Introducing the July ’12 Cohort of Tech Startup Founders

We are proud to introduce our July ’12 Cohort of Tech Startup Founders. Pictured from left they are:

1. John Wantz, CTO/co-founder of comr.se based in Corona Del Mar, CA uses social data to convert brand conversations into product demand and increased sales effectiveness across a multitude of environments. Prior experience includes founder & technology architect of SimpeSeason (a boutique digital branding agency), Chief Creative Director at Mada Design. John is currently enrolled at MIT Sloan School of Management.
2. Sameer Gupta, founder/CEO of RivalMe based in San Francisco, CA is like WordsWithFriends for Trivia. Prior experience includes Partner at H.Wood.Tea, Vice President at Gupta Investments Inc., Owner of SMiling Screens. Sameer holds a degree in M&T, Computer & Cognitive Science, Finance and Management from University of Pennsylvania.
3. Vinny Lingham, CEO/co-founder of Gyft based in Palo Alto, CA a startup that wants to change the way you think about gift cards. Prior experience includes CEO/founder of Yolo.com – the world’s leading easy-to-use, browser-based, website development software for SME’s and groups, angel investor and board member of Personera, ChessCube & Skyrove, CEO/founder of incuBeta and Clicks2Costumers. Vinny holds a B.Com, Information Systems from University of Cape Town.
4. Andreas Wilkens, CEO/co-founder of MediaFunnel based in San Rafael, CA an easy to use, enterprise social media engagement platform that will allow you to involve more employees in protecting and promoting your brand. Prior experience includes Managing Director at Companity GmbH. Andreas hold s degree in Electronics from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.
5. Kabir Sagoo, CEO/founder of Tidepool based in Granada Hills, CA a startup that allows you to understand your work relationships through science. Prior experience includes Project Manager Intern at CulturesSync – a boutique management consulting firm specializing in creating great workplace cultures supported by vibrant strategies, Co-founder of WinningVentures.net. Kabir holds a BA. in Neuroscience, Entrepreneurship & International Relations from University of Southern California.
6. Leon Krishnayana, founder of AirportPickup.me based in San Jose, CA connects people who need to go from/to the airport with friendly, trustworthy and safe driver who can give them a ride. Prior experience includes CEO/founder of iSpionage Inc., Software Development Manager/Project Manager at Bargain Network. Leon holds a BSEE, Electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.
7. Marco Nelson, CEO/co-founder of Tworkt based in New Orleans, LA a startup that aims to empower individuals and change the landscape of business interaction. Prior experience includes NALO IT Systems Director at the US Navy. Marco holds a BS. in Economics from the US Naval Academy and a MA. in Information Technology Management from the Naval Post Graduate School.
8. J. Galen Buckwalter, co-founder of Tidepool based in Granada Hills, CA a startup that allows you to understand your work relationships through science. Prior experience includes CEO/founder of Gumption LLD – a private angel fund and startup consultation firm, Chief Scientist for eHarmony, Inc. Galen holds a BS. Social Work from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, a MA. in Theology and a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminar.
9. Noman Ahmadf, CEO/Founder at SportsLab based in Castro Valley, CA an exciting new way for football teams to be able to create, manage and collaborate on plays with their teams. Prior experience includes Senior Product Marketing Manager of Dolby Laboratories, CEO of GLDynamics & Product Line Manager of Seagate Technology. Noman holds a MA. in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA from Oklahoma State University.
10. David Litwak, CEO/co-founder of Mozio based in San Francisco, CA an airport transportation search engine. Prior experience includes Integration & Support Engineer at Criteo, Project Manager & Analyst at Skype. David holds B.S, Electrical Engineering Computer Science from University of California Berkeley.
11. Arek Skuza, CEO/founder of iTraff Technology based in Bolesława Chrobrego, Poland a startup which builds image recognition technology for smartphones and make it available for third parties via API. Prior experience includes CEO/founder of Totutam.pl – combines events and serves them to users using highly advanced algorithm, founder of DVC Partners. Arek holds a MA. in Management, Marketing, Information Technologies from University of Economics and a diploma in Business Management from Harvard Business School, ICAN Institute Europe.
12. Eric Bouck, CEO/co-founder of ZigZag Software based in San Francisco, CA a collaborative whiteboard for your Samsung Galaxy Note. Prior experience includes Group Product Manager EMC, Sr. Sales Consultant at Oracle, Director of Business Development and Technical Sales at Simplexis.com. Erick holds a BS. in Computer Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
13. Dennis O’Connell, Co-Founder of Run2Table based in San Francisco, a startup for global restauranteurs, niche entertainment venues and premium artisans passionate about their brands and who need to take advantage of the best tools & workflow to compete at the highest level. Prior experience includes General Manager at ProAccounting Hawaii, Director of Emerging Business Services ProService Hawaii, Vice President/Product Development at State Street. Dennis holds a MA. in Finance from Brandeis University International Business School.
14. William Barnes, President/founder of wpbgroup based in Santa Monica, CA. Prior experience includes founder of ucrave.com, co-owner of twiistup.com, LA General Manager at Uber.com, CEO at NerdyShirts.com. William is a Mechanical Engineer.
15. Josh Reeder, founder at Mibio based in Hermitage, TN a private way to store memories and media in the cloud. Prior experience includes Owner of Reeder Photography, Partner at Vine Creative, Co-founder & Chief Strategist of FMF Inc. Josh holds a BA. in Design Communications and Photography from Belmont University.
16. Sanjay Parekh, founder of Orangeflute based in Dublin, CA helps you use increasingly popular mobile devices in your fitness coaching. Prior experience includes Sr. FPGA Design Engineer at Intevac, Sr. Hardware Engineer at Harmonic & Nortel Networks. Sanjay hold a MEEE in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University.

With the addition of the June Cohort, Founders Network is now more than 170 members strong! We are excited about the deep and diverse experience sets and perspectives each new member brings to our peer mentorship community of tech startup founders. Together we are taking management and personal risk off the table and ensuring mutual success. Stay tuned to the fnBlog for startup updates, tips and lessons learned from each of our new members.

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