A former Wall Street wealth manager, Jeffrey Chernick is a 3x founder (1 exit, 2 acquisitions), advisor (7 companies, 3 VCs), and angel investor. Jeffrey has been featured by more than 30 media outlets including Techcrunch, Forbes, the LA Times. His company RideAmigos is the leading commuter management platform, taking millions of cars off the road annually. With over 20 million downloads and $12 million raised, his visual caller ID app, Vyng, boasts 5 billion videos played across 170 countries (acquired by Siprocal). Jeffrey is an inventor of 21 US Patents and guest lectures at Pepperdine University’s Entrepreneurship MBA Program. In his spare time, Jeffrey DJ’s across the world with neon drum sticks.
Caren is the founder & CEO of Gold Rush Vinyl, a growing player in the $1Billion vinyl business, She is additionally the co-owner of the iconic Waterloo Records in Austin Texas. She formerly helped launch Google Music and served as Head of Music App Partnerships. She also previously led business development at Songkick. Her many accolades include:
- Named one of the "Most Innovative Companies of 2020" by Fast Company magazine
- Received a Clio Music Award for Design & Sustainability.
- Named “Best CEO of 2023” by the Austin Business Journal Made Forbes Next 1000 list of entrepreneurs shaping the future of American small business
Caren holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the Goizueta Business School.
DUSTIN FINKEL
Former CEO and Founder
Dustin Finkel is a seasoned CPG executive, entrepreneur, and investment banker who has built, scaled, and turned around brands from startup to national leadership. After beginning his career at Goldman Sachs and earning his MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern, Dustin moved into operating roles at General Mills, WhiteWave, Abbott Nutrition, and other leading food companies, where he drove transformational growth. He led the transition of Chex to become the first nationally distributed gluten-free product from a multinational CPG, helped build Horizon Organic into the world's leading milk brand, and redesigned innovation and go-to-market processes at Abbott. As CEO of Awakened Foods, he scaled the business from zero to over $16 million in revenue, earned national recognition, including a Shark Tank appearance, and led multiple fundraises, a merger, and a plant build-out.
Today, Dustin is the founder of MacGray, a firm providing strategic, financial, and operational leadership to emerging and growth-stage CPG brands, as well as private equity groups investing in the food space. He serves as a fractional executive and board-level advisor across categories ranging from beverages and supplements to meat and seafood snacks, and is known for pairing rigorous financial modeling with hands-on execution. In parallel, Dustin is a Professor of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder and Lead Instructor for both the Whole Foods LEAP and NASDA Farm2Food programs, where he mentors founders on scaling with discipline, clarity, and a P&L-driven mindset.
VANESSA JESWANI
Co-Founder – Nomad Lane
Vanessa Jeswani is the Co-Founder of Nomad Lane, a brand of travel bags and accessories designed for those who are always en route. After traveling to 40+ countries and struggling to find a bag that met her high standards for organization, durability, and style, she and her husband decided to create their own. The result? A trusted brand with 1,000+ five-star reviews and a loyal following of expert travelers.
Before launching Nomad Lane, Vanessa spent nearly a decade leading multi-million-dollar digital marketing programs for major companies in New York City. Her experience in branding and strategy shaped Nomad Lane’s focus on smart, functional design that makes travel easier.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Vanessa moved to the United States to attend Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Now based in Miami with her husband and two kids, she’s focused on helping travelers pack smarter and move better. Learn more about Nomad Lane at nomadlane.com.
ADAM KING
Co-Founder, CEO - 1587 Sneakers
Adam King lives, breathes and sleeps sneakers, and is passionate about the AAPI community. He is the co-founder and CEO of 1587 Sneaker- the first Asian American sneaker brand that celebrates our culture and tells authentic stories. He previously worked at Reebok, adidas, Pastry and KOIO (lots of sneakers ha). During his sneaker journey he has held roles in product marketing and development, sales, logistics, social marketing and production. His best friend is Obi Wan Cat-nobi, his cat.
Glen Surnamer is an interdisciplinarian with experience across a wide range of service and technology industries. He spent 14 years in the public markets as an NYSE Specialist and later as COO of the U.S. operations of a global broker-dealer before pivoting in 2009 to focus on early- and growth-stage businesses. Over the past 17 years, he has served as a founder, private equity and venture capital operating partner, early-stage executive, and strategic advisor. His work centers on building durable, scalable governance and financial operations, and empowering small businesses to make data-driven decisions. As Executive Director at Woodland South Capital, he leads finance, operations, strategy, and governance for the firm and its portfolio companies. Originally from New York and now based in Los Angeles, he holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA in English from Emory University. He is a very mediocre but extremely enthusiastic guitar player.
Colin McIntosh is best known as the Founder of Sheets & Giggles, a direct-to-consumer eco-friendly bedding brand which he exited in 2025. Featured on Good Morning America, Sheets & Giggles went through Techstars Boulder 2019, raised over $5M in venture capital, donated over $100,000 to charity, and is still operating today under new ownership. Post-Sheets & Giggles, Colin has returned to his first love of recruiting, and is a full-time executive tech recruiter at Riviera Partners, the leading executive search firm in the US. At 35, Colin is now officially a serial entrepreneur. Drawing upon his recruiting experience, in his spare time he has created a popular AI-powered resume builder and job search platform dubbed "Sheets Resume," which has been used by millions of job seekers. While living in Denver, Colin also started, scaled, and sold a local business with his wife: a home compost collection service called Dirt Cheap Compost (acquired by Compost Colorado). During its two years of operation, the company diverted over 100,000 pounds of methane-producing food waste from landfills. He also co-owns an automated mutual NDA service called Ready NDA, which allows businesses to send and sign NDAs in just one click. He is the winner of Denver Startup Week's 2018 pitch competition, and teaches startups "how to pitch" for Techstars Boulder and Techstars Miami.
DAVID GASPAR
Co-Founder, Head of Innovation – Gather
David (Dave) Gaspar is Partner & Head of Innovation at Gather, where he advises Fortune 500 organizations on marketing transformation, growth strategy, and modern partnership models. He is the architect of Gather’s pioneering Team as a Service (TaaS) model — a flexible, high-performance talent structure that replaces traditional agency pyramids with senior, embedded operators aligned to business outcomes.
Dave operates at the intersection of marketing, sports, and innovation, helping brands unlock new revenue, modernize partnerships, and drive measurable business impact. His work spans thinking-to-doing across brand, content, and organizational strategy, with clients across technology, financial services, publishing, and sports properties, rethinking how brands show up in cultural moments.
Prior to Gather, Dave was COO/CFO of one of the first influencer marketing platforms and began his career in investment banking and corporate strategy, bringing financial rigor to marketing-led growth initiatives.
MATT GOLDEN
Map Habit
Matt Golden co-founded MapHabit with neuroscientist Dr. Stuart Zola to transform care for neurodivergent populations—including individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias, Autism, Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities—and their caregivers. The MapHabit platform is evidence-based, habit-building technology that leverages spared procedural memory to establish sustainable routines, helping members remain in or transition to the least restrictive setting. MapHabit collaborates with health plans seeking scalable, value-based care solutions to drive improved earnings. To date, MapHabit has secured more than $10M in NIH funding, is reimbursed in 17 states, and demonstrates a 4X ROI thru Autism and direct support services cost avoidance - delivering favorable ROI, improved outcomes, and higher member satisfaction. Matt is a GBS BBA '01 graduate and '26 Emory University Emerging Entrepreneur of the year. He lives in Decatur, GA with his wife Rebecca, daughters (Brooklyn & Sienna) and fur baby (Luna).
Michael Basen
Stavtar Solutions
Michael Basen joined Stavtar Solutions in 2026 as Head of StavMarket, which is a premium vendor discovery and engagement platform integrated into the StavPay ecosystem. StavPay is trusted by over 130 sophisticated alternative asset managers overseeing $3.1T AUM. Michaela Bason headshot A seasoned executive with more than two decades of experience in the alternative investment industry, Mr. Basen previously worked at BankUnited, where he was Executive Vice President, Director of the Alternative Funds Group, where he provided banking solutions to alternative fund managers. Prior to that role, Mr. Basen worked at NYDIG, where he serviced asset management and mining clients as a member of the operations team. Mr. Basen also spent eight years at State Street, most recently as Managing Director, Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) Relationship Management, where he covered and partnered with sophisticated hedge fund, private markets and real assets clients and managed a team that facilitated the onboarding of new funds onto AIS platforms. In addition, Michael has held positions at BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley, having begun his career at Ernst & Young as an auditor focused on hedge fund and private equity clients. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta, where his focus was on Information Systems & Operations Management, Management Consulting, and Accounting.
Michael Cohen
Creator Sports Network
Michael Cohen is a builder and operator at the intersection of sports, media, and the creator economy. He is the co-founder of Creator Sports Network (CSN), a creator-led platform reimagining how sports formats are built, distributed, and monetized in a social-first world. He also runs Disruptive Play, an advisory collective and widely read Substack that challenges legacy sports and media models, partnering closely with founders, leagues, and investors to shape new IP, distribution strategies, and business models. Previously, Cohen served as CEO of Team Whistle, where he scaled the company from pre-revenue to nearly $100M in annual revenue, driving organic growth, strategic M&A, and successful exits to Eleven Sports and later DAZN.
Armaan Sikaand
Axle
Armaan Sikand (C15) is the Co-Founder and COO of Axle, the AI-Native Universal API for insurance, backed by Y Combinator, Google, and angels from industry leaders like Plaid and Cox Automotive. Axle helps companies like Hertz, Experian, All State and many other F500 companies instantly verify insurance and monitor ongoing coverage, creating a frictionless user experience and reducing operational risk through better-informed decisions. Prior to co-founding Axle, Armaan was an engagement manager at Monitor Deloitte / Doblin, where he built new business for ExxonMobil, GM and Humana. In 2023, he was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Atlanta for his work at Axle. Outside of work, Armaan loves going on motorcycle trips, playing golf and soccer, and following his favourite football club - Arsenal.
Josh Sigel
Fabrick, Lasso Ventures, ARAF
Josh Sigel is a founder and operator with over 20 years building at the intersection of technology, supply chain, and AI — from Fortune 500 executive to Silicon Valley founder to building the coordination layer for autonomous supply chains.
He is the founder and CEO of Xlogix Inc., operating Fabrick — the first agentic coordination and settlement layer for time-sensitive supply chains. He also leads Lasso Ventures, a venture acceleration and AI operations firm — from launching restaurant concepts for the Golden State Warriors and digital platforms for Martha Stewart, to deploying AI systems and autonomous workforce solutions for growth-stage operators. He is also a founding member of ARAF (Autonomous Reliability Assurance Foundation), the first comprehensive, testable framework for certifying that autonomous systems meet real-world operational reliability standards.
Josh's career runs from management consulting at Deloitte to Fortune 500 executive to Silicon Valley startup founder — across consumer products, retail, hospitality, food tech, and distribution. He served as CIO at Millbrook Distribution Services before its acquisition by UNFI, where he went on to hold a senior VP role. He then joined the founding team of Innit in Silicon Valley, where he led partnerships with Google and the world's leading appliance manufacturers to build the first smart kitchen operating system. Earlier, he helped launch the mobile grocery ordering platform that now processes over $20 billion in sales annually — one of the earliest deployments of mobile commerce in grocery.
Josh lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Inha, their daughter, Ivy, and their two dogs, Lasso and Luxx.
Nihar Parikh
Axle
Nihar (B17) is the Co-Founder and CTO of Axle, the AI-Native Universal API for insurance, backed by Y Combinator, Google, and angels from industry leaders like Plaid and Cox Automotive. Axle helps Hertz, Experian, Allstate, and many other F500 companies instantly verify insurance and monitor ongoing coverage by unlocking the consumer's most underutilized financial asset: their insurance data. Before co-founding Axle, Nihar was the founding product lead at a devtools startup backed by Greycroft and built the student-led entrepreneurship organization at Emory. Outside of work, Nihar loves to cook, watch films, play pool, and mentor new founders at the start of their journeys.
