We are proud to introduce our August ’13 Cohort of Tech Startup Founders. Arranged Alphabetically by first name.
Alison Marshall, Founder & CEO of Grashoppa. Grashoppa sells cloud-based applications that coach entrepreneurs through successfully starting and growing a business. She created the television script department for Interactive Network and produced online middle-school educational products for Simon & Schuster. Alison is based in San Francisco, California.
Anthony Eros, Founder & CEO of MERCAR Analytics, Inc. MERCAR Analytics, Inc. provides CPGs with ethnic distribution channel retail analytics. Anthony is based in San Carlos, California.
Brian Holmes, Co-founder and VP of Development of Fanatic Fans. Fanatic Fans is an interactive mobile fan loyalty platform that rewards fans for following the teams and artists they love. Fanatic Fans was accepted into RocketSpace Accelerator in 2012. Brian is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Chris Smith-Hill, Founder of EventGrazer. EventGrazer is Expedia for events. They take the pain out of searching across the internet for fun events via aggregation and recommendations. Chris is based in San Francisco, California.
Colin Mutchler, Co-Founder & CEO of Louder. With Louder’s “Make it Louder” button, users promote links beyond their friends by funding ad buys. He has been invited twice to be the guest speaker at TEDx Talk. Colin is based in San Francisco, California.
Ezi Boteach, Founder & CEO of StreamShell. StreamShell is in stealth mode. He holds a Masters Degree in Management and Industrial Engineering from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Ezi is based in Sunnyvale, California.
Fawad Zakariya, Founder & CEO of TalentCove. TalentCove is a mobile-first cloud software product focused on real-time employee feedback and performance assessment. He was a Member of Band of Angels, Silicon Valley’s oldest seed funding organization that has seeded over 225 companies with 50 profitable M&A exits and 9 Nasdaq IPOs. Fawad is based in Palo Alto, California.
Guise Bule, Founder & CEO of Safeweb Engine. Safeweb Engine builds cyber-defense platforms for the federal government and their defense contractor partners. He is a published author of many works including A First Look at Microsoft’s Client Side Hypervisor. Guise is based in Sunnyvale, California.
Hassan Wardani, CEO of Thrillseeker. Thrillseeker brings the world’s adventures together in one place with info, reviews and ratings by other adventure travelers. He is part of the autumn Founder Institute semester that graduated in June 2013. Hassan is based in Palo Alto, California.
Heather Russell, CEO of Rinkya. Rinkya is an E-Commerce helping people outside of Japan purchase Japanese items. She has received Inc 5000’s Fastest Growing Company award 5 years in a row. Heather is based in London, England.
Jon Vlassopulos, Founder and CEO of Trailerpop. Trailerpop is the world’s first game driven video engagement platform, integrating premium video, trivia, rewards, community and commerce. He is an Angel Investor for FitStar and WillCall. Jon is based in San Rafael, California.
Julie Thorne Engels, Founder & CEO of Bettyvision. Bettyvision is a female empowerment platform that invites women to visualize their dreams and receive the support and resources to make them a reality. Julie is based in Santa Monica, California.
Kira Wampler, CEO of Kewl. Kewl is the most effective and energizing way for busy people to achieve their goals. She co-invented and patented facilitating a game that operates within a social-networking application. Kira is based in Mountain View, California.
Larry Rich, Founder & CEO of Sweat Tracker, Inc. Sweat Tracker, Inc. helps runners find the perfect race, prepare for it, and share results with friends and family. He is part of the autumn Founder Institute semester that graduated in June 2013. Larry is based in San Francisco, California.
Laurent Lavigne, Founder of Elefantopia. Elefantopia makes high quality games with a dash of ecology and a pinch of spirituality. He has a Master Degree of Computer Science from Université de Paris 6 – Jussieu. Laurent is based in Los Angeles, California.
Lindsay Nelson, Co-Founder of Theme Dragon. Theme Dragon is a new tool for creating faster, easier animated marketing videos by utilizing pre-animated and customizable themes. Lindsay is based in Portland, Oregon.
Lydia Loizides, Founder & CEO of GGGrit. GGGrit is an algorithmic, career development platform for companies and organizations to connect, learn and grow women’s career capital. She serves as 2nd Vice President, Governor& Chair of the Advanced Media Committee of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY. Lydia is based in New York, New York.
Mark Unthank, CEO of CoolNerd Kiosks™. CoolNerd Kiosks™ are digital signage, digital downloading & smartphone charging kiosks.
Ads run on monitor while phones download movies. Mark is based in New York, New York.
Marne Strickland, CEO of Online Media Diva, Inc. Online Media Diva, Inc. is an Ad network targeting women 18-45. Their network delivers 3.6 billion ad impressions per day and caters to a female demographic. Marne is based in Redondo Beach, California.
Melissa Millan, Founder & CEO of Androgyny. Androgyny is a pioneering e-tailer offering menswear inspired button ups that have been re-engineered to fit the female form. She has an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Melissa is based in Berkeley, California.
Noam Wolf, CEO of MarketMan. MarketMan is a powerful tool for both buyers and vendors to streamline supply and inventory management. Noam is based in Mishmeret, Isreal.
Piers Wells, CEO of Digital H2O, Inc. Digital H2O, Inc. is a Big Data and B2B eCommerce start-up focused on water management in the energy sector. He has an MBA in Finance and Management from Columbia University. Piers is based in Washington, District of Columbia.
Rachel Wolan, CEO of ESL.io. ESL.io is Rosetta Stone meets Words with Friends – ESL.io uses casual games and popular TV clips to teach English language learners everyday English. Rachel is based San Francisco, California.
Sean Saberi, Co-Founder & CEO of basik. apparel. basik. apparel is a custom apparel company that is currently working on creating a software to allow customers custom print anything on tees. Sean is based in Los Angeles, California.
Sung Choi, Co-Founder of Airbug. Airbug is a collaborative chat client designed to meet the day to day needs of software startups. He is a graduate of DevBootCamp. Sung is based in San Francisco, California.
Timothy Manson, CEO of Property Connect Inc. Property Connect Inc. is an exciting new technology company focused on achieving higher levels of transparency and communication throughout the real estate industry. Timothy is based in San Francisco, California.
Timothy Marks, Co-Founder of PixelSands. PixelSands is a mobile ARG that allows users and companies to run real world location driven story lines. Timothy is based in Brisbane, Australia.
Tom Larkin, Co-Founder & CEO of Share Magnet. Share Magnet increases sales and decrease advertising expense for E-Commerce by allowing businesses to hire their customers to market for them. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, CBS Marketwatch, & LA Business Journal. Tom is based in Manhattan Beach, California.
With the addition of the August Cohort, Founders Network is now more than 430 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. To learn more about Founders Network click here.
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