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 Partner operating in the Mobile space. If you think a Partner 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.
Jack Song
Marketing & Partnership of Lime
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About Lime: Lime helps people move around their cities in an affordable and convenient way while eliminating their carbon footprint.
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Sophia Dominguez
Head of Camera Platform Partnerships of Snap
Sophia Dominguez is the Head of Camera Platform Partnerships at Snap. Previously, she was the CEO & Co-founder of Svrf, the first search engine for AR and VR, which was acquired in 2020. In 2015, she was the Entrepreneur in Residence at Rothenberg Ventures and was the first person to travel the world with Google Glass and document how people reacted to seeing and experiencing it for the first time. Sophia graduated from NYU Gallatin in 2013 with an individualized B.S. degree in “How Technology Impacts Human Interaction.”
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About Snap: Snap operates as a privately-owned multinational camera company focusing on multinational technology and social media.
Yash Patel
General Partner of Telstra Ventures
Yash Patel is a General Partner at Telstra Ventures. He joined the organization in 2014 and leads TV’s consumer investing efforts, with an emphasis on esports/gaming, social media, commerce, AR and SaaS apps. Yash has sourced and led TV’s investments in BigCommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC), Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP), Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), Mobile Premier League, Snapcommerce, Omaze, Sleeper, Team SoloMid (tsm.gg), FitOn, Swish Analytics, OpenGov, Singular, and Near. He is particularly interested in products that can reach massive scale and exhibit network effects. Previously, he was a Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Adknowledge, an online advertising technology platform whose investors include TCV, JMI, TPG, and Nokia. While at Adknowledge, Yash sourced and executed acquisitions and lead strategic planning for the business. Prior to Adknowledge, Yash was an investment banker at Jefferies LLC where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and strategic advisory in the technology sector. Yash holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Biology from University College London. Yash is a native of the Bay Area, enjoys tropical travel, his golden retriever, and is a hardcore Golden State Warriors fan.
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About Telstra Ventures: Telstra Ventures invests in technology companies and offers synergy revenues to its portfolio companies.
Elies Campo
Partnerships and Business Development of Telegram Messenger
Elies Campo is Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Telegram Messenger. Prior to joining Telegram, he was part of the initial Business Development and Growth team at WhatsApp, before the Facebook acquisition.
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About Telegram Messenger: Telegram is a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app with a focus on privacy, security, and speed.
Roberto Sanabria
Managing Partner of Expa
Roberto Sanabria is Managing Partner of Expa, overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and working closely on early stage projects. Previously, Roberto held business analytics and finance roles at LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and Google. Roberto was born in Venezuela.
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About Expa, Input.com: Expa supports early-stage startups through expertise, access, and funding.
Vitor Lourenco
Partner, Design of Expa
Vítor Lourenco is a Partner at Expa, a startup studio that works with founders to develop and launch new products. Prior to Expa, Vítor co-founded Envoy and headed up design and product efforts during its early days. Envoy raised a $15M Series A round from Andreessen Horowitz. Before Envoy, Vítor was the first designer at Twitter. He joined the company in 2008, when it had only 15 employees. At Twitter, Lourenço had the opportunity to work alongside founders Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Jack Dorsey. Vitor initially led Twitter’s major redesign in 2008. During the subsequent period of 4,5 years, he helped simplify and evolve the Twitter product into what it is today. Lourenço left the company in December 2012, after having become the second longest tenured Twitter employee. Previous to Twitter, Vítor designed interfaces for Yahoo! and TV Globo. Featured as the “Precocious Design Star” on ReadWriteWeb and “The Design Mind Behind Twitter” on FastCompany, Lourenço started creating user experiences at the age of 12 and has never stopped since then.
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About Expa: Expa supports early-stage startups through expertise, access, and funding.
David Clark
Partner of Expa
David Clark is the Partner at Expa.
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About Expa, Kitty Hawk: Expa supports early-stage startups through expertise, access, and funding.
Lydia White
Sr. Partner Marketing Manager of Unity Technologies
In her role on the Unity team, Lydia administered Unity’s largest contest to date, bringing together major partners from across the industry to help guide, mentor, and enable the success of a worldwide team of finalists to make their vision come to life.
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About Unity Technologies: Unity provides multiplatform tools and services to developers of interactive content.
Brett Joss
Advertising Partnerships of TikTok
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About TikTok: TikTok is a short-video sharing app and social network platform that develops a lip-syncing video application to create videos.
Mike DeLaet
Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships of Scopely
Mike DeLaet is currently the SVP of Strategic Partnerships at Scopely. Prior to Scopely, Mike was the Founder & CEO of Rogue Games, Inc. based in Los Angeles. Prior to Rogue, he was the SVP of WW BD & Licensing at Kabam and SVP of Global Publishing at Glu Mobile.
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About Scopely: Scopely is a global leader in interactive entertainment and mobile-first video games.
Erin Stadler
Managing Partner of Boomtown Accelerators
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About Boomtown Accelerators, Boomtown Accelerators, The Farm Atlanta: Boomtown’s bespoke accelerator programs help startups turn ideas into profitable, scalable businesses.
Andrew Goodman
Vice President, Content Partnerships of AT&T
Andrew is VP of Content Partnerships for AT&T, where he is responsible for managing content partnerships across traditional and software based pay TV systems, mobile devices, and data bundles. In this role, he balances strategic planning, business development, and product innovation with partner engagement. Most recently, he oversaw AT&T’s partnership with HBO Max, including the go-to-market (GTM) strategy and terms for bundling HBO Max with AT&T’s mobile and broadband assets. His work focuses on expanding the digital entertainment experience through mobile and over the top video initiatives (OTT), multi-screen extensions for subscribers of DIRECTV and U-verse Television (TV Everywhere), and other emerging technologies such as 4K UHD, leading cross functional teams to bring innovative new streaming video products to market. He also oversees AT&T’s relationships with Premium TV Networks (e.g., HBO), SVOD services (e.g. Netflix), and works closely with AT&T and The Chernin Group’s joint venture, Otter Media, focusing on video investments for a digital native audience. Andrew is a frequent speaker and panelist at technology and media industry conferences. Before joining AT&T, Andrew was a Manager in the technology, media, and telecom practice of Deloitte Consulting, where he focused on helping film studios and other large media companies manage the transition from analog to digital. Andrew began his career working in film development for director Robert Zemeckis’s ImageMovers. Andrew received his MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Theater and Political Science from Amherst College.
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About AT&T: AT&T is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, local exchange, and long-distance services.
David Danziger
Vice President, Data Partnerships of The Trade Desk
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About The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is an online demand-side platform that provides buying tools for digital media buyers.
Christian V. Bergmann
Vice President of Partnerships of Migo
Christian V. Bergmann is the VP of partnerships at Migo.
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About Migo: Migo is a cloud-based platform that allows customers to use loans, make purchases, and withdraw cash without the need for plastic cards.
Raj Mashruwala
Partner Emeritus of Prime Venture Partners
Mashruwala serves on the board of Syntel (SYNT), DeltaID Inc., Healthifyme and Covair. Mashruwala is mentor/advisor to several early startup ventures. Raj Mashruwala retired from TIBCO Software Inc. as an Executive Vice President in the office of CEO. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer at TIBCO Software Inc. TIBCO Software, based in Palo Alto California, was founded in 1997 and did its initial public offering in July of 1999 (NASDAX: TIBX). For the fiscal year ending October 2014, TIBCO Software had annual revenue of over one billion. Since the founding of TIBCO, Mr. Mashruwala built and led the worldwide sales and marketing operations. As Chief Operating Office, Mr. Mashruwala was also responsible for engineering, professional and support services. Prior to joining TIBCO, Raj Mashruwala co‐founded YieldUp International, a semiconductor equipment manufacturing company, Media Computer Technology Inc., an ASIC design house and Consilium Inc., a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) software provider. Mr. Mashruwala led Consilium’s R &D and professional services operations since company’s inception.
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About Prime Venture Partners: Prime Venture Partners is a natural destination for the startups targeting global markets
Julie Sandler
Co-founding General Partner and Managing Director of Pioneer Square Labs
Presidential Leadership Scholar at Presidential Leadership Scholars.
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About Pioneer Square Labs, Presidential Leadership Scholars, PSL Ventures, University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business: Pioneer Square Labs is a startup studio and venture capital fund that creates and launches technology startups.
David Zager
Partner and CDO of Pioneer Square Labs
David Zager is a design and technology innovation leader who joined Pioneer Square Labs in 2015 to lead business, visual, and product design. In addition to supporting new studio ideas and portfolio company design needs, he has catalyzed four studio spinouts from inception to funding: TraceMe (acquired by Nike), SingleFile, Remarkably, and soon to be announced, NewCo. Before PSL, David co-founded the design and development studio, Ok Rocket. Based in Seattle, they created digital products for Activision, AT&T, Best Buy, BlackBerry, Jason Mraz, P&G, Space Needle, The Great, T-Mobile, and Toyota. The studio worked with brands directly as well as with agencies such as Publicis, Saatchi and Saatchi and Conill. In 2001, he co-founded F2M2, a flash technology-focused studio. The company created immersive interactive experiences and digital campaigns for Universal Music Group recording artists and brands such as Best Buy and Coca-Cola. In 2004, Los Angeles experiential marketing firm, NCompass International, acquired F2M2, where David served four years as the SVP of Digital Services. David studied Visual Communication Design and Music Composition at the University of Washington. In his final year of school, Universal Records / Almo Sounds signed his first startup (his band) to a recording contract. Additionally, Famous Music signed him as a songwriter to a publishing deal. Television and film productions have featured his work. David commutes to Seattle from Los Angeles, where his lives with his wife Ailsa, two children Stella and Marlowe, and their two spirited cats, Willy and Floyd.
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About Pioneer Square Labs: Pioneer Square Labs is a startup studio and venture capital fund that creates and launches technology startups.
Matt Sacks
Co-Managing Partner of Lightbank
Matt Sacks is the Co-Managing Partner at Lightbank.
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About Lightbank, Luminary Media, Tamara Mellon: Lightbank VC is a venture fund that invests in entrepreneurs solving the biggest problems in society
Bill Pescatello
General Partner of Lightbank
Bill Pescatello is the General Partner at Lightbank.
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About Lightbank: Lightbank VC is a venture fund that invests in entrepreneurs solving the biggest problems in society
Eric Ong
Partner of Lightbank
Eric joined Lightbank in January 2016, where he concentrates on leading investment opportunities, providing support to portfolio companies, conducting financial & business due diligence, and leading the firm’s strategic content initiatives. Prior to joining Lightbank, Eric was part of the technology investment-banking division of Deutsche Bank in San Francisco where he focused on the software and internet sectors. During his time at Deutsche Bank, Eric executed over $30B in M&A advisory and capital markets transactions.
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About Lightbank: Lightbank VC is a venture fund that invests in entrepreneurs solving the biggest problems in society
Archana Chattha
Partner and VP of Network of VSC
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About VSC: We are a band of strategists, storytellers and data nerds obsessed with helping Davids crush a sea of Goliaths.
David Kullmann
Partner of TheoremOne
Partner at Citrusbyte
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About Halmos Ventures, Ooma, TheoremOne: We are an engineering and innovation firm. We solve complex business problems through optimization of process, technology, and culture.
Adonya Ourshalimian
Client Partner of TheoremOne
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About TheoremOne: We are an engineering and innovation firm. We solve complex business problems through optimization of process, technology, and culture.
Mike Joyce
Client Partner of TheoremOne
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About TheoremOne: We are an engineering and innovation firm. We solve complex business problems through optimization of process, technology, and culture.
Andrew Steinthal
Co-Founder & Chief Partnerships Officer of The Infatuation
Steinthal is the quarterback of The Infatuation sales and partnerships team, using his skill set as a former music business publicist to build deep, meaningful relationships with like minded brands such as American Express, Samsung, PAIGE, Anheuser-Busch,Whole Foods, Jameson, Airbnb, Delta and more. Steinthal was born in Manhattan and grew up in Scarsdale, where he still returns quite often to visit the Candlelight Inn and get dirty on a big sloppy bowl of wings. He’s scared of cheese, hates mushrooms, and refuses to eat olives. His true food passions include cereal, ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies. Weird, we know. Prior to going full time Infatuation, Steinthal was the VP of PR at Warner Bros. Records. His dream would be to own the Knicks some day.
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About The Infatuation, Zagat: The Infatuation is a website, app, newsletter, and recommendation platform that helps users find restaurants for every situation.
Ryan Shuler
Managing Partner of Legendary Ventures
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About Legendary Ventures: Legendary Ventures is a venture capital firm that accelerates value creation for consumer retail technology companies.
Jayson Kim
General Partner of Legendary Ventures
Jayson Kim is a General Partner @Legendary Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in companies across the consumer, retail and technology space. Previously, Jayson served in a variety of senior leadership roles at some of the most iconic retail brands in the world, including J.Crew Group, Jones (Nine West) Group, Perry Ellis International, and BCBGMAXAZRIA Group. Jayson is also a Board Trustee with the Girl Scouts of America.
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About Legendary Ventures: Legendary Ventures is a venture capital firm that accelerates value creation for consumer retail technology companies.
Kent Anderson
Executive Partner of Legendary Ventures
Global Retail Executive with a consistent track record of improving operating performance and increasing shareholder value across a broad range of leadership roles. Spent the last 16 years in the digital/omnichannel space leading the online business for Macy’s Inc. Successfully led businesses ranging from start up-$7billion in revenue. Broad experience leading large, complex businesses, turnarounds, M&A, and setting up stand alone companies. Skilled at developing strategies, facilitating organizational alignment and managing initiatives that deliver customer satisfaction and lasting financial results. Known for recruiting and building strong teams that work together to create a winning culture.
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About Gear Up Consulting, Legendary Ventures: Legendary Ventures is a venture capital firm that accelerates value creation for consumer retail technology companies.
Anurag Chandra
General Partner of Fort Ross Ventures
Anurag Chandra, J.D., is a Venture Partner at Fort Ross Ventures. He serves as a Managing Partner at Gresham Partners. AnuragChandra served as the Managing Director of NXT Capital Venture Finance and joined it on November 14, 2011. He served as a Managing Director of Lighthouse Capital Partners. AnuragChandra served as the Vice President of Finance for netDialog. He served as Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Intraspect Software, Inc. AnuragChandra served as the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Finance and Operations at Kana Assist. He served for Galleon Management, L.P. AnuragChandra served as Managing Director of Galleon Crossover Fund. He co-founded DeFi Mobile Communications (now the App Broadcast Network). He serves on the Board of Directors at Upaya. He serves as a mentor at Imagine H20, an accelerator for AgTech and water innovation startups. He has been a coach to Astia companies, promoting women founders of technology ventures. He serves as a Member of Board of Advisors at Gigsky, Inc. AnuragChandra serves as the Trustee at Federated City Employees’ Retirement System since December 5, 2016. He has been a lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School, and he serves on the board of directors of the Menlo-Atherton Little League. He began his career in institutional money management. AnuragChandra has been an active member in the Silicon Valley technology and venture capital community for over 20 years, as both an investor and operator. He is a member of the California Bar and a former corporate attorney. He was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the Valley’s “Top 40 under 40.” AnuragChandra holds a J.D. from Loyola Law School as a St. Thomas More scholar and a B.A. with honors in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University.
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About Fort Ross Ventures: Fort Ross Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early growth stage startups with the proven product, technology.
Nick Davidov
Senior Venture Partner of Fort Ross Ventures
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About Fort Ross Ventures: Fort Ross Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early growth stage startups with the proven product, technology.
Victor Orlovski
Managing Partner of Fort Ross Ventures
Victor Orlovski – has more then 20 years of experience in financial technology space. Started his career in ABN AMRO serving in different managerial positions in Uzbekistan, Russia and Head Quarters in Amsterdam. In 2001 Victor joined Alfa Bank (leading Russian financial institution) as the Chief Transformation Officer and was in charge of the largest banking transformation project in Russia. It resulted in the state-of-the-art business model and technological solution and made Alfa Bank a leader in innovative banking and most efficient financial company in Russia and CIS. In 2007 Victor became a partner at IBM Global Business Services in charge of FI and Insurance practice in Russia and CIS. From 2008 to 2015 Victor continued his career in Sberbank. He started as Chief Technology Officer (2008-2013) and then as Chief Digital Officer (20014-15). Several times Victor was nominated as the best CIO of the year in Russia, Best CIO of the year in Europe (Oracle award), was selected among top 1000 most efficient managers in Russia (kommersant.ru). Victor was the member of supervisory boards of more than 10 Sberbank subsidiaries; he was a founder and chairman of Supervisory board of Sberbank Technology and Sberbank Services. Victor and his team accomplished one of the largest banking transformation projects in the world changing Sberbank from old-fashion inefficient traditional banking to the truly digital and mobile customer centric modern financial firm. Victor is a founder of number of startups in Fin Tech space, social networking, crowd funding and sharing economy. Starting august 2015 Victor is the general partner of the Venture fund (MT Ventures), he is an angel investor and entrepreneur.
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About Fort Ross Ventures: Fort Ross Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early growth stage startups with the proven product, technology.
Jackson Bird
Strategic Partner Development of Instagram
Jackson Bird is a YouTuber, podcaster, and activist, who makes inquisitive videos for LGBTQ+ nerds–and the people in their lives who want to understand them better. A TED Speaker and Resident, Jackson is also a YouTube NextUp Creator, peer-reviewed author, and pub quiz host.
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About Instagram: Instagram is a free photo-sharing application that enables its users to take photos, apply filters, and share them on social networks.
Bray Patrick-Lake
Director, Strategic Partnerships of Evidation Health
Bray is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Evidation Health. She develops collaborations to support the design and implementation of participant-centered studies, and serves on the All of Us National Advisory Panel, the Digital Medicine Society Scientific Leadership Board, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Health Science Policy Board. Previously, Bray led engagement for the Duke Clinical Research Institute Project Baseline Study Coordinating Center and served as co-chair on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director that authored the Precision Medicine Initiative’s Cohort Program. Bray holds a BS degree from the University of Georgia, and an MFS degree from National University.
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About Evidation Health: We enable and empower everyone to participate in better health outcomes.
Kyle Rowe
Head of Government Partnerships of Spin
Rowe is head of government partnerships at Spin.
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About Spin: Spin is a stationless electric scooter company that provides dockless mobility systems.
Ted Bronstein
Vice President of Partnerships of Spin
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About Spin: Spin is a stationless electric scooter company that provides dockless mobility systems.
Shawn Hurt
Director, Channel Partners of goTenna
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About goTenna: GoTenna is advancing universal access to connectivity by building intelligent and scalable mobile mesh networks.
Gordon Bowman
Client Partner of Liftoff
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About Liftoff: Liftoff is a mobile app marketing and retargeting platform which uses post-install data to run true CPA-optimized campaigns.
Michele Rivera
Founder & Vice President, Global Partnerships of HUMBL
Michele Rivera is the Founder and Vice President, Global Partnerships at HUMBL.
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About HUMBL: HUMBL provides merchant services software which is being developed to accommodate the migration by governments to digital forms.
Serik Kaldykulov
Managing Partner of Elefund
Serik Kaldykulov is an exceptional entrepreneur and investor. With a background in finance and interest in psychology, Serik transitioned into financial management by successfully applying core value investing principles and fostering the creative ability to connect the scattered dots. The careful development of a framework to analyze small private companies led to initial proof of concept which then led to the establishment of Elefund.
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About Elefund: Elefund is a thesis-driven, micro venture capital focused on investments in early-stage technology companies.
Nathan Rodland
General Partner of Elefund
Nathan Rodland is the general partner at Elefund and the former COO of Robinhood.
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About Elefund: Elefund is a thesis-driven, micro venture capital focused on investments in early-stage technology companies.
Kabir Misra
Managing Partner of SoftBank Group
Kabir Misra is a Managing Partner at SoftBank Capital and is responsible for the PrinceVille Growth Equity Fund. He is also President of SB China and India Holdings, which manages SoftBank’s Bodhi Fund, an early-stage fund primarily focused on Asia. In addition to being on the board of Gilt, Kabir sits on the boards of uStream, PayActiv, and IP Ventures; he is also an observer on the board of RenRen. Additionally, as Vice President of SoftBank Inc., Kabir assists SoftBank Corporation with numerous direct investments and other business development activities on the West Coast and globally. Prior to joining SoftBank, Kabir was an investment banker focused on the Internet and technology sectors, most recently with Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong and Goldman Sachs in Menlo Park. Kabir holds a BA with honors in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University. He lives with his wife and their two children in Atherton, CA.
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About RPS Ventures, Softbank China & India Holdings, SoftBank Group: SoftBank Group is a holding company focused on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Ron Schreiber
Partner of SoftBank Group
Ron Schreiber is an experienced executive with an expertise in founding and leading companies and technology development. He has founded two billion dollar companies and led them to successful exits, and has operated three venture funds where he has realized upper quartile returns. Ron currently serves as a Partner for New York investments with SoftBank Capital. Previously, he was Managing Director of Seed Capital Partners, an early stage technology venture fund that he co-founded in 1999 in association with the SOFTBANK Group. In 1990, Ron co-founded UCA, later known as SOFTBANK Services Group, where he served as co-CEO and Chairman. SOFTBANK Services Group was the predecessor company to Sitel Worldwide, a leading outsourced call center provider. Ron was also the founder of Software Distribution Services, the predecessor company to Ingram Micro (NYSE:IM), a leading wholesale computer products distributor with over $23B in annual revenue. He also led acquisitions, technical units and product support functions at the company. Ron served on the executive team at Ingram for three years. Ron is active in the community and serves on the boards of CUBRC, the Board of Trustees of the UB Foundation and is an Advisor to the Faculty at UB. In addition, Ron serves on the boards of several portfolio companies, including AEB, Aequus, Cyber-Ark, Insightix, AFT and Optodot.
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About I-Group, SoftBank Group, Z80 Labs Technology Incubator: SoftBank Group is a holding company focused on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Paulo Passoni
Managing Investment Partner of SoftBank Group
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About SoftBank Group: SoftBank Group is a holding company focused on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
David William Baum
Founder, Partner & Managing Director of Stage 1 Ventures
David William Baum is an experienced venture capital general partner with twenty one years in the information technology industry, including twelve years in technology finance and nine years in entrepreneurial operating management roles. As an operating entrepreneur, David founded two companies including Pensoft Corporation, a venture-backed (Mohr, Davidow Ventures, IVP, and Bay Partners) mobile communications company that was sold to AT&T in 1994. David served as VP of Engineering at Pensoft for over four years. David was a key principal that raised, launched, staffed, and managed Prism Venture Partners, a leading early stage venture capital fund. Founded in 1996, Prism has provided start-up equity to more than eighty-five companies, which have completed four public offerings and twenty five strategic mergers and acquisitions. During his tenure at Prism, the firm grew from zero to over $1.25B under management. Previous investments include Network24 Communications (sold to Akamai), DotBank (sold to Yahoo), Altaworks (sold to Opnet), Integral Access (sold to Telco Systems), Syncra Systems (sold to Retek), Softricity (sold to Microsoft), Salesnet (sold to RightNow) and Bitfone (sold to HP). After leaving Prism, David founded CCVentures, a stage-agnostic operational consulting business. At CCVentures, David assisted private companies in business plan development, governance issues, financing strategies, and go-to-market campaigns. Investments and clients include: Carbonite, OnePin, Intouch Systems, mVisible, Nimbit, H2Index, Skyhook Wireless and WorldWinner. In January of 2006, CCVentures merged with Ametron to form Stage 1 Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm. New investments include 800-411-INFO, Mophap, Gaterocket, Cuesol, Magnify Media, and AgileCo. David holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School with second year honors and BS in Computer Science from Drexel University where he graduated first in his science class.
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About CVP Management, Stage 1 Ventures: Stage 1 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that is seeking to build partnerships with great entrepreneurs that are flexible
Ralph Rodriguez
Operating Partner of Stage 1 Ventures
Ralph Rodriguez brings over 25 years of experience spanning executive management, IT, research and entrepreneurship in a variety of executive roles. As an entrepreneur, Rodriguez has founded cloud security companies such as Confirm.io, Delfigo Security, Invenio, and Blue Hill Research. He has held executive positions as SVP and Research Director at Aberdeen Group (NYSE:HHS), CTO of Brooks Automation’s Enterprise Software Division (NASDAQ:BRKS), acquired by Applied Materials in 2007, EVP-CIO of Excelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXLN) acquired by Progress Software in 2003 and C-bridge Internet Solutions (NASDAQ:CBIS) acquired by Object Design in 2001.
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About Stage 1 Ventures, Summit Partners: Stage 1 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that is seeking to build partnerships with great entrepreneurs that are flexible
Joesph Pianelli
Operating Partner of Stage 1 Ventures
Mr. Pianelli is the Founder and Managing Partner at Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc., a business strategy firm that specializes in commercialization, business development, channel development and M&A for technology, media and wireless telecom companies. He has over 25 years of experience in finance, corporate development, business formation, as well as senior level operating roles in the following sectors: wireless, publishing, digital media, Internet and consumer retail. He has worked on a global basis with C-level executives of large and small enterprises developing strategic growth plans and launching new business ventures.
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About Stage 1 Ventures: Stage 1 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that is seeking to build partnerships with great entrepreneurs that are flexible
Stephen Lyle
Operating Partner of Stage 1 Ventures
Dr. Lyle is the Director of KEW Group’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab and is the former Lab Director of Predictive Biosciences, and former Medical Director of Catalyst Oncology, Inc. He has served as a consultant for a number of biotech companies including Pavonis/Beauty Medicines, Switch Biotech AG, Andorra, Inc./Living Proof, Dyax Corp., Diagnocure, Inc., Arresto Biosciences, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and Bioserve. Dr. Lyle holds an appointment as Associate Professor of Cancer Biology and Pathology, UMass Medical School and is the Co-Director of the UMass Cancer Center Tissue Bank. He has held NIH and private foundation grants to study adult stem cell biology, cancer stem cells and skin biology. He has received a multiple awards, grants and fellowships from The National Institutes of Health, William Keck Foundation, The Ellison Foundation, Society of Investigative Dermatology, Dermatology Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Trust, and The March of Dimes. He is a member of The American Association for Cancer Research, The Society of Investigative Dermatology and is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists. He is an author on over 75 research publications, book chapters and reviews. Prior to his clinical fellowship training in the Harvard Combined Dermatopathology Program, he was a resident and surgical pathology fellow at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the prestigious HT Enterline Fellowship Award. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he also completed a research post-doctoral fellowship in the lab of George Cotsarelis, M.D. in the Department of Dermatology. During this time Dr. Lyle made the breakthrough discovery of the location and characteristics of adult epithelial stem cells in human skin that launched his research career. Dr. Lyle is a graduate of The Pritzker School of Medicine/University of Chicago where he completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in the combined B.A. / M.S. program in Biochemistry
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About Stage 1 Ventures: Stage 1 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that is seeking to build partnerships with great entrepreneurs that are flexible
Rudy Karsan
Managing Partner of Karlani Capital
Rudy Karsan is a technology entrepreneur and investor. Nothing excites him more than a great idea and a stellar team of executors who he can work with to help build a world-changing business. Rudy founded Kenexa, an enterprise SaaS company, and grew it to a billion-dollar enterprise which was acquired by IBM in a record deal. He knows the highs and lows of success and failure (both of which he has had a lot of) and gets his energy from working with fellow risk-takers who appreciate the exhilarating journey of entrepreneurship. A self-confessed geek, Rudy is a numbers guy at heart (Rudy was the youngest barred Actuary in Canada); however, his true passion is working with people. He firmly believes that a lot of focus, a genuine desire to help others, and a little bit of luck is a winning recipe. That philosophy paved the way for Karlani Capital, an operating fund that aims to “enable the growth and success of ideas that are original, interesting and useful to people.” Rudy hates small talk, loves reading, consumes a border-line unhealthy amount of Coca-Cola, and is proud to call his family his greatest achievement. He has been recognized multiple times for his entrepreneurial and humanitarian achievements and is the author of a New York Times bestselling book, We: How to Increase Performance and Profits through Full Engagement.
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About Barsys LLC, Elite HRV, Karlani Capital, Kroo, LOQBOX: Karlani Capital is an operating fund that builds, buys, and invests in fast-growing, technology companies that serve and enrich humanity.
Nyla Koncurat
Managing Partner of Karlani Capital
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About Karlani Capital: Karlani Capital is an operating fund that builds, buys, and invests in fast-growing, technology companies that serve and enrich humanity.
Ted Ridgway
General Partner and Co-Founder of Launchpad Digital Health
Ted is a Co-Founder of Launchpad Digital Health, a leading venture firm making early stage investments in companies transforming healthcare. Earlier in his career he held executive finance, operations and management roles at companies as CFO and COO. Prior to these roles, Ted was an investment banker for 15 years and was involved in more than 100 healthcare and technology transactions with an aggregate value of more than $6 billion. Ted has an MBA from UCLA and a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
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About Launchpad Digital Health: Launchpad Digital Health is an early-stage investor and mentor in digital health
Jeremie SaintVil
Managing Partner of VERB World, Inc.
Jeremie SaintVil has an entrepreneurial spirit, but he’s also a team player through and through. He’s had diverse leadership roles at a number of forward-thinking tech companies, and he has done everything from hiring, marketing, and sales management to simply providing the motivation and inspiration that employees need to make the most of their careers. Jeremie is able to find and appeal to new markets. While he was the Director of Sales at US Cellular – ABS Comm. Inc., he launched a new market which exceeded financial projections by over one million dollars in its very first year. In positions at both Apple and H&R Block, Jeremie was repeatedly recognized as a leader, not only in business but in his personality. He has shown time and time again his thirst for success, not balking at the opportunity for expansion and risk-taking to achieve his goals. Now Jeremie is the CEO and Founder of VERB, which will launch in late 2016. He is making strides within the fintech industry and revolutionizing the antiquated financial trading industry– so that it actually makes sense and appeals to the millennial market share. While millennials are famously (and perhaps unfairly) labeled as “too connected” and generally blase about the stock market, Jeremie SaintVil and VERB are making strides to “gamify” investing. Jeremie believes that a wider appeal to the millennial market is long overdue. Jeremie SaintVil is able to make his voice stand out across generations and professional sectors. He is a dynamic motivational speaker and business strategist with a focus on business growth, expansion and ultimately, success. Having already launched his own business and appeared on NASDAQ’s Millennial Report, Jeremie and VERB are primed for success come the app’s launch.
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About VERB World, Inc.: The VERB App Leverages Gamification to Teach People How to Trade in the Stock Market
Val Katayev
Founder & Managing Partner of MobileFuse
Val Katayev is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and led four successful startups to hyper-growth centered around digital media in display, mobile, music, search and data. Two of these tech companies, ToneMedia (now Bandsintown Amplified) and ToneFuse resulted in being acquired by Lagardère Group. In addition to success in tech, Val is a pioneer in the Marketplace Lending space as he later partnered with Prime Meridian Capital Management to help the firm grow it’s AUM from $5M to $500M in 3 years. Operating and growing with capital efficiency is where Val excels. This management style generated over $100M through profits and exits, all before taking any venture capital. While at ToneMedia, Katayev grew it to a top 3 music property according to Comscore and developed ToneTargeting, a patent pending tech that evaluates consumer demo, buying habits and hobbies based on musical tastes. In 2009, Katayev founded ToneFuse, which he grew to become the world’s largest ringtone marketing platform. Also in 2009, Katayev co-founded and laid the early foundation for MobileFuse, one of the leading mobile advertising companies that he still oversees. In 2001, Katayev founded Poise Media, an industry leader in performance and paid search marketing for 800+ clients including eBay, VistaPrint and Rhapsody, while still attending Baruch College. These days Val is an investor, board member and advisor in a number of companies. As always on the lookout for the next big project to dedicate himself to.
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About Jocalio, MobileFuse, Poise Media, Poise Ventures, Prime Meridian Capital Management: MobileFuse is a mobile-first ad network offering advanced targeting and ad serving solutions to marketers.
Omar Darwazah
Managing Director and General Partner of AAF Management Ltd.
Omar has over 16 years of international experience in corporate finance, strategy, investor relations and venture capital. He is a Managing Director and General Partner at AAF Management Ltd. (AAF), an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2016. AAF focuses on top tier venture-backed Seed and Series A investment opportunities in US-based startups that have international expansion potential and currently has over $100M in assets under management. AAF invests across Fintech, Consumer, Enterprise Software and Healthcare and its portfolio includes Synthego, Tamara Mellon, Current, Even Financial, Portfolium (acquired by Instructure), HeyDoctor (acquired by GoodRx), Prodigy (acquired by Upstart), TruOptik (acquired by Transunion) among others. Omar is also an angel investor in various technology companies including Andela, Blockstack and FiscalNote. He sits on the Board of the Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA). He is also a mentor to the NYU Steinhardt EdTech Accelerator, an advisor to Yale University’s Center for Digital Health and Innovation and a judge at the Wharton School’s Venture Lab. Previously, Omar spent 10 years of his career with OCI N.V. in Cairo and New York focusing on strategy, corporate finance, and investor relations where he worked on over $35 billion worth of corporate transactions. Prior to that, he was with Deloitte in Chicago and Deutsche Bank’s Leveraged Finance team in London. Omar holds a BA in Economics and Political Science with Honors from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Omar was born in Cairo and lived in London, Chicago, Montreal and Paris. He now resides in New York City with his wife Bouchra and twin son and daughter Zayn and Layla. Omar enjoys scuba diving and is an avid travel photographer having visited 85 countries around the world. He also has an interest in film production and has been an Executive Producer on several short feature films including Baby Mine (2017) and Lab Rat (2018). He was named one of Wharton’s 40 Under 40 in 2017.
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About AAF Management Ltd., GoldCleats Global: AAF Management Ltd. is an early-stage VC firm focused on Seed and Series A technology companies.
Kyle Hendrick
Founder & General Partner of AAF Management Ltd.
Kyle has lead direct investments in over 90+ early stage companies with over 500 tier 1 and tier 2 venture capital firms and corporate venture arms participating in the deals. He has LP exposure to over 17 venture capital funds globally and is an investment committee member at KBBO Ventures a $100M venture arm of KBBO Group in Abu Dhabi.
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About AAF Management Ltd., GoldCleats Global: AAF Management Ltd. is an early-stage VC firm focused on Seed and Series A technology companies.
Jeff Kearl
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
Jeff Kearl is a Managing Director at Pelion Ventures. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Stance. He previously Co-founded Precedent Investments in 2012. He previously served as a Venture Partner at Zetta Venture Partners.He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Arteis, Inc. He previously served as Director of Strategy and New Ventures for Hewlett Packard. Jeff previously worked as an Associate at vSpring Capital. Jeff founded Freeport.com, Inc. and served as its Vice President of Business Development & Product Marketing. He served as the Chairman of Skullcandy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKUL) from 2005 to 2013. He is currently on the board of directors of Scopely, Just Water and Domo (NASDAQ: DOMO). Jeff Kearl holds a BA in Marketing from Brigham Young University.
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About Domo, Dynamic Signal, Pelion Venture Partners, Stance: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Chad Packard
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
Chad Packard joined Pelion Venture Partners in 2008. Prior to Pelion, he was a Director of Cougar Capital, a venture fund managed by Brigham Young University. He is a member of the state bar association of California. Chad holds a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University, a J.D. from Santa Clara University, and a M.B.A. from Brigham Young University.
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About BookClub, Cacheflow, Canopy, Firefly, Nomi Health, Owlet Baby Care, Pelion Venture Partners, Rivet, Shoptrue, SteadyMD, Vouch Insurance: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Blake Modersitzki
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
Blake Modersitzki joined Pelion Venture Partners in 2002 after 13 years as an executive with Novell and WordPerfect Corporation. Blake has deep industry operating experience as well as a long, successful investment track record. Prior to joining Pelion Venture Partners, Blake was Managing Director for Novell Ventures and Vice President of Strategic Business Development. He directed Novell’s venture strategy including both its direct investments in companies and indirect investments in venture capital funds. Prior to managing Novell’s venture capital organization, Blake held a number of sales, marketing, product management, global channel sales development and business development positions within Novell and Word Perfect. Blake’s current investments and board affiliations are M-Factor, Fusion-io, Soasta and Infopia. Blake previously served on the boards of Riverbed Technology (IPO), Red Hat Software (IPO), Confluent Software (acquired by Oblix/Oracle), Bowstreet (acquired by IBM), Business Layers (acquired by Netegrity), Caldera Systems (IPO), Digital Cement (acquired by Pitney Bowes), enCommerce (acquired by Entrust), GlobalCast (acquired by Talarian), Indus River Networks (acquired by Enterasys), NetPro (acquired by Quest Software), Netfish Technologies (acquired by IONA), NetObjects (IPO), Orbital Software (IPO), TurboLinux (IPO), and WR Hambrecht & Co. Blake has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Brigham Young University.
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About Brigham Young University (BYU), Domo, Pelion Venture Partners: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Chris Cooper
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
Chris Cooper joined Pelion Venture Partners in 2007. Chris has over seventeen years of operational experience in the software industry and has held senior positions in sales management, field marketing, business development, and engineering. Most recently, he was Director of Partner Engineering and Developer Services at Novell, Inc. where he was responsible for the companies partner support and certification programs. Chris also served as General Manager of Novell’s Strategic Alliances, in which role he was responsible for the company’s relationships with global business partners, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, EMC, and Cisco Systems. Chris served as both a business and technical adviser for Novell Ventures and managed relationships between the fund’s portfolio companies and industry leaders. Prior to joining Novell, Chris served as East Coast Regional Sales Director for the WordPerfect Corporation. Chris serves on the board of directors of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. He studied at the University of Utah and the University of Phoenix.
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About Macrometa, Novell, Pelion Venture Partners: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Benjamin Lambert
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
Ben joined Pelion’s investing team in 2015, and has been an integral part of both their culture and investing success. He has sourced, led, or co-led 16 investments since becoming an intern in the spring of 2014, including Owlet, Deserve, Omadi, and Neighbor. He currently sits on 6 portfolio company boards, including Neurala, Divvy, and FastData.io. Ben spends his time and efforts investing in Fintech, Marketplaces, Frontier Tech, and AI/ML, choosing to invest in special entrepreneurs that have disruptive businesses in large and underserved markets. Before Pelion, Ben worked for Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (J.F.G.) in their strategy and operations group where he invested in and managed 4 operating companies (with over $10B in annual revenue), including their largest investment of $868M in to National Beef Packing (N.B.P.) in 2011. Since the investment, N.B.P. has returned over $1.6B. Prior to J.F.G., Ben worked at Sears Holdings Co. on the Corporate Strategy and Analytics team where he analyzed potential capital investments using statistical, financial and data frameworks. Ben holds a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A. from Brigham Young University.
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About Divvy, fastdata.io, Misapplied Sciences, Neurala, Pelion Venture Partners: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Matt Mosman
General Partner of Pelion Venture Partners
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About Pelion Venture Partners: Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies.
Jake Engwerda
SVP Global Sales & Partnerships of LISNR
Jacob Engwerda is the SVP Global Sales & Partnerships at LISNR.
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About LISNR: LISNR enables secure and seamless data transmission using the most advanced ultrasonic data technology
William McClelland
Co-Founder & Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures
Co-founder & Partner at Elizabeth Street Ventures, an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands Co-founder of Bambike, a bamboo bicycle manufacturer and tour operator with an environmental & social mission based in the Philippines Prior to founding Elizabeth Street, I was a Partner at Grace Beauty Capital, a Managing Director/Portfolio Manager at Ironwood Capital Management and a Tech-Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers Investor @ Bambike, Birchbox, Costa Brazil, Current, Eloquii, Events.com, Glamsquad, High Court, MM. LaFleur, Parachute Home, Perch Interactive, Pixlee, Primary.com, Ringly, Rothy’s, SKU IQ, Sourceeasy, Supergoop!, ThirdLove, Trendalytics, Vengo. Graduated from Yale University with a BA double major in Economics and Anthropology.
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About Elizabeth Street Ventures: We are an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life
Ben Sontheimer
Co-founder & Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures
Co-founder & Partner at Elizabeth Street Ventures, an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands Prior to founding Elizabeth Street, I was a Investor @ Graduated from
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About Elizabeth Street Ventures: We are an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life
Rachael Ulman
Venture Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures
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About Elizabeth Street Ventures: We are an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life
Craig Klemp
Senior Director of Global Partnerships of Evernote
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About Evernote, EZ Texting: Evernote is a suite of software and services that allow users to capture, organize, and find information across multiple platforms.
Gabriel Ionita
Director, Group Partnering and Business Development, US of Deutsche Telekom
Director, Group Partnering and Business Development at Deutsche Telekom Inc.
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About Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom is a telecommunications company that offers a range of fixed-network services.
Matthew Michelini
Partner of Apollo
Matthew Michelini has served as a Director since December 2015. He is a partner at Apollo having joined in 2006. Prior to joining Apollo, Matthew Michelini was a member of the mergers and acquisitions group of Lazard Frères & Co. from 2004 to 2006. Matthew Michelini serves on the board of directors of Athene Holdings and Athene Asset Management Ltd. He previously served on the board of directors of Metals USA and Noranda Aluminum. Matthew Michelini graduated from Princeton University with a BS in Mathematics and a Certificate in Finance and received his MBA from Columbia University.
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About Apollo: Apollo develops applications for Android and iOS users. Apollo Browser
Sarah Gabot
Senior Partner Marketing Manager of HelloSign
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About HelloSign: HelloSign offers fast, secure, and legally binding eSignatures for businesses.
Raghunath Verabelli
Managing Partner of GGK Tech
Raghu is the managing partner at GGK. He has been working in IT industry for more than 20 years experience spanning from software development, services delivery, managing client relationships, partner programs to business development. At GGK, Raghu provides key strategic direction and manages operations. He is responsible for growing GGK’s business and building true long-term partnerships. Prior to GGK, he worked for Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Sybase and CMC Ltd. He also teaches Advanced Java Programming Course at Brandeis University, Waltham. Raghu is very passionate about developing communities in rural and tribal parts of India. He played a key role in the growth of non-profit org India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) in Boston. He is currently working with Youth for Seva (YFS) and Seva Bharathi. Raghu is MBA from the University of Massachusetts and has a Bachelors in Computer Science degree from the University of Delhi.
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About GGK Tech: GGK Tech develops web applications and business intelligence solutions.
Ken Pilot
Managing Partner of PredictSpring
Ken Pilot is a managing partner at Crosswork, Backbone PLM, and PredictSpring Inc. He has over 30 years of retail, C-level operating experience at Gap, J.Crew, Ralph Lauren and others.
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About Backbone PLM, PredictSpring: PredictSpring provides a seamless omni-channel experience that brings the best of mobile technology to consumer and store associate apps.
Marco DeMiroz
General Partner & Co-founder of The Venture Reality Fund/VRF
Marco DeMiroz has extensive experience in executive roles with leading technology companies and in global investments. He was a Managing Director of Evolution Media Partners and led its investment in JauntVR. He actively advises various media and technology companies in VR/AR sectors. Earlier, Mr. DeMiroz was President and CEO of PlayFirst, Inc. and sold PlayFirst to Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU). Marco DeMiroz obtained his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University; a post-graduate Engineer Degree in Aeronautics/Astronautics from Stanford University; an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University; and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
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About The Venture Reality Fund/VRF: The Venture Reality Fund invests in early stage AI, AR & VR startups defining the future of computing
General Partner & Co-founder of The Venture Reality Fund/VRF
Tipatat Chennavasin has extensive experience creating both interactive VR/AR and 360 video. He became convinced of the power of VR when he accidently cured himself of his real life fear of heights while developing in VR. He has established himself as VR/AR industry spokesperson and thought leader, and has contributed to many publications and presented at various industry events, He also has entrepreneurial experience as co-founder and CEO of mobile game startup Big Head Mode, Inc. that he sold to PlayFirst to focus on VR. He is an advisor for many VR companies as well as a mentor for VR incubators and accelerators around the world, including Tokyo VR Startups, http://tokyovrstartups.com/. He obtained his BS from Stanford University in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction.
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About The Venture Reality Fund/VRF: The Venture Reality Fund invests in early stage AI, AR & VR startups defining the future of computing
Sundar Varadarajan
Consulting Partner, AI & ML of Wipro Technologies
Sundar Varadarajan is a consulting partner for AI and ML at Wipro Technologies.
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About Wipro Technologies: Wipro is a global information technology, consulting and business process services company.
Eric Manlunas
Managing Partner and Founder (US & SE Asia) of Wavemaker Partners
Eric is a co-Founder and Managing Partner with Wavemaker Partners, a cross border early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore. He is a two-time start-up entrepreneur turned venture capitalist with a strong passion for early-stage investing. Eric co-founded Wavemaker following its merger with Frontera Group, a prior early-stage boutique venture capital firm he founded in 2003. Eric has a proven track record as an early investor in over 230 early-stage ventures, of which half remain active and growing. Those companies have collectively received over $1B in growth capital. Eric also served in a concurrent capacity as a Partner of a Los Angeles-based value hedge fund from late-2002 until its sale to a San Francisco-based commercial bank in mid-2006. Prior to Frontera, Eric founded Sitestar in mid-1999. Sitestar is an Internet service provider in the rural markets of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Upon helping steer Sitestar in becoming one of the largest independent ISPs in the region, Eric successfully divested his remaining ownership stake in December 2002. Prior to that, Eric’s first startup was Interfoods, an online specialty foods venture he founded in early 1997. Within 3 years, Interfoods grew to become a mid-sized specialty foods provider in its market and was successfully acquired in late 1999. Eric began his career as a consulting associate with Arthur Andersen’s retail management consulting division from 1991-1995. He earned a B.S. in Communications from Florida International University and an M.B.A from Pepperdine University. Eric is currently a member of the board of a number of emerging companies. He is also a Trustee of the Philippine Development Foundation, an organization committed to social development initiatives in the Philippines, Eric’s country of origin.
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About Wavemaker 360, Wavemaker Partners: Wavemaker is a crossborder early-stage VC firm that focuses on early-stage tech startup opportunities.
Marc Wilson
Co-Founder & Senior Vice President Global Partners & Industry Practices of Appian
Marc Wilson is a Co-Founder of Appian and is responsible for the company’s sales into Financial Services, Insurance, and Pharmaceuticals. Marc’s prior roles at Appian include building Appian’s Global Partnership Team and running Appian Professional Services. Marc received his B.A. in Government (International Relations) from Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth, Marc was recognized as one of the top ranked inter-collegiate debaters in the United States.
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About Appian: Appian provides a low-code software development platform that enables organizations to rapidly develop powerful applications.
Eric Kagan
Co-Founder, Managing Partner of SierraMaya360
Founding Partner of SierraMaya360 and Principal of KGN Holdings. SierraMaya360 makes investments in early-stage companies focused in the high tech industry as well as provides advisory services for companies with a focus on growth and financing. KGN Holdings makes equity investments in Real Estate Portfolios as well as companies at various stages of financing. Prior to SM360 and KGN Holdings, I founded Access Northeast, a Data Center, Cloud & Managed Services Provider in the Greater Boston region. In addition to founding the company, I served as the Chief Technical Officer and also oversaw financial operations, helping the company grow from startup to over $20M+ in revenue before successfully exiting to a Massachusetts’ Based Private Equity firm in 2012. Access Northeast was then merged with Xand of Westchester County, NY and DBSI of Pennsylvania to form the largest privately-held Data Center Services firm in the Northeast region with more than 500,00SF of Data Center space.
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About KGN Holdings, SierraMaya360: SierraMaya360 is a full-service early stage venture capital firm.
Jeffrey Stevenson
Managing Partner of Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Mr. Stevenson is the Managing Partner of VSS and has overall responsibility for the management of the Firm and each of its funds. Mr. Stevenson has been the senior member of the investment committees of all of the VSS buyout funds and structured capital funds. He joined the Firm in 1982, shortly after its formation, and has been the head of its private equity business since its first investment; he has over twenty years’ experience in private investing. Previously, Mr. Stevenson was Executive Vice President in charge of corporate finance at VSS, a department he founded. Mr. Stevenson currently serves as a member of the board of Advanstar Communications, Ebiquity, Access Intelligence, Infobase Publishing, User Friendly Media, Market Strategies, ITN Networks, TMP Worldwide, Remedy Health, Cambium Learning, Southern Theatres, Cast & Crew and SureSource. Previously, he served as a member of the board of Vault.com, The Official Information Company, Centaur Communications, Birch Telecom, ITE Group, Pepcom, Yellow Book USA, Rifkin Acquisition Partners, Triax Midwest Associates, Broadcasting Partners Holdings, Spectrum Resources Towers, PJS Publications, Kansas Broadcasting Systems, B&B Merger Corporation, Cable Management Ireland, International Media Partners, Hughes Broadcasting Partners, Triax Southeast Associates, Canon Communications, Hanley Wood, De Telefoongids, Mediatel, and Broadcasting Partners. Mr. Stevenson holds a BA from Rutgers College. In addition, Mr. Stevenson serves on the boards or is involved with the following organization: YPO/WPO, SBIA Board of Governors and Lincoln Center Leadership Committee.
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About Veronis Suhler Stevenson: Veronis Suhler Stevenson finances private equity and post IPO equity investments.
Irfan Virk
Partner and Co-Founder of NorthBay Solutions
Irfan leads NorthBay’s US delivery organization and is responsible for all customer projects as well as customer success. Irfan has a rich successful entrepreneurial history of leading organizations. Irfan’s experiences include positions at Accenture as well as numerous organizations he has co-founded including CambridgeDocs and GameView Studios.
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About NorthBay Solutions: NorthBay Solutions are a cloud big data and enterprise mobile professional services firm.
Eric Paley
Managing Partner of Founder Collective
Eric Paley is a Partner at Founder Collective, a seed-stage venture capital fund. Eric led Founder Collective’s investments into numerous companies including Uber, OPOWER, Makerbot, HotelTonight, Kuvee, Bookbub, Contently, The Trade Desk and Integral Ad Science. Previously, Eric founded Brontes Technologies, a 3D imaging company, which was acquired in 2006 by 3M. Eric has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School, is a frequent contributor to Techcrunch, and is a board member of the New England Venture Capital Association.
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About Founder Collective: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital fund that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses.
David Frankel
Managing Partner of Founder Collective
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About BuzzFeed, Coupang, Datalot, Founder Collective, Media Radar, Olo, Ordway, PillPack, Rand Merchant Bank: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital fund that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses.
Micah Rosenbloom
Managing Partner of Founder Collective
Micah Rosenbloom has spent his career starting and funding tech enterprises. It’s what he loves. As an entrepreneur, he’ve raised four rounds of venture capital for over $40M in investment for three distinct companies.
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About Founder Collective: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital fund that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses.
James Tamplin
Founder Partner of Founder Collective
James has founded 4 startups. His last one, Firebase, was acquired by Google, where he leads product for Firebase as a part of Google Cloud Platform.
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About Founder Collective: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital fund that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses.
Zach Klein
Founder Partner of Founder Collective
Zach Klein is co-founder and CEO of DIY. He was a partner and led product design at Connected Ventures, the creators of CollegeHumor. In 2006, he and his partners sold a major stake of Connected Ventures to IAC. Zach is best known for co-founding and designing [Vimeo](/organization/vimeo), a popular video-sharing community emphasizing authenticity and quality. Time Magazine’s CEO Shimon Haber named Vimeo one of the web’s Top 50 sites. He led product at [Boxee](/organization/boxee), an open-source interface for televisions making it easy to watch shows, movies and homemade videos from the Internet. Zach also serves as a director on the boards of Skillshare and Svpply.
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About DIY.org, Dwell, Dwell, Founder Collective, Svpply: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital fund that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses.
Fabrice Sergent
Managing Partner of Bandsintown
A lifelong entrepreneur, Fabrice Sergent is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bandsintown Group. He is a media and Internet entrepreneur with 20 years of experience, having spoken at prominent music events including Midem, REVOLT Music Conference, DLD, MWC’s 4YFN and the Glimpse Social Discovery Conference. Bandsintown improves the concert-going experience for millions of fans around the world and helps thousands of artists of all sizes and genres to better connect with their core audience. Under Fabrice’s leadership, the family of Bandsintown apps has attracted over 19 million concert-goers, reaches a global audience of 120 million music fans through Bandsintown Amplified and powers the tour dates for more than 300K artists around the world. Bandsintown has expanded to become the premiere destination where artists and fans connect. Fabrice also serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for the [Mobile Giving Foundation](http://mobilegiving.org/), and provides the technology platform to the MGF in order to process mobile-giving transactions in the U.S. and Canada. Previously, Sergent was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Club-Internet, which was purchased by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Online for a historical 1.2 billion euro in 2000.
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About Bandsintown: Bandsintown is a free concert discovery app for concert-goers and touring artists. It was acquired by Cellfish/Bandsintown Group in 2011.
Julien Mitelberg
Managing Partner of Bandsintown
Julien Mitelberg is a serial entrepreneur and President / COO of Bandsintown Group. Under Julien, the family of Bandsintown apps has attracted over 19 million concert-goers, reaches a global audience of 120 million music fans through Bandsintown Amplified and powers the tour dates for more than 300K artists around the world. Bandsintown has expanded to become the premiere destination where artists and fans connect. Since 2011, Julien has led Bandsintown’s expansion onto mobile platforms (iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, Android Wear and Apple Watch) and into new geographic markets (210 countries), with the mission that users never miss another live show. He has spoken at prominent music industry events on fan engagement, music discovery and tour promotion including New Music Seminar, SXSW, Billboard Touring, Digital Entertainment World, Pollstar, IEBA and Amsterdam Dance Event.
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About Bandsintown: Bandsintown is a free concert discovery app for concert-goers and touring artists. It was acquired by Cellfish/Bandsintown Group in 2011.
Travis Putnam
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Navitas Capital
Travis co-founded Navitas Capital in 2008 and is a Managing Partner with the firm. He is focused on next generation energy efficiency and green building technology solutions. His investments include Serious Materials, PowerMat, Lunera Lighting, Arxx, and Sustainability Roundtable. Prior to launching Navitas Capital, Travis founded Genesis Management Group (2005-2007), a business-development consulting firm focused on the built environment. Clients included Crest Steel Corporation (Reliance Steel Corp / NYSE: RS), Cal-Star Cement (green cement), and Artisan Precast. Travis also co-founded ValuSteel, Inc. a web-based steel trading platform. Prior to Genesis, Travis worked for Murphy & Associates Capital (2002-2004), a boutique investment bank, where he advised clients on mergers & acquisitions, private placements, and financial restructurings. Travis holds a degree in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Finance.
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About Navitas Capital: Navitas Capital is a venture capital firm with a focus on real estate and construction tech.
Jim Pettit
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Navitas Capital
Jim Pettit is a Co-Founder and Advisor at Navitas Capital. He currently serves as either a board director or observer on a number of boards, including Aquicore, Cherre and Optimum Energy. Prior to Co-Founding Navitas, Jim was a Principal a Bancroft Capital, a real estate investment firm located in California, and a Managing Partner at JP Morgan (Hambrecht & Quist). Jim received a bachelor’s degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley with an emphasis on Finance and Real Estate.
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About Navitas Capital: Navitas Capital is a venture capital firm with a focus on real estate and construction tech.
Louis Schotsky
Managing Partner of Navitas Capital
Louis Schotsky serves as a Managing Partner at Navitas Capital.
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About Navitas Capital: Navitas Capital is a venture capital firm with a focus on real estate and construction tech.
Fiona Gellatly
Vice President – Enterprise & Partner Accounts of Cloud Lending
Fiona is responsible for global account management for Cloud Lending Solutions. Her responsibilities include ensuring customer success for customers using the CLS products and services including banks, alternative financial institutions and leasing companies.Fiona comes to us with a broad background in the international payments ecosystem with both sales and marketing experience. Her leadership experience includes working for a variety of companies within payments including credit, lending, merchant acquiring, card issuer processing, fraud in both brick and mortar, ecommerce and working at the two largest global third-party distribution partners of prepaid cards, Blackhawk Network and InComm. Her knowledge of the digital payments ecosystem includes serving as a director for the Mobile Ecosystem Forum, a global trade association serving the needs of the mobile industry world-wide.
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About Cloud Lending, Cloud Lending: Cloud Lending is a company that develops software for the financial lending industry.
Sean Sebastian
Partner of Birchmere Ventures
Seán Sebastian is Birchmere’s founding partner, establishing the first fund in 1996. During his 16 years of active venture capital investing, Seán has made multiple successful investments resulting in IPOs and M&A exits. He is actively involved in the development and growth of numerous companies, also serving as a past or current director of CyOptics, Lightningcast, LogicLibrary, MediaSite, ParaData, and Precision Therapeutics. Seán has over 25 years experience in technology commercialization, management consulting, systems integration, and financial services. He was previously Founder and CEO of The Telford Group, a technology consulting firm to financial services clients. While at General Electric Information Services, he directed advanced technology commercialization activities. Seán holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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About Birchmere Ventures: Seed/early stage fund; >$200m AUM, 5 funds since 1996; portfolio market cap >$15b; offices in Pittsburgh and Palo Alto.
Sean Ammirati
Partner of Birchmere Ventures
Sean Ammirati is an entrepreneur with experience building business both in the media and software industries. As ReadWriteWeb’s COO over the last two years, he helped the publication develop into one of the most influential sites on the Internet about the future of technology and innovation. In December 2011, recognizing the influential and strong business, the company was acquired by SAY Media. Prior to ReadWriteWeb, Sean was Co-founder and CEO of mSpoke which was the first acquisition of LinkedIn. Sean remains an active advisor to a number of Pittsburgh startups and an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University.
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About AppCertain, Birchmere Ventures, Carnegie Mellon University: Seed/early stage fund; >$200m AUM, 5 funds since 1996; portfolio market cap >$15b; offices in Pittsburgh and Palo Alto.
Ian Kennedy
Director of Media-Technology Partnerships of SmartNews
Director, Media-Technology Partnerships
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About SmartNews: SmartNews is a news app that helps users find quality news beyond the filter bubble.
Mark Coffey
EVP- Head of Strategic Partnerships of GasBuddy
Mark Coffey joined the Rue La La team in 2010 as SVP, overseeing the company’s revenue, partnership, and brand development team. A native of Ireland, Coffey served for 10 years as group sales director for the largest independent media group in that country. In 2004, Coffey joined Clear Channel Communications in New England as director of sales. Coffey was later promoted to the role of director of sales for the San Francisco Bay Area, the fourth largest radio market in the U.S., where he oversaw the sales effort for 10 radio stations. In 2009, Coffey served as head of sales at NECN, the largest regional news network in America.
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About Gameface Media, GasBuddy, Rue La La: GasBuddy is a travel and navigation app that is used by more North American drivers to save money on gas.
Oksana Mindyuk Malysheva
Managing Partner / CEO of Sputnik ATX
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About Linden Education Partners, Sputnik ATX: Sputnik ATX is a VC fund and startup accelerator that funds maker-founders. We invest in pre-seed – B rounds and are industry agnostic.
Joe Merrill
General Partner of Sputnik ATX
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About Linden Education Partners, Linden Venture Fund, Sputnik ATX, Teza Technologies: Sputnik ATX is a VC fund and startup accelerator that funds maker-founders. We invest in pre-seed – B rounds and are industry agnostic.
Carl Eppers
Director of Employer Partnerships of Baby Doctor, Inc.
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About Baby Doctor, Inc.: Baby Doctor, Inc. was a healthcare startup that offered pediatric services on demand
Larry Bell
Partner at Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP of Tiinkk
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About : Tiinkk is a data analytics company focused on capturing consumer insights to provide a true 2-way connection between brands and consumers.
Jason Caplain
General Partner of Bull City Venture Partners
Jason is a general partner and co-founded Southern Capitol Ventures after spending two years at Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), the world’s premier open source and Linux provider. There, he directed the company’s global budgeting process, provided financial analysis for the successful IPO in August 1999 and performed due diligence on many of the company’s acquisitions. Prior to Red Hat, Jason was at Harrison Hurley and Company, an investment banking and business-consulting firm headquartered in Providence, RI. Jason currently serves on the boards of ReverbNation and Zift Solutions and is also a board observer for eTix, WeddingWire and DoublePositive Marketing Group. Previously, he was on the board of Synthematix (acquired by Symyx Technologies NASDAQ:SMMX) and a board observer for Batanga (merged with Planeta Networks.) He was also on the Executive Committee of the board of directors at CED which is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation. While at Southern Capitol Ventures, he has had several interim roles with portfolio companies including CFO and Director of Business Development. Jason has received the Triangle Business Journal’s “40 under 40” leadership award and was named in 2009 by TechJournal South as one the Southeast’s Internet Mavens. He is a Guest Lecturer as part of the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program at NC State University. Jason received his BS in Finance from Bentley College. Jason’s blog is Southeast VC.
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About Bull City Venture Partners, Southern Capitol Ventures: Bull City Venture Partners is a venture capital firm.
David Jones
Co-Founder and General Partner of Bull City Venture Partners
Prior to co-founding BCVP, David was (and continues to be) a partner with Southern Capitol Ventures. David was with the Deloitte Consulting practice in Washington, DC where he managed strategic technology projects for the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. David was on the board of ArtusLabs (acquired by PerkinElmer) and was a board observer at AVIcode (acquired by Microsoft). He is currently a board observer at StepLeader Digital. He is co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer of medical device portal, Orthocopia.com, which provides surgical information to operating room professionals. David’s background in technology stems from the military where he served as a Naval Aviator flying over 1900 hours in the P-3C Orion. During his last tour he served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia teaching Engineering and Leadership courses. David served as the Weapons and Operations Officer during two deployments to the Mediterranean theater and North Atlantic and led a Naval Intelligence special projects crew testing cutting-edge technologies for acoustic and non-acoustic sensors and combat mission hardware and software. David recently received the Triangle Business Journal’s “40 under 40” leadership award and is a frequent guest lecturer at UNC Kenan Flagler Business School. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from the US Naval Academy, his MS in Management Information Systems (MIS) from the University of Virginia and his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill.
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About Bull City Venture Partners: Bull City Venture Partners is a venture capital firm.
Tanya Careccia
VP of Partner Products of AnchorFree
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About AnchorFree: AnchorFree provides Hotspot Shield, an app that secures internet communication and user identity while providing access to internet content.
Tanya Careccia
VP of Partner Products of AnchorFree
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About AnchorFree: AnchorFree provides Hotspot Shield, an app that secures internet communication and user identity while providing access to internet content.
