Mentors and Advisors

 

This initial team of industry experts has advised Innovation Works on the AlphaLab program and is a resource of information and guidance for AlphaLab companies. Others have joined this core group and new advisors will continue to be added.

Our key partners are helping promote AlphaLab to entrepreneurs whose companies or concepts might be a fit. These groups are working to build a vibrant entrepreneurial community in Pittsburgh comprised of software developers, game designers, Internet application developers and alpha/beta test users.

 

Mentors and Advisors

 

 

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Mentors and Advisors

 

Sean Ammirati – COO, ReadWriteWeb

Sean is the COO of ReadWriteWeb, one of the most influential blogs covering web trends and technology.

Once an aspiring programmer, Sean has found his niche as a new technology evangelist. As a co-founder of mSpoke, Sean channeled this passion into helping publishers revitalize their online content with mSpoke’s adaptive personalization solutions. Previously, Sean was a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Industry Center and served on the Editorial Advisory Board and as a columnist for Information Week.

To learn more about Sean, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/seanammirati

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Laurie R. Barkman – Marketing Director, The Resumator

Digital Marketing has been a part of Laurie Barkman’s professional DNA for over 15 years.  Laurie has a proven track record of success and leadership in direct marketing at brand driven companies. Working in industries such as Multi-Channel Retail, Education, and Software, Laurie has driven profitable results using her unique integrated approach focusing on Digital Marketing, Brand Management, CRM, Analytics, and Performance Measurement.

Laurie’s extensive hands-on experience in creating digital marketing practices, processes, and teams was honed as the Vice President of Marketing & Advertising at The Art Institutes, as well as the head of digital marketing at American Eagle Outfitters and ae.com.

Besides her experience in well-established organizations, Laurie has also worked at high growth technology companies including Lycos/WiseWire and MediaSite Video Search. She is the founder and principal of SmallDotBig, a digital marketing advisory firm. Currently, Laurie is the head of marketing for The Resumator, an online software platform that helps fast-growing firms attract, engage and hire brilliant people.

A recognized expert in the digital marketing industry, Laurie has been a speaker at various conferences including ad:tech, Internet Retailer, and the Direct Marketing Association.

Laurie is a Member of The Tepper School of Business Alumni Board. She is an Advisory Board Member for Fred & Associates, a boutique marketing agency. Laurie also mentors college students through the American Marketing Association.

She has an MBA from The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and a BS from Cornell University.

To learn more about Laurie, visit: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriebarkman

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Lenore Blum – Director, Project Olympus; Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science

Lenore Blum is Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon where she co-directs the ALADDIN Center for Algorithm ADaptation, Dissemination and INtegration, is faculty advisor to the student organization, Women@SCS, and PI for the Google funded CS4HS program.  In 2005, she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) for her over 35 years of creating programs to increase the participation of women in scientific and technical fields including the Expanding Your Horizons conferences for middle school girls. Lenore taught at UC Berkeley, founded the Mills College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (the first CS department at a women’s college), was senior researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, and Deputy Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.

Lenore’s research, from her early work in model theory and differential fields (logic and algebra) to her more recent work in developing a theory of computation and complexity over the real numbers (mathematics and computer science), has focused on merging seemingly unrelated areas. She has served the professional community in numerous capacities including as President of the Association for Women in Mathematics, vice-President of the American Mathematical Society. Her most recent creation and passion is Project Olympus, a high tech innovation center at Carnegie Mellon.

To learn more about Lenore, visit http://www.awm-math.org/noetherbrochure/Blum02.html

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Roger Byford – Co-Founder and CTO, Vocollect Inc.

Roger Byford is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Vocollect, Inc., the world leader in voice solutions for mobile workers. Mr. Byford’s career spans more than 25 years in the industrial application of voice technologies.

Since the company’s inception in 1987, Mr. Byford has held numerous roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer. He also led the company’s effort to broaden its market beyond the supply chain, and was the first President of Vocollect Healthcare Systems, the Vocollect business unit that is bringing the benefit of voice to the long-term care industry.

Prior to joining Vocollect, Byford was a member of the senior management team at Westinghouse Voice Systems, which was known for pioneering work in voice technology applications. He also worked for Westinghouse’s corporate Research and Development Center, where he collaborated on numerous projects for the company’s nuclear and elevator divisions, among others.

Mr. Byford resides in the Pittsburgh area. He holds one United Kingdom and seven U.S. patents, and earned his M.A. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University.  He is a Charter and Board Member of the Pittsburgh chapter of TiE, an organization whose mission is to foster entrepreneurship, and is the Chairman of the chapter’s Business Mentoring Roundtable.

To learn more about Roger, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/roger-byford/4/b68/b18

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John Campbell – Director of Software Development, SnapRetail

John Campbell has worked in the software development industry for over 20 years delivering high quality software. John has worked on large enterprise systems, factory automation systems, personal productivity applications, transportation control and many other areas. John holds five patents and is dedicated to a lifetime of continual learning.

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Lynsie Campbell – Founder, ShowClix

Lynsie brings extensive entertainment industry experience to ShowClix, having worked as a talent booker at The Rosie O’Donnell Show in New York City, in the Pittsburgh Pirates front office, and as a music publicist in Los Angeles where she managed campaigns for artists such as David Bowie, Tom Petty and Alanis Morissette. She is a graduate of Duquesne University.

To learn more about Lynsie, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/lynsiecamuso

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Dan Cohen – CEO, Pageflakes (acquired by Live Universe)

Dan Cohen oversees all aspects of Pageflakes' rapidly growing worldwide business and has an integral role in driving the company's product vision.  Dan is a seasoned entrepreneur and startup CEO, and is an expert in personalized homepages.

Prior to Pageflakes he was the head of My Yahoo!, Yahoo's personalized homepage, and before that led product management for personalized products at Google, including the Google Personalized Homepage.

Previously, Dan was the founder and CEO of two technology companies, Personity and USConnect, and led their acquisitions by Openwave and IKON, respectively.

He also held key senior management positions at IKON Technology Services, including Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Director of Applications Development.

To learn more about Dan, visit http://www.pageflakes.com/Pages/company/mgmt.aspx

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Robert Daley – CEO, Thorley Industries

Robert is the CEO and owner of Thorley Industries, which is focused on the juvenile products industry using the brand 4moms. He has formerly worked as a General Partner at PNC Technology Investors, a VP and PNC equity partners, and an analyst at the Frontenac Company.

To learn more about Robert, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-daley/4/341/721

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Frank Demmler – VP Entrepreneurial Services Team, Innovation Works; Adjunct Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University

Frank Demmler heads up IW's internal group that assists early-stage companies' efforts to commercialize and market new technologies and generally provides business assistance to promising start-up companies. The Team also manages IW's Innovation Investment Fund that invests in about 12 new companies a year, as well as appropriate follow-on investment in existing portfolio companies.

Mr. Demmler has more than 25 years experience advising both entrepreneurs and angel investors having worked with over 2,000 entrepreneurial efforts, leading to the formation of over 400 companies. These companies have gone on to create more than 10,000 jobs and raise more than $1 billion dollars of investment capital.

Before coming to Innovation Works, Mr. Demmler served as Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University, where he remains as an adjunct professor.

To learn more about Frank, visit http://innovationworks.org/AboutUs/Team/OurExperts/FrankDemmler/tabid/161/Default.aspx

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Josh Dziabiak – Founder, ShowClix

At just age 23, Joshua Dziabiak can already call himself a serial entrepreneur. Before his eighteenth birthday, he pocketed $1 million from the sale of his first company, a website hosting and design firm called MediaCatch. Although his next venture, an online record label, was short-lived, it sparked the idea for his current company, ShowClix, which runs a ticket-selling platform used by customers such as CBS Radio and Heineken.

To learn more about Josh, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-dziabiak/6/a68/686

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Ed Engler – General Partner, Pittsburgh Equity Partners

Ed Engler is General Partner at Pittsburgh Equity Partners and focuses on early stage investments in information technology and life sciences companies in the Western Pennsylvania region. Ed has been an investor and entrepreneur in Western Pennsylvania for 15 years, having founded his own successful technology company, and has provided funding and guidance to early-stage companies through his venture capital funds.

Ed founded Summa Technologies in 1996, creating and providing commercial-grade, customized IT applications for organizations of all sizes, from small entrepreneurial firms to Fortune 100 companies.

In 2001, the Pittsburgh Business Times named Summa Technologies the fastest growing private company in Pittsburgh and Summa was among the region’s fastest growing private companies for several years. In 2000, Ed founded Summa VentureWorks to fund seed-stage, start-up companies in the enterprise software market. Summa VentureWorks is now one of the top 25 venture capital firms in Western Pennsylvania.

To learn more about Ed, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/80/35a

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Steve Fleck – CTO, ClearCount Medical Solutions

Steven Fleck is the Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of ClearCount. Steven previously worked for Boehringer Laboratories, a medical device manufacturing firm in Philadelphia, in product development where he was responsible for several new products from conception to commercial release. Steve has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a degree in Applied Physics and Bioengineering from Cornell University.

To learn more about Steve, visit www.linkedin.com/pub/steven-fleck/8/910/804

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Matt Fleckenstein - Director, Relationship Marketing, Microsoft Office Live

Matt is currently a Director at Microsoft Office Live, responsible for the Relationship Marketing initiatives across the various Office Live properties at Microsoft.  In this capacity, he leads a team responsible for relationship marketing, customer communities, and Voice of the Customer initiatives.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Matt was VP of Marketing at mSpoke, a leading provider of personalization solutions for web content, online advertising, and product recommendations.  Earlier in his career, Matt was Director of Entrepreneurial Services at Innovation Works, helping to nurture and advise more than a dozen startup technology companies. Matt’s focus/passion for “personalization, consumer empowerment, and relevance” has been noted in various industry publications including: Behavioral Insider, Direct Marketing Magazine, and iMedia.

To learn more about Matt, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/matflec

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Tim Fogarty - VP of Energy Programs, Innovation Works

Tim Fogarty is currently the Vice President of Energy Programs at Innovation Works. He co-founded the Energy Alliance and is Chairman of the Company Innovation Working Group. Prior to Innovation Works, he was a managing director of MHI Energy Partners, founded Phoenix Coal Corporation, and served as Vice President of Finance for INI Power Systems. Previously, Tim was the Power Technologies Equity Research Analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners, LLC. He has also served in similar positions covering the e*Commerce and retail sectors for ING Barings and Furman Selz. Prior to entering the financial sector, Tim was a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

To learn more about Tim, visit www.innovationworks.org/AboutUs/Team/OurExperts/TimFogarty/tabid/185/Default.aspx

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Craig Gomulka – Chief Investment Officer, Innovation Works

Craig oversees IW's investment fund, chairs its investment committee and helps IW find, evaluate and invest in the region's most promising startups. Craig has deep expertise in capital formation, and utilizes this knowledge in advising companies on raising outside capital and working with follow-on investors. Since the inception of its seed fund, IW’s portfolio companies have been successful in raising nearly $1 billion in follow-on funding from VCs, angels and strategic investors.

Prior to Innovation Works, Craig was a Director and Partner with Draper Triangle Ventures, an early stage, technology focused venture capital firm with over $125 million dollars under management. Draper Triangle is the Pittsburgh affiliate of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a nationally renowned early stage venture fund with over 25 offices across the United States and worldwide. At Draper, Craig was responsible for building and maintaining strategic fund relationships, sourcing deal flow, transaction execution, and working with portfolio companies in all aspects, such as long-term strategy development, financial and accounting concerns, customer acquisitions, competitive analysis, and corporate transactions. Craig has served on the boards of BitArmor Systems, Imago Scientific Instruments and Hypernex, and as a board observer for the publicly-traded Nova Measuring Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVMI).

To learn more about Craig, visit http://innovationworks.org/AboutUs/Team/OurExperts/CraigGomulka/tabid/164/Default.aspx

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Darrin Grove – CEO, TrueFit

Darrin is CEO and founder of TrueFit, an innovation company that helps entrepreneurs and enterprise companies develop new ideas for mobile, web, and social apps and get them to market fast. He is a member of the Blue Tree angel investor network and enjoys collaborating with fellow investors to find game changing startups. Darrin serves on several non-profit boards that and the advisory boards for Entrepreneurship and Computer Science at Grove City College.

To learn more about Darrin, visit http://www.truefitsolutions.com/the-team/darrin-grove.aspx

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Matt Harbaugh – Chief Operating Officer, Mobile Technologies

Matt Harbaugh is the COO of Mobile Technologies, a mobile software company that is the developer of the popular iPhone app, Jibbigo.

Prior to joining Mobile Technologies, Matt was the Chief Investment Officer at Innovation Works where Matt oversaw IW's investment fund, chaired its investment committee and helped IW find, evaluate and invest in the region's most promising startups. Matt worked closely with many of the region's technology investors and economic development organizations in collaborative efforts to improve the overall early-stage investment climate in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Matt played a key role in the development of many of the region's investor-focused initiatives, including the creation of the Pittsburgh Angel Fund, the Southwest Pennsylvania Angel Network and the Pittsburgh Angel Venture Fair.

Prior to IW, Matt served as Vice President of Finance for a venture-backed startup and was an investment banker at PNC Capital Markets, where he helped middle-market companies raise growth capital through private placements of debt and equity.

To learn more about Matt, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattharbaugh

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Steve Hartman – Vice-President of Marketing, U-Store-It

Steve Hartman has recently become the Vice-President of Marketing for U-Store-It Trust. U-Store-It Trust is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The company's self-storage facilities, storage space and storage solutions are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible, and in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers, as well as boat storage and mini storage.

Previously Steve was with eBay for nine years, most recently serving as the Senior Director of the eBay Partner Network. Hartman was responsible for successfully leading one of the world's largest global online affiliate marketing programs through a challenging transformation of its strategy, organization, pricing, and technology, dramatically improving its ROI and strategic alignment with eBay's marketing objectives.

To learn more about Steve, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/shartman32

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Matt Humphrey – Consumer Internet Entrepreneur

Matt Humphrey is currently working in San Francisco as a serial entrepreneur.  He is currently working as part of a consumer technology startup currently in stealth mode.

Matt was the CEO at SlapVid, a YCombinator company.  SlapVid provided a unique and innovative online video experience by allowing users to preview content faster, better, and with less effort than ever.  Previous to working with SlapVid, Matt was the Chief Strategy Officer for Eivod, an in-browser peer-to-peer content delivery platform for high quality video.  Matt also worked as the COO for Envivial and as a Software Design Engineer intern at Microsoft.

To learn more about Matt, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthumphrey

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Bill Kaigler – Founder and CEO, NewCare Solutions

Bill currently is the founding partner and C.E.O. of NewCare Solutions LLC. Bill was also the founder of medSage Technologies. He has more than 26 years experience in product management, business development, project management, engineering, and marketing in the business to business technology and medical device manufacturing industries. Before founding medSage, Mr. Kaigler served as Vice President of Product Management for Moai Technologies Inc. and was also Director of New Ventures for Respironics.

To learn more about Bill, visit www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-kaigler/0/316/745

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Josh Knauer – CEO, Rhiza Labs

Josh has been a social entrepreneur for the past 20 years, creating and leading successful organizations in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. In Spring of 2010, Josh was appointed by the Obama Administration to a working group of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Prior to Rhiza Labs, Josh led MAYA Design’s Information Commons project, founded Green Marketplace, and founded and served as Executive Director of the EnviroLink Network and was one of the first .orgs on the Internet.

To learn more about Josh, visit http://rhiza.com/about/our-team/knauer/

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Donald Marinelli – Executive Producer, Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center – Global

Donald Marinelli is a tenured Professor of Drama and Arts Management at Carnegie Mellon University and is also the Executive Producer of the Entertainment Technology Center.

Professor Marinelli has been at Carnegie Mellon for 26 years where he served as the Assistant Head of the Drama Dept. (1980-86) and later the Associate Department Head (1986-95). Dr. Marinelli was integral in the creation of the Master of Arts Management (MAM) program, the Master of Fine Arts in Acting degree program with the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia, and, with colleague Randy Pausch, he co-founded the Master of Entertainment Technology (MET) degree program and the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC).

To learn more about Donald, visit http://www.etc.cmu.edu/people/faculty/index.php

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Nathan Martin – CEO, DeepLocal

Nathan Martin is CEO of Deeplocal Inc. Prior to founding Deeplocal in 2006, Nathan was a researcher and artist-in-residence at Carnegie Mellon University where he led an interdisciplinary team in the development of a collaborative online mapping toolkit. As a founding member of both an art group and a touring punk/metal band, Nathan has spoken, toured and exhibited internationally since age sixteen. Nathan has over a decade of experience with mobile technology starting in 1999 as Mobile Device Specialist for MetaDesign SF and continuing in his work with clients like Palm Computing, Brodia, Panasonic, and Nike.

Nathan has taught Art and Design at several universities and holds an MFA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, both in Electronic Media Art. Nathan has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in art, music, and technology, and continues to write and speak about his passion for integrating the artists' process into the design and development of improved ways of experiencing people, information, and objects in this world.

To learn more about Nathan, visit http://www.deeplocal.com/people#

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Dave Mawhinney – Director of i6 Agile Innovation System, Innovation Works

Dave is the director of the i6 Agile Innovation System at Innovation Works and brings a vast background in marketing, sales, product development and operations from co-founding four information technology entrepreneurial ventures. Dave most recently was co-founder, chairman and CEO of mSpoke. Prior to mSpoke, Dave was a general partner for the venture capital firm PNC Technology Investors and co-founder, director and President of Premier Health Exchange, LLC, and a founding management team member with Hawk Medical Supply Corp.

To learn more about Dave, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-mawhinney/2/484/216

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Larry Miller – Executive in Residence, Innovation Works

As an Executive in Residence, Larry Miller works with the management teams of early-stage life sciences and medical device companies and other start-ups. Prior to joining Innovation Works, Larry was President and CEO of Biomec and President of the Healthcare Products group at Picker International and Philips Medical systems. He also was president of the Picker Financial Group, a JV, captive leasing company. Other experience included leading the marketing and sales of CT and MRI products for Picker and General Electric Medical systems.

To learn more about Larry, visit www.innovationworks.org/AboutUs/Team/OurExperts/LarryMiller/tabid/167/Default.aspx

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David Palmer – COO, Bossa Nova Robotics

David Palmer is the COO of Bossa Nova Robotics. He also has more than 15 years of professional management experience, including senior management roles with FedEx in the areas of Planning, Market Research, Product Marketing, Corporate Finance, and Strategic Alliances.

To learn more about David, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-palmer/19/6a7/92a

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Adam Paulisick – VP, Business Development, Digital at Nielsen Catalina Solutions

A veteran in the online space, Adam brings a wealth of international experience in digital research, marketing and analytics. At Nielsen Catalina Solutions, he directs the digital sales team, managing East Coast and Midwest commercial activity.

Before joining Nielsen Catalina Solutions, Adam served as Chief Commercial Officer of Qriously, a London-based firm that measures real-time, location-based public sentiment. Prior to that, he held the Senior Director of Commercial Operations position at Nielsen’s Online and Mobile division, where he was responsible for sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Earlier, he led global account planning for Nielsen’s Online and Mobile Media portfolio and was one of the early members of the BuzzMetrics team (now NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company), where he helped develop applications of word-of-mouth analytics in Fortune 500 companies.

Adam has served as a member of the Direct Marketing Association’s social media council, Europe’s largest trade association, and the social media council of the CIPR, Europe’s largest PR association. Adam holds a degree in management from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, with a minor in information systems and data structures. He splits his time between Pittsburgh and New York City.

To learn more about Adam, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulisick

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Dave Passavant – Vice President, UMPC

Dave has held consulting positions with Accenture and Stone Yamashita Partners. His startup experience includes business and product development roles with Silicon Valley startups Rearden Commerce and SquareTrade Inc. He is currently the Director of Consumer Innovation at UPMC Health Plan. Dave has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Washington & Lee University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

To learn more about Dave, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/davepassavant

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Jon Pastor — Founder and CEO, Rent Jungle and Community Elf

Jon is an expert in technologies related to Internet search, data mining, online social networking, social media marketing and gaming. He is the founder of two Pittsburgh technology companies: Rent Jungle (a search engine for real estate listings) and Community Elf (social media marketing).

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he spent 5 years at McKinsey and Company leading the strategy formulation and operations improvement efforts for dozens of clients in the tech sector. While at McKinsey Jon specialized in helping companies to identify high potential markets and evaluate candidates for acquisition. Jon has personally negotiated over $300 million in new business development deals and strategic acquisitions.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Jon was a strategy and operations manager for Microsoft Corporation’s Xbox 360 launch. He has also worked at Google where he was a product manager for AdWords (Google’s search engine advertising platform). Jon holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Chemistry with a minor in Japanese from Case Western Reserve University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Japan where he studied Japanese management processes.

To learn more about Jon, visit http://www.rentjungle.com/about/team/

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Ian Paterson – Development Manager, SnapRetail

Ian Paterson currently is the Development Manager for SnapRetail, which solves the challenge of slowing sales among small retailers in the gift, home and collegiate industries. He formerly worked as a project manager for mSpoke.

To learn more about Ian, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ian-paterson/0/5/16

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Hooman Radfar – Founder and CEO, Clearspring Technologies

Hooman is the founder and CEO of Clearspring Technologies, the leading provider of widget syndication services connecting online publishers and advertisers to the social web. At Clearspring, he actively shapes product and marketing initiatives. He was recently named one of Tech's Best Entrepreneurs in BusinessWeek and was nominated for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year.

Hooman is a frequently requested speaker in the areas of social networks, content syndication, and social media at industry-leading conferences like AdTech, AjaxWorld, Web 2.0 Expo, and CES. When he is not busy building a better web, you can find him writing his blog Widgify - ranked one of the top blogs of 2007 according to Software Development Times. He currently serves on the advisory boards of RateItAll.com, the leading rating service online, and the Social Gaming Network, the largest gaming network on Facebook.

To learn more about Hooman, visit http://www.clearspring.com/about

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John E. Riley – Owner, DSK Equity LLC

John is a Pittsburgh-based private investor with 20 years of leadership experience with firms in the manufacturing, medical device, telecommunications and information technology sectors.  His functional leadership roles include finance, corporate development, strategic planning, alliance development and indirect channel sales with companies ranging in scope from Fortune 500 (IBM) and international firms (Smith & Nephew PLC) to privately-held companies (Modus Media International, a former Bain Capital company) and internet IPO spinouts (Genuity). He is also the founding partner of DSK Equity LLC, a Pittsburgh investment venture currently focused on opportunities in the Marcellus shale and cognitive science service sectors.  

John has been an advisor to multiple Pittsburgh-based start-up firms and is currently a business mentor for the i6 Agile Innovation System, a collaborative initiative between Carnegie Mellon University and Innovation Works to provide business support for regional entrepreneurs.
 
John holds a BA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

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Jesse Schell – CEO, Schell Games

Prior to starting Schell Games, Jesse was the Creative Director of the Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio, where he worked and played for seven years as designer, programmer and manager on several projects for Disney theme parks and DisneyQuest, as well as on Toontown Online , the first massively multiplayer game for kids.

Jesse is also on the faculty of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University where he teaches classes in Game Design and serves as an advisor on several innovative projects. In 2004, he was named one of the world's Top 100 Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT's magazine of innovation.

To learn more about Jesse, visit http://www.schellgames.com/people/

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Chris Shipley – Executive Producer, DEMO; Co-founder and Chairman, Guidewire Group

Chris Shipley is a leading technology and product analyst. Best known as the executive producer of the DEMO Conferences for IDG Executive Forums, Chris has helped technology companies bring over 1,000 new products to market since 1996. As a founding partner and Global Research Director of Guidewire Group, she analyzes emerging technology companies around the world to identify market opportunities and accelerate products to market.

Fortune Small Business Magazine placed Chris on its "Top 10 Minds in Small Business," and the San Jose Business Journal named her a "Woman of Distinction." She has often been cited as a leading influencer by Marketing Computers magazine. Chris has covered personal technology since 1984 and has worked as a writer and editor for a variety of technology and consumer media. She is currently working on a book on the social impact of technology-driven change.

To learn more about Chris, visit http://www.guidewiregroup.com/site/about/management.html

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Eric Silver – Founder and CEO, Pikimal Inc.

Eric is the founder of Pikimal, a company which helps users to make easier and better decisions. After serving two years in the Peace Corps and two more in business school, Eric joined McKinsey. He was hired away from McKinsey to work with ModCloth as their Chief Marketing Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. After leaving ModCloth, Eric learned to program and wrote a working alpha release of Pikimal.com in 2010.

To learn more about Eric, visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-silver/2/bb9/9a7

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Luke Skurman – President, CEO and Founder, College Prowler Inc

Luke transformed College Prowler from a bootstrapping startup in 2002 into the profitable and rapidly growing company it has become. He currently oversees investor relations, management, partnerships, product development and overall strategy for his company.

Luke has been recognized in a number of publications for his outstanding work including being named one of the top 20 entrepreneurs under 25 (BusinessWeek), one of their top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 (Inc. Magazine), and one of the “40 under 40” by Pittsburgh Magazine.

To learn more about Luke, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/luketheentrepreneur

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Joe Stafura — Management Consultant

Joe Stafura is a technologist, business owner and investor who has held management positions in the aerospace industry, newspaper publishing, commercial printing, advertising and communications and companies with machine learning technologies over his 35 year career.  

His roles have included CTO of a Publishing firm, founder and COO of a digital production company and temporary CEO of several start up companies in the areas of speech and gaming technology.

As a manager and business owner and creator the importance of understanding markets and economies became an area of study for the last two decades, with a special interests in globalization, irrational behaviors that defy the expectations of the traditional models currently used by economists.

He is married with two adult sons and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Raul Valdes-Perez– Founder and Chairman, Vivisimo

Raul has led Vivisimo since co-founding it in June, 2000. During his tenure, he has been recognized as a 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (North Central Region), top ten reader favorite for Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine, twice a CEO of the year finalist by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, CEO Communicator of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America (Pittsburgh chapter), and an Outstanding Alumni Career Achievement by the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Before Vivisimo, Raul was on the Carnegie Mellon University computer science department faculty, where his research on new methods and applications of knowledge discovery led to publishing nearly 50 journal articles in natural, social and computer science.

To learn more about Raul, visit http://vivisimo.com/about/management

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Suzy Teele – CEO, Aceda

Suzy is the founder and CEO of Aceda. She has over twenty years of experience in business strategy, product management, marketing and business development, with expertise in organizational team building, social media, e-commerce, channel partnerships, and customer relationship management.

To learn more about Suzy, visit www.linkedin.com/in/suzyteele

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Alan Veeck – Principal, Meakem Becker Venture Capital

Alan Veeck joined Meakem Becker as a Principal in 2006 and brings academic depth and over ten years of industry and executive experience to our team. In his role, Alan focuses on identifying, performing diligence on, and investing in new companies. He also spends a significant amount of time coaching, mentoring, and sitting on the boards of portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Meakem Becker, Alan was a Director with the Global Account Management team at Ariba (NASDAQ:ARBA) and was formerly with FreeMarkets before it was acquired by Ariba in 2004. Alan joined FreeMarkets in 1999 as a Manager in the company’s online markets group. During his years with the company, Alan worked on the strategy and business development team for Glen Meakem and David Becker, where he helped to identify and manage multiple acquisitions for the company. His final responsibilities at Ariba included managing a group of key customer accounts worth over $20 million per year in software and service revenues and overseeing a large team with the responsibility for delivery of this business.

To learn more about Alan, visit http://mbvc.com/alan-c-veeck/

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Jake Witherell – Chief Operating Officer, Schell Games

Jake acts as the COO of Schell Games, keeping everyone happy and snagging the best and brightest projects for the studio. Jake brings 15 years of experience to the Schell Games team, having worked with founding, managing, advising, and investing companies, not the least of these being M Park (which he co-founded), Netspoke, Inc., and iMeet, Inc., among others.

Jake holds a BA in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. When not managing Schell Games, Jake enjoys spending time with his family, including his three young children.

To learn more about Jake, visit http://www.schellgames.com/people/

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