Advisory Team

NICK BECKER

Co-founder at LineLeap

• Entrepreneur, Leadership and Business Development

• University of Michigan

•   Former President of a Bluetooth accessory company

DAVID BICKNELL

President at Kaizen Development, Inc. 

• Over 20 years experience in retail and consumer electronics

• Former Director of Merchandising and Operations for a multi-billion dollar retailer

•   Former President of a Bluetooth accessory company

• Service and develop franchises in residential real estate brokerage

• BA in International Affairs

BRANDT BRERETON

Managing Partner, Brereton, Hanley & Co., Inc.

• Silicon Valley-based - national investment banking practice

• 30 year experience M&A, PE & ESOP advisory

• Structured equity fund experience as general partner

GREG BROWN

Partner, Sensiba San Filippo LLP

• 34 year CPA, Tax Partner, Sensiba San Filippo, LLP

• San Jose State University – BS Accounting, Golden Gate University – MS Taxation

• Specialties: Venture capital and technology company taxation, career and culture development.

ROB BYKOWSKI

Executive Leader for Early-Stage & Growth-Focused Companies

• Results-driven sales, marketing and business development leader

• Strategic consultant for technology companies

• ​Cross-functional connector and catalyst

STEVE BRINKMAN

Automotive Executive

Bio coming soon!

CHRIS CHUNG

Director, Venture Advisor

• Director at Republic, Venture Partner at Republic Capital,, Strategy Advisor at Proxy CEO. Previously Principal at Republic Labs, President at Altius Capital,, Associate at Charles Schwab.

• The Wharton School (MBA), UCSF (DDS), UC Davis (BS)

• Startup venture strategy, treasury/cash/risk management, portfolio hedging (options/derivatives)

JAMES CHUNG

Entrepreneur - Founder, The Econic Company - Commercial Real Estate Professional

• Silicon Valley Business Journal 40 under 40

• Managed Western US for retail platform

• State Director for ICSC (International Council for Shopping Centers)

• Transacted over one billion in sales and total lease consideration

• BA University of California, Berkeley

JAKE DEVINE

Gen Z Advisor - Investor Relations at Urban Catalyst Fund

• Investor Relations Associate at Urban Catalyst, a real estate private equity fund forcusing on Opportunity Zone investments in San Jose. 

• USC Marshall School of Business - BS Business Administration

DON DAY

Entrepreneur - Author - President, Intero Tennessee

• Author of “The Surge Effect” and “LifeAbundant365”

• Motivational Speaker

• Change Management Specialist, Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach/Consultant

• Real Estate Developer/Investor

• US Air Force Retired

MATT DRISCOLL

HR Expert - Global Talent Acquisition Leader - Executive Recruiting 

• Global Talent Acquisition Leader @ Adobe, VeriSign, ArcSight, Demisto and SentinelOne

• Build global recruiting teams focused on providing proactive recruiting strategies

• Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Worcester State University, Bachelor's degree

RYAN FARSAI

Corporate Marketing Leader at Proofpoint

• 20+ years corporate marketing and digital leader - high-tech hardware, software and cyber security

• Brand, global advertising, corporate sponsorships, content and strategic marketing for multi-billion dollar enterprises to small start-ups

• BS Business, San Jose State University, and Executive Education Program, Harvard Business School

PEDRO DAVID ESPINOZA

Internet Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Board Member, TED Speaker & Author

• Founder & CEO of Alpaca Pan Peru, a social venture empowering rural women to become entrepreneurs

• Latino International Book Award #1 Best Business Book in 2020 for Differences That Make a Difference: How organizations Succeed by Focusing on Innovation through Inclusion

GEOFF FASEL

Shareholder at Polsinelli Shughart PC

• Business attorney who represents high-growth technology-centered companies from startup on.

• Included in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Rising Stars from 2009-2013

ANA GONZALEZ

Tech Talent Acquisition Leader

• Founder and CEO of Alturas Technology Services, a recruiting and staffing company

• Technology consulting & recruiting

• Award winning recipient for building top performing teams for some of the best brands in technology 

ANDREW GRUBER

Gen Z Advisor - Audit Associate at KPMG

• Audit Associate at KPMG 

• Passionate about creating value through financial services and dynamic communication.

• University of NEvada, Reno, MBA Graduate student, B.S. Finance, B.S. Accounting 

RICHARD GRUBER

Corporate Finance at Microfocus

• 31 years of Corporate experience in both Global and Regional Finance Management, Distribution Management, Procurement, and Credit and Collections. 

• Extensive Finance and Accounting practice knowledge and expertise in the areas of Customer Support and Services, Supply Chain, Inventory, Software, and Financial Planning and Reporting.

• 27 years HP - 1 year HP Enterprise - 3 years Micro Focus

• San Jose State University - BS Finance  

TOM GUTSHALL

Director and Co-Founder at Cepheid

• Silicon Valley Executive, Angel Investor, Advisor to start-up health care companies 

• Participation in philanthropy guided by God's will; lived servant leadership role as part of CityTeam ministries chairman with pivotal successful growth

• Elder at the Union Presbyterian Church in Los Altos

• BSChE, University of Delaware (BS); Marketing Management, Harvard Business School 

JILL HORN

VP of Sales at Wintec Industries

• 25+ years Software Sales & Management.

• Expert in simplifying messaging and developing sales processes to empower sales teams, deliver value to customers, and close deals; BtoB, BtoC, and Community Engagement.

• Druker School of Management CGU - MBA; ASU - BS Computer Science

JIM HUGUET

Partner at Waste Streams Management, Author

• Strategic consultant, author of Great Companies, Great Returns, mutual funds manager & entrepreneur. 

• Enjoys turning concepts into businesses.

DUSTIN KEELE

Founder & CEO, SolRates

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• Silicon Valley Fintech and Renewable Energy Entrepreneur

• Specialties:  Strategic Partnerships, Full Stack Development, Financial Modeling, Growth Hacking, Award Winning Sales and Marketing Automation

• B.B.A. Magna Cum Laude, Cox School of Business

MATT KELMON

President of Backshore Strategies at Blue Investment Partners

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• 30 years of specializing in equity, etf and index based covered option solutions

• Former options related Mutual Fund Portfolio Manager

• Bay Area native and avid golfer

MICAH KIM

Gen Z Advisor - Intern at Navitas

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• DeFi Protocol Research Intern at Navitas

• Northeastern University College of Engineering – BS in Industrial Engineering

ERIC LEICHER

Entrepreneur - President, Motive Products - Early Stage Investor & Advisor 

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• Extensive experience in Procurement and Supply Chain Management in Silicon Valley incl. Applied Materials, Sun Micro, NetApp, etc.

• Principle at Land R Holdings, Inc. Managing Motive Products, Automotive Performance Export, Trackhaus.

• 12 years as President at Motive Products leading a Customer-Focused Company from a small niche company to an International Brand in the Automotive Aftermarket

PATRICK LENCIONI

Author & President of The Table Group

• New York Times best selling author & thought leader

• Named "One of the new gurus you should know" by Fortune magazine in 2008

• Champions a practical & straight forward approach to tackling organizational health, teamwork & employee engagement.

STEPHEN LENCIONI

Gen Z Advisor - Operations Analyst at Juniper Services

• Independent Care Coordinator, Operations Analyst

• Passionate about improving healthcare at the individual and system level

• University of Nevada, Reno; BS Public Health

STEVE R. LENCIONI

IT Product Line Manager at Dell Technologies

• Hewlett-Packard (25+ years), EMC -> Dell Technologies (5+ years)

• Committed to values of teamwork, trust, transparency, clear communication and facilitating the success of others.

• Master’s, Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

ALLEN MCCLINTON

Sales Leader at Tesla and Cobalt Robotics

• Co-founder of Silicon Valley charter school, early-stage startup expertise, leading growth initiatives for the Tesla Home Charging program

• Empathetic sales and strategic business development leader

• United States Marine Corps, Georgia Tech, B.S.; UT-Austin, Master's; Wharton School, MBA

JEFF MCCOLLOCH

Principal Consultant at McColloch Consulting

• 25 year veteran business operations manager at Intel

• Organizational and leadership development guru

• Founder of McColloch Conulting, providing effective leadership consulting to Google, Microsoft, GE Healthcare, Duke & more

KEVIN MCGARY

Business Development Manager at KnectIQ Inc.

• 35 years Information Technology; Successful Sales Career in Cybersecurity, Enterprise Applications, Application Development Automation and Enterprise Job Scheduling/Utilities

• Chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California, and is an executive with the Douglass Leadership Institute and the Northstar Leadership Pac; leader in Civic Engagement

• Entrepreneur, Author, Public Speaker, Lecturer

HIEP NGUYEN

Real Estate Developer - Early Stage Investor & Advisor

• Philanthropist

• Mechanical Engineering at UCLA

DOMINIC NICOLI

Entrepreneur - Real Estate Professional - Early Stage Investor & Advisor

• Recognized as one of the top sales people in the United States  

• Expert in building high velocity sales for small businesses

• Angel Investor - San Jose State University (BS)

ZACHARY ORR

Advisory Intern at 1Flourish Ventures

• Consultant at 180 Degrees Consulting at USC  

• B.S. Business Administration, Minors in Applied Analytics and Music Industry

NANCY ORTBERG

CEO at Transforming the Bay with Christ

• 20+ years in leadership experience in sales, service and the healthcare industry. 

• Public speaker, both domestically and internationally on leadership and the development of corporate culture

• Change agent, executive coach, keynote speaker, catalyst, entrepreneur & author.

MAMAL RAHIMI

General Dentist & Owner, Rahimi Dental Group

• Over 20 years experience practicing comprehensive restorative dentistry with special emphasis in TMJ and airway disorders.

• University of Pacific School of Dentistry, D.D.S.

• UCLA, B.A.

SAM RAPP

VP, Sales Leader - Early Stage Investor & Advisor

• 30 years sales and sales management; key contributor to the growth and financial outcomes of BEA Systems, Serena Software, Rally Software and Avoka Technologies.

• Specialties: Security software, infrastructure software, software development and customer experience solutions.

• American History, Yale University, BA

TOM REES

Founder & General Partner at Realty Equity Enterprise Services

• Silicon Valley commercial real estate guru overseeing the transaction of many large premier commercial properties

• Partner at Rees Properties Inc., a real estate investment & management company that believes in incorporating biblical principals into its business operations

GEOFFREY SHENK

Founder, VMV Capital LLC., Investor, Advisor, Executive, Faith Based Leadership

• 25+ years of executive leadership roles in SaaS technology startups

• Focus on Culture, Sales, Marketing, & GTM Strategy, People

• Fundraising, Venture Capital, Strategic Partnerships, Relationships

RICK SOUKOULIS

CEO at ReadyPrice

• Forward-thinking mortgage industry entrepreneur with more than 35 years of experience

• Passionate about using technology to revolutionizing long-standing industry practices. 

TOM STEIPP

President & COO at NES Financial - Early Stage Investor & Advisor

• President and COO at NESFinancial

• Specialties: Synchronization and Timing, Telecom, New Technology Development and Commercialization

• CEO, United States Air Force Academy (BSEE), Purdue University Krannert School of Management (MSIA)

RICHARD SWART, PhD

Family Office Advisor, Impact Investor

• Author, former academic, family office advisor and consultant.

• Worked with World Bank, Cambridge University, Gates Foundation and several US universities

• Advisor and board member for AI, cybersecurity, fintech and social impact companies

JOHN THOMPSON

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur & Founder

• Cofounded & sold the largest real estate firm in the Silicon Valley (Top 10 in the US) to Berkshire Hathaway

• Angel Investor - Developer - Real Estate Investor

• Expert at building winning cultures and teams

• UC Berkeley (BS)

TOMMY TOGNOLI

Gen Z Advisor - Real Estate at Intero, a Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate - Early Stage Investor

• Silicon Valley/NorCal real estate sales agent, third generation.

• Passionate about fitness + nutrition  | investor and adventurer

• Entrepreneur focused on real estate sales + development

SHANNA TOMKO

Entrepreneur - CPA - Early Stage Investor 

• CPA licensed in CA & WA and Enrolled Agent (EA)

• 21+ years’ experience as a tax strategist and money coach

• Specializing in Stock Option Planning & Real Estate Taxation

MIKE TORRE

Director, Technical Operations at Google - Early Stage Investor & Advisor 

• An engineering leader with an expertise of building great teams, delivering innovative solutions, and bringing new technologies to market.

• Expert in creating a manufacturing strategy, establishing a supply chain, and delivering capability to enable a variety of extremely complex and diverse product roadmaps.

• BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

AMY WARNER

VP, IT Business Solutions & Corporate Director of Accessibility at Intel - Early Stage Investor 

• Executive leader and board director with extensive experience spanning Enterprise Sales, IT, Product Development, Cybersecurity, Strategic Planning, Accessibility and Disability Inclusion in the workplace.

• Unique combination of entrepreneurial and large enterprise experience focused on delivering tangible business results for accelerated company growth and profit.

• Passion for embracing technology to eliminate barriers, foster innovation, and empower all people to reach their full potential. 

MARK WHITACRE

Executive Director of the t-factor initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

• Executive Director of the T-Factor initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. 

• BS & MS at The Ohio State University, Ph.D. at Cornell University 

• Passionate about transforming workplace cultures for good, for God and for growth. 

IVAN WINFIELD

VP of IT at Seaboard Corporation

• Results-focused senior executive with 20+ year track record of building high performing teams, delivering superior IT services and driving change within organizations

• Distinctive blend of IT leadership, Fortune 500 and 'Big 5' consulting experience across diverse industries: manufacturing, financial services, consumer products, transportation and healthcare

MICHAEL WOODNORTH

Founder & CEO, Woodnorth Advisory

• Impact-focused finance and strategy professional focused on supporting businesses whose models create positive social outcomes.

• Investment banking, corporate lending, strategy consulting, nonprofit and for-profit executive experience.

• Indiana University (Kelley School of Business) BS in Finance-Real Estate, International Business; Vanderbilt University (Owen Graduate School of Management) MBA in Strategy and Human & Organizational Performance.​

YOGA YANG

International Marketing - Real Estate Professional

• Co-Founder of YJY Investments LLC- a real estate development company.

• 2020 Real Trends America's Best Real Estate Professionals

• Graduated from one of the top business schools in UK- Aston University

DAVID ZHANG

CEO, Dignitas Tech Inc

• Experienced Enterprise Software, Cloud IaaS, SaaS Executive

• Passionate entrepreneur with startup, big tech and private company ownership experiences

• Co-Founder of YJY Investments LLC- a real estate development company.

ERIK ZHANG

Gen Z Advisor - Co-Founder, Admitme.io

• Co-Founder of AdmitMe.io, winning multiple startup competitions

• Analyst at HIG Management, a REIT focusing on investments in San Jose

• Management & Technology student at the University of Pennsylvania, with two degrees in CS and Finance from Wharton