Tech Wildcatter’s strength lies in its mentors; a group of highly successful men and women who have an entrepreneurial track record. Each mentor is selected because of their experience, willingness to give back, and drive to help your company succeed.
Jon Feld
Jon Feld is an accomplished entrepreneur, business builder, team leader, strategist, and consultant. He is recognized and respected by his colleagues and clients as excellent at assessing business dynamics, seeing opportunities, creating a vision for change and growth, and building and leading a team to collaborate and achieve exceptional results together. Read more
Carl Hefton
Carl Hefton has 35 years of business experience, most recently as a Founding Partner of Entrust Capital Advisors in 2008. Entrust provides M&A advisory and other investment banking services focusing on companies that have enterprise value of between $2 and $50 million. Read more
Todd Viegut
Mr. Viegut has a 20+ year track record bringing advanced technologies, products and services to market. He is a seasoned veteran with a demonstrated track record of positioning unique and innovative offerings into new and emerging markets for streamlined product growth, corporate growth and corporate level transactions. Read more
Larry Goldstein
Larry is an experienced early-stage investor and entrepreneur with a focus on software and communications businesses. He has been an active venture investor as well as angel investor in the southwest. Larry co-founded Seed Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital partnership where he has been involved in the formation and growth of a variety of technology based businesses over the past 15 years. Read more
Todd Price
In 2010, Todd Price is assuming U.S. leadership responsibility for establishing Hitachi Consulting’s new Environmental Sustainability Solutions Practice. In this role, Todd guides new the development of new client offerings, partnership strategy and acquisition strategy in the areas of Sustainability Research, Environmental Impact Reporting, Product Lifecycle Assessment and Facilities Energy Management. Read more
Ricky Kassanoff
Ricky is the CEO of Paragon Furniture – an educational and technology focused furniture design and manufacturing company based in Arlington, Texas. Since acquiring Paragon in 2004, Ricky has lead the company through every phase of strategy and tactics required to growing a small business. In addition to business planning and raising capital, he has lead the company transformation by bringing together a group of smart people and driving new ways to develop, design, produce and sell new and existing product lines in a profitable manner. Taking calculated risks and eagerly attacking opportunities Paragon has doubled in sales and at the same time has remained highly profitable. Read more
Mark Hubbard
Mark is the President of Paragon Furniture – a 27 year old educational and technology focused furniture design and manufacturing company based in Arlington, Texas. Since acquiring an equity stake in Paragon in 2004, Mark has lead the business through a significant restructuring of its distribution channels, as well as, rebranding and strengthening sales/marketing strategy and practices. As the Paragon partner chiefly responsible for sales activities, Mark is heavily involved in all aspects of the customer experience. Since 2004, Paragon sales have nearly doubled. Read more
Neal Rapoport
Neal is a seasoned entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1991, and moved to Dallas in 1993 and Plano in 2000. Neal started a popular deals & coupons site in 2004 and just sold it in 2008. Prior to that, he has been part owner in 2 consulting businesses, and worked for companies such as Microsoft & CompuCom. Currently Neal is in the process of looking at new business opportunities as either an angel investor or starting another business himself. Read more
John Boog-Scott
John has over 20 years of business experience working with companies doing custom or packaged software development. He started his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and left there to found Ensemble, a consulting firm focused on systems design development. He and his partners grew Ensemble from 2 to 70 employees and landed Ensemble on the Inc. 500 list. Read more
Gary Cohen
Gary Cohen is a semi-reformed attorney and serial entrepreneur focusing on innovative web-based businesses. In 2004, he co-founded Pegasus News, an award-winning online media company, and served as the company’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until it was sold in 2007 to Fisher Communications, a publicly-traded media company based in Seattle. Read more
Michael Martin
Michael has over 20 years experience in the information technology industry in diverse business development roles. He began his career at Unisys Corporation where he succeeded in sales to the manufacturing industry. Michael then worked in the systems integration and consulting field primarily with SHL Systemhouse (now a part of HP/EDS). Read more
Ryan Scripps
Ryan Scripps has worked as a business and technology leader for over 15 years. His primary industry experience is in healthcare, but he has also worked in the construction and heavy equipment industry and in professional services supporting architects, engineers, lawyers and physicians. Read more
Doug Jarvie
Doug Jarvie brings over 25 years experience and is especially seasoned managing in a high growth environment. He began his career in commercial banking and, later realizing he was more of an entrepreneur, acquired an interest in fledgling Streetball Partners, producer of the Hoop-It-Up basketball tournaments. Read more
John Rodakis
After a successful career investing institutionally, John Rodakis now primarily invests his own money and advises early stage companies through his investment vehicle GateBridge Investments. Read more
David Gabriel
David has been a consultant to a broad range of technology companies in the US and Europe since the mid-‘80s. After working as a senior engagement manager in strategy consulting with a focus on global M&A deal structuring and organizational-design, David transitioned to the senior retained search industry where, for over 20 years, he has helped clients build boards and senior leadership teams. Read more
Roger Chang
Roger Chang is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of One Technologies LP. Bootstrapped in 2000 with less than $1,600 in capital, One Technologies has emerged as a leader in strategic online advertising & customer acquisition and was recently ranked #8 on the Inc 500 fastest growing companies list. Read more
Tom Montgomery
Tom is Managing Partner of the accounting firm Montgomery, Coscia, Greilich, LLP. His primary disciplines include advanced tax planning, transactional services, particularly mergers, acquisitions, debt/equity financing for both public and private companies and strategic and operational planning for large and medium sized businesses.
Prior to forming the firm, Tom was responsible for starting and growing Beal Capital Markets, Inc., an investment subsidiary of Beal Bank specializing in both public and private corporate finance products. Read more
Amrit Kirpalani
Amrit Kirpalani is co-founder and CEO of DenuoSource, a global analytics company that helps turn data into profitability for Fortune 500 firms. With offerings covering data management, business intelligence, and business/advanced analytics, DenuoSource provides expert staff and consulting services in a high-quality, low cost model to serve as extensions of our client’s internal teams.
Amrit also serves as an advisor to multiple early-stage technology and internet startups in the US and India.
Prior to founding DenuoSource, Amrit was a Management Consultant with McKinsey & Company and Accenture.
Amrit has a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Miami and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management. Read more
Bob Wright
Bob just completed a stint as Senior Vice President and General Counsel BakBone Software, Inc., a La Jolla-based software company, where Bob was responsible for general corporate affairs and legal matters worldwide. BakBone was sold to Quest Software in January 2011. Prior to BakBone, Bob served with Skywire Software, LLC, where he served in a similar capacity. Skywire was sold to Oracle, Inc. in July 2008.
Bob began his career at Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C., where he practiced law for eleven years specializing in leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and securities and regulatory law. Read more
Paul Ford
Paul Ford is a serial entrepreneur, global technology evangelist, innovator, strategist and visionary currently serving as the Vice President of Community Development at SoftLayer Technologies in Dallas TX – The worlds largest and most advanced Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) company. Paul has a passion for seeing young companies succeed by helping them position their products and technologies for world domination.
Read more
Lisbeth McNabb
Lisbeth McNabb is CEO and founder of w2wlink. After driving high levels of growth as CFO and Strategist for Match.com in October 2007 she launched a professional women’s content and community digital business. Her professional background includes 20+ years in innovation across sales and business development, operations, finance and planning in growth and emerging stage businesses at Match.com, Frito-Lay, American Airlines, AT&T and Sodexo. Read more
Robert Johnson
Robert is a seasoned executive and has started or invested in several software companies during his career. Prior to co-founding TeamSupport, he was the CEO and majority owner of Sundance Digital. Sundance provided large scale automation systems to television and cable operators around the globe, and was sold to Avid Technology (NASDAQ:AVID) in 2006. World class customer support has been a defining characteristic of every company Robert has been involved with, and that passion led directly to the creation of TeamSupport.com.
George Barber
George brings to Trailblazer Capital years of experience as a global business and technology executive with a track record of leading and growing both entrepreneurial companies and Fortune 500 business units.
Mr. Barber was most recently Chairman, CEO and President of Vapro, Inc an innovator of patented two-phase cooling solutions for the electronics industry. Read more
Alex Chang
Co-Founder/Chairman - One Technologies, LP
Alex and his younger brother co-founded One Technologies in October 2000
with an investment of $1800. In his role as Chairman Alex contributes to overall
strategic direction at One Technologies. One Technologies has been recognized
as one of the fastest growing companies in America by Inc Magazine, Deloitte,
and SMU’s Cox Business multiple years; in 2011 One Technologies surpassed
$100M in annual revenue. Read more
Jason Villalba
Jason Villalba concentrates his practice in the areas of public and private securities law, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. He has experience in a wide array of corporate transactions including: public offerings of securities under the Securities Act of 1933; public company corporate compliance under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of public, private and middle market companies; venture capital financing transactions; and transactions involving emerging growth and technology companies. Read more
Sharon Lyle
Sharon is the President of Dallas IdeaSpace and Creative Director and Producer of TEDxSMU and TEDxKids @SMU. With a passion for community engagement, education and art, her work aims to foster dialogue around the open exchange of ideas – a natural fit for the TEDx model of individually organized, community driven events centered on the TED mission of “ideas worth spreading.” Dallas IdeaSpace works to positively impact the intellectual infrastructure and creative capacity of Dallas through investing in ideas and curating experiences. Read more
Brad Hunstable
Brad Hunstable is co-founder and CEO of Ustream, the leading live interactive broadcast platform.
Ranked among 50 "Digital Power Players" by the Hollywood Reporter in 2010, Hunstable was announced on Variety Producers Guild of America's 2010 Digital 25: Visionaries, Innovators and Producers list for his work at Ustream. As founder, Brad is responsible for guiding the company's strategy and growth through partnerships, technology innovation and product architecture. Read more
John C. Adler
Mr. Adler joined Silver Creek Ventures as a General Partner in 2007. His areas of expertise include data and voice communications, semiconductors, and wireless applications. Mr. Adler has also served as a board member of the Texas Venture Capital Association and SMU MBA Venture Fund since their inception. Read more
Deb McAlister-Holland
Deb McAlister-Holland is an MBA with over 25 years’ experience in bringing technology products and services to market. An active investor and serial entrepreneur, she held start-up equity in 3Com, Mind Path (creator of the wireless control technology behind the motion-capture suits used for motion pictures), Netflix, Starfish Software (creator of the camera phone and TrueSync technology), and Zone Labs (creator of the personal firewall). Read more
Joel Fontenot
As Managing Partner of Trailblazer Capital, Joel leverages unique insights gained from
his experience in banking, investing and operating early-stage companies to make and
manage venture investments. Previously, Mr. Fontenot worked for Cisco Systems, Inc.
He joined Cisco through the acquisition of Metreos Corporation were Joel served as CEO
and Founder. Read more
David Humphrey
In my professional life, I'm a successful senior executive. In May 2011, I completed three years as CEO of Massage Envy, the world's largest spa chain, where I helped double the size of the network (to 675+ locations) and the membership (to over 1 million people). We successfully repositioned the brand and nearly quadrupled EBITDA in three years. I've run start-up businesses, led successful turnarounds, made major acquisitions, and driven dramatic growth in profits for a wide range of companies throughout my career, working in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Europe. I get great pleasure out of building strong brands and forming strong teams. Read more
Aziz Gilani
Aziz Gilani has significant experience as an operator, consultant, and investor in technology companies, with a particular focus on software and internet companies. Prior to joining DFJ Mercury, Aziz was a Senior Engagement Leader with Infosys Consulting where he led the Enterprise Asset Management Practice. Prior to Infosys Consulting, Aziz was a Director at ABB Performance Services where he held a variety of roles including Manager of Global Operations Analytics, Global Quality Director and Global CMMS Director. Prior to ABB, Aziz was a Senior Consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Read more
Blair Garrou
Since the late 90’s, Blair Garrou has focused on funding, operating and incubating startup software companies. Prior to co-founding DFJ Mercury, Blair was the CEO of Intermat (acq. by IHS), a leader in product information management software; a Principal with Genesis Park, a Houston-based private equity firm where he led investments in FuelQuest (acq. by Saracen Energy), Intermat and SAT Corporation (acq. by Invensys); helped launch and was the Director of Operations for the Houston Technology Center, the largest tech incubator in the Southwest, where he led the formation of the Houston Angel Network, one of the largest angel investment organizations in the U.S.; was an investment banker with BMO Nesbitt Burns; and began his career with Deloitte & Touche. Blair received a B.S. in Management from Washington & Lee University. Read more
George Ellis
George Ellis serves as Chief Financial Officer, having joined the company in 2006.
Prior to joining Global 360, Mr. Ellis served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SoftBrands, Inc., Chief Financial Officer of Sterling Software, Inc., Chief Financial Officer and Founder of Sterling Commerce, Inc., a spin-off of Sterling Software, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Communities Foundation of Texas. From 1996 through 1999, he was a full time law student and business consultant, providing consulting services to various technology-related companies. Read more
Guillermo "Gil" Marmol
Guillermo Marmol has served in leadership positions in the technology services industries for the past 12 years, and has spent much of this time developing and implementing offshoring strategies. Working in conjunction with leading private equity firms, Mr. Marmol currently serves as an investor and advisor to technology companies through his own firm Marmol & Associates. Read more
Karen Meador, MD, MBA
• Manages own portfolio which includes early stage private life sciences and technology investments, publicly traded stocks, bonds, and real estate. Works closely with entrepreneurs and shares life sciences expertise with other angel investors to assist them in their investment decisions. • Recently joined Tech Wildcatters, LLC as a Mentor and Investor in this innovative tech incubator. • Read more
George Karidis
Chief Strategy Officer, SoftLayer
George Karidis joined SoftLayer in January of 2008, and is responsible for all of the company’s strategic and international initiatives. Prior to joining SoftLayer, Mr. Karidis spent seven years with Devonshire Investors, the private equity arm of Fidelity Investments. There he drove the strategic planning efforts of portfolio companies focused on the telecom, hosting, and software markets, taking active roles in each company from inception through domestic growth and international expansions. Read more
John J Reed
John Reed is a serial entrepreneur, investor and executive. Currently, he serves as Managing Partner of Azalea Ventures, a private equity fund dedicated to financing wind farms in the U.S. In 2001 he cofounded Blue Streak Network, which acquired the public assets of a new digital media technology company and has since raised $40MM in venture financing. The headquarters was moved to Montreal in 2006. Prior to Blue Streak, Reed founded Lifecast.com in 1999. After selling their “Gated Portal” to over 1000 country clubs, ClubCorp bought a controlling stake in 2000. Read more
Dana Brown
As Chief Outsiders' recently appointed new Principal, Brown complements Chief Outsiders' core values and the teams' exceptional skills. Brown specializes in corporate and market strategy, branding, product and company positioning, mergers and acquisitions, and business and channel development. Throughout her career, Brown has demonstrated the ability to define strategy and achieve profitable business results while managing organizational growth and change. Read more
Dave Copps
Dave is a serial entrepreneur that has founded and launched three successful companies focused on exploring the semantic web. He has been at the forefront of semantic search for the past 13 years following a pioneering effort in 1995 that resulted in the first real-time news service delivered via the web. Read more
Jeff Williams
Jeff Williams is a managing director of Covera Ventures and has more than 10 years experience investing in early and late stage companies. He also brings operational experience to Covera Ventures as a result of managing and ultimately divesting several companies in the commercial finance, property and casualty insurance and technology industries. Read more
Charlie Feld
Charlie Feld is one of America’s most recognized and successful Chief Information Officers (CIO) and information-technology consultants. As founder and CEO of The Feld Group—based in Dallas, Texas—Feld built a team of information technology executives that enabled dramatic results in Fortune 500 companies through the transformation of their own IT organizations. The Feld Group was acquired by EDS in 2004, which was subsequently purchased by Hewlett-Packard in 2008. Read more
Jim Janicki
Jim brings more than 25 years of executive leadership with extensive entrepreneurial and software technology experience. He is currently the CEO and President of Ignite Technologies, Inc. a provider of secure and scalable content delivery solutions for enterprises. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of Calpont, a privately-held company that focuses on database solutions. He also served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Austin Ventures. Prior to that, he was the co-founder and CEO of MetaSolv Software (Nasdaq:MSLV), a leading global provider of operations support system solutions for communications service providers around the world. Read more
Brad Taylor
In his twenty-five plus years in technology and innovation, Brad has worked at both start-ups and established companies in line and executive management positions. Brad was the founding CEO at GRS, an Inc. 100 Manufacturing company, which was purchased in 2009 by Vossloh AG. Read more
Dennis Dayman
Dennis Dayman has more than 15 years of experience combating spam, security issues, and improving email delivery through industry policy, ISP relations and technical solutions. As Eloqua’s Chief Privacy Officer, Dayman leverages his experience and key relationships with the major receivers to provide best practices to Eloqua customers and ensure the deliverability and compliance of their communications and data flows. Read more
David Matthews
David Matthews brings a wealth of relevant experience to Trailblazer Capital through his background as an entrepreneur, lead investor in emerging funds, venture capitalist, and venture philanthropist.
Read more
David Rex
David Rex specializes in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and related financings, including as counsel to private equity and venture capital funds. He also specializes in assisting entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies from formation to exit, with an emphasis on venture capital and general corporate finance, strategic alliances and joint ventures, and related contract law. Read more
Gabriella Draney
Gabriella Draney is Cofounder and Managing Partner of Tech Wildcatters. Most recently she was with HP Growth Partners, an early stage venture fund in Dallas. She co-founded an aircraft scheduling software company in 1998 that ended in a profitable exit. Read more
