 2009 to 2011, Seth was a Legislative Assistant and Associate Director in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Seth is based in New York City and is a graduate of the George Washington University where he received the Presidential Achievement Scholarship.
Follow Seth London:
About Ground Control Partners, growth[period]: Ground Control Partners is a campaign management firm helping clients conceptualize and execute high-stakes, high-intensity campaigns.
David Replogle
Founder of PostCreator
Founder at PostCreator
Follow David Replogle:
About PostCreator, Squarespace: Post Creator is a social media design tool that enables users to brand posts and ads.
Justin McLeod
Founder and CEO of Hinge
Founder and CEO of Hinge.
Follow Justin McLeod:
About Hinge: Hinge is a social discovery network helping users meet new people through an application.
Brandon Perlman
Founder of Social Studies, Inc.
Brandon Perlman is a content-focused marketing strategist and entrepreneur in New York’s burgeoning startup scene. He is currently the CEO and Founder of Social Studies, Inc. Previously, he was the Director of Marketing Strategy for Hearst Digital Media where he focused on innovation in the digital publishing field. Prior to that he was the Digital Director for DEPARTURES magazine, where he developed the online business for Departures.com centered around luxury travel and lifestyle. Brandon began his career at American Express and holds a B.A. in Electronic Media from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Follow Brandon Perlman:
About Social Studies, Inc., StyleCaster: The influencer agency and micro-influencer marketing technology for next-generation digital marketers.
Cristina Carlino
Founder of Archetypes
Cristina Carlino is a mother, poet, songwriter, social entrepreneur and the founder and creator of one of the most beloved personal care brands.
Follow Cristina Carlino:
About Archetypes: Archetypes operates a community website that helps people identify themselves through a universal pattern of behavior called ‘archetypes.’
Peter Byrnes
Co-Founder and CEO of Fundraise Up
Peter Byrnes is the Co-Founder and CEO at Fundraise Up.
Follow Peter Byrnes:
About Campus On Fire, Fundraise Up, Lúgh Studio, Inc.: The new standard in online giving.
Yuriy Smirnov
COO and Co-Founder of Fundraise Up
Yuriy Smirnov COO and Co-Founder of Fundraise Up.
Follow Yuriy Smirnov:
About Fundraise Up: The new standard in online giving.
Matthew Lieber
Co-Founder & President of Gimlet Media
Matt Lieber is the co-founder and president of Gimlet Media. In a previous life, Lieber helped launch the public radio programs “The Takeaway” and “Fair Game.” He left radio to get his M.B.A., and worked for several years as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group before chucking it all for this. He knows the value of a dollar.
Follow Matthew Lieber:
About Gimlet Media: Gimlet Media is a developer of a digital media network platform that focuses on producing quality narrative podcasts.
Alex Blumberg
Co-Founder and CEO and Podcast Businessman of Gimlet Media
Alex Blumberg is a CO-Founder and CEO and Podcast Businessman at Gimlet Media. He received a B.A. from Oberlin College and is currently an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University. From 1999-2014 he was the producer for the public radio show This American Life and his stories were regularly featured on the show. From 2007-2014 he was the executive producer of the television version of This American Life. Prior to This American Life, he worked as a freelance radio reporter, contributing to This American Life, the Savvy Traveller and Chicago Public Radio. In 2008 he collaborated with National Public Radio economics correspondent Adam Davidson to co-host the Planet Money podcast, which posts new episodes twice weekly. In August 2014, he started Gimlet Media along with Matthew Lieber. Initially pitched as the American Podcasting Corporation (APC), Gimlet Media is a podcasting business. Blumberg documented the startup process in the first season of a podcast hosted on Gimlet Media, titled StartUp. The second season follows “Dating Ring”, another startup company. Apart from StartUp, Gimlet Media has launched several other podcasts, including Mystery Show, Surprisingly Awesome, and Reply All. The company has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. After raising most of its initial capital from investment firms Betaworks, Lowercase Capital, and Knight Enterprise Fund, Gimlet invited the listeners of its shows to help raise the last $200,000 through crowdfunding platform Alphaworks. In December 2015, Gimlet closed a Series A round of funding that raised $6 million at a $30 million valuation.
Follow Alex Blumberg:
About Gimlet Media: Gimlet Media is a developer of a digital media network platform that focuses on producing quality narrative podcasts.
Anna-Marie Wascher
Co-Founder and CEO of YvesBlue
Anna-Marie Wascher is the Co-Founder and CEO at YvesBlue.
Follow Anna-Marie Wascher:
About Flat World Partners, YvesBlue: YvesBlue distills the sustainability narrative across your entire portfolio.
Michael T. Smith
Co-Founder & CTO of YvesBlue
Michael T. Smith is the Co-Founder and CTO of YvesBlue.
Follow Michael T. Smith:
About YvesBlue: YvesBlue distills the sustainability narrative across your entire portfolio.
Amy Wildstein
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Springboard Growth Capital LLC
Amy Rosen Wildstein is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Springboard Growth Capital, focused on investing in high-growth companies in the consumer sector. Amy has 25 years of private equity investment experience at The Blackstone Group, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Solera Capital and Boldcap Ventures. She has served on the boards of private and public companies. Current board / advisory roles include Hint, Fleur du Mal, the Springboard Enterprises National Advisory Board, the New York Fashion Tech Lab Expert Network, the Ross School Advisory Board, and the Michigan Social Venture Fund.
Follow Amy Wildstein:
About Springboard Growth Capital LLC, Sutton Capital Partners: Invests in high-growth brands and consumer-facing technology companies founded by dynamic female entrepreneurs
David Bialek
Co-Founder & CEO of ReKTGlobal
With over 25 years in the sports marketing & media world, Dave made the jump to esports with his co-founding of ReKTGlobal. Dave has spearheaded the creation of multiple advertising platforms in the place-based, streaming media and sports advertising space. He is credited with building two groundbreaking initiatives in collegiate sports. First, he led a sales team to create the iconic Allstate Field Goal Net program in NCAA Football. Second, he invented a “profile” position on NCAA and NBA basket stanchions, with which State Farm has become synonymous. The stanchion sign is widely considered to be the most impactful signage position in all of sports. For this latest pursuit, Dave became a recipient of the prestigious Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award. His work in the traditional sports marketplace can be seen far and wide, and he’s bringing the very same creative approach to the esports ecosystem.
Follow David Bialek:
About ReKTGlobal: ReKTGlobal is a business authority in e-sports and competitive gaming.
Channing Allen
Co-Founder of Indie Hackers
Follow Channing Allen:
About Indie Hackers, Stripe: Indie Hackers is a website and community focusing on helping entrepreneurs become profitable while remaining independent.
Sara Klausing
Founder of SEEK
Follow Sara Klausing:
About SEEK: Seek is the platform connecting entertainment and e-commerce through the lens of creatives.
Alex Bangash
Founder. Chairman, Managing Director & CEO of Trusted Insight
Alex Bangash is the Founder, Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO at Trusted Insight, a platform for institutional investors in 2010. In 2003, he founded Rumson Consulting Group, an innovative asset management and advisory firm specializing in Venture Capital investments for institutional investors.
Follow Alex Bangash:
About Trusted Insight: Trusted Insight is an LP network that provides institutional investors with curated news, jobs, rankings, events, and a forum.
Georgene Huang
CEO & Co-Founder of Fairygodboss
Georgene Huang is founder of Fairygodboss.com, an employer review site and community for working women.
Follow Georgene Huang:
About Fairygodboss: Fairygodboss is the largest career community for women. Free for women, we help employers recruit and hire women.
Romy Newman
President and Co-Founder of Fairygodboss
Romy Newman is the Co-Founder at Fairygodboss since June 2015. Previously, Romy was the Head of Strategic Partner Development at Chartbeat until April 2015. Until October 2014, Romy was Head of Digital Advertising for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing sales, marketing and operations for The Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Previously, Romy held several management roles at The Wall Street Journal including General Manager of Print, Conferences and Radio, Vice President of Multi-Media Sales and Vice President of Sales Strategy and Operations. During her tenure at The Journal, Romy was proud to be involved in several extremely successful new product development efforts, including WSJ. Magazine, WSJ Weekend, Greater New York and the original groundbreaking WSJ iPad app. Before joining The Journal, Romy held marketing positions at Google and Estee Lauder and was also a strategy consultant for a boutique media firm called Kannon Consulting, where she advised top management for Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Romy graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and an MBA in Strategy, Finance & Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Follow Romy Newman:
About Fairygodboss: Fairygodboss is the largest career community for women. Free for women, we help employers recruit and hire women.
Marc Hodulich
Founder of CharityBets
Raised in Birmingham, Alabama Graduate of Auburn University, 2002 SEC All-Academic Team as a member of Auburn University track & field team Lives in TriBeCa with his wife Stacey; sons, Chase and Dylan; and dog, Barkley.
Follow Marc Hodulich:
About CharityBets: Select an athletic event. Set a goal. Choose a charity. Friends, family, clients, and colleagues bet on your performance
Nadav Shoval
CEO & Co-Founder of OpenWeb
Nadav Shoval is the CEO & Co-Founder of Spot.IM, an on-site community that brings the power back to the publisher. Prior to Spot.IM, Nadav has developed and founded 4 technology startups. Spot.IM is his fifth venture. Nadav is a technology erudite and a sports addict.
Follow Nadav Shoval:
About OpenWeb: OpenWeb is a social engagement platform for people to elevate an open exchange of ideas across communities online.
Brendan Eapen
Co-Founder & CEO of In/spree
Follow Brendan Eapen:
About In/spree: In/Spree is a new social media shopping platform that connects influencers, brands, and retailers.
Ashley Marie Eapen
Co-Founder of In/spree
Follow Ashley Marie Eapen:
About In/spree, In/spree: In/Spree is a new social media shopping platform that connects influencers, brands, and retailers.
Mae Karwowski
CEO, Founder of Obviously
Mae is the CEO and Founder of Obviously, the influencer platform for the world’s iconic brands. Mae has grown this company from a one person start up to a 15 person, global company with a brand roster that includes many Fortune 500 companies. Obviously specializes in building custom networks of influencers for brands, specifically large scale global communities of hundreds to thousands of influencers with the right target audiences. Working with the best brands out there, we build relationships with the influencers that embody their ethos while moving their businesses forward. Before Starting Obviously, Mae ran social media for Gilt City, part of Gilt Groupe. Previous to that she ran social media for Bravo, Coca Cola and UGG with the ad agency 360i. She enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, corgi .gifs and talking tech and entrepreneurship 24/7.
Follow Mae Karwowski:
About Obviously: Obviously builds and manages influencer networks for the world’s iconic brands.
