Women Startup Challenge 2016 San Francisco Jury

Lisa Stone is an investor, co-founder and c-level entrepreneur with extensive experience working successfully across sales, product, engineering, marketing, content and community to design platforms, programs, pricing and partnerships that activate millions of people and achieve defined business goals. As a social media pioneer, Lisa has used technology to create scale consumer movements and communities (25-127 million monthly uniques) on topics ranging from lifestyle to enterprise (BlogHer, Ellevest, Law.com, Women.com Networks, Fortune 100 clients, various advisory boards). Specialties: Storytelling with data, putting millions of dollars in the pockets of women, and advocacy for inclusivity in tech. Awards and honors include Fortune’s MPW Entrepreneur Award, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University. 

Nisha Dua is a General Partner at BBG Ventures, which she co-founded with Susan Lyne in 2014. BBGV is a NYC-based seed fund, investing in consumer tech startups with at least one female founder. BBGV invests across content, commerce, future of work and platforms and services for Gen Z. BBGV has invested in over 60 startups. Nisha has spent the last decade working in media, tech, strategy and law. She was the General Manager of AOL’s millennial site, Cambio, which she re-launched as a site “for girls, #BUILTBYGIRLS” in partnership with Girls Who Code. She founded the #BUILTBYGIRLS movement which challenges young women to be part of the tech-enabled economy and recently launched the WAVE platform, which connects girls with professionals to help them build their first networks into tech.

Susan is an angel investor and startup advisor in San Francisco, where she has a front row seat to an amazing variety of new ventures.  She is passionate about making connections and helping people meet their potential.  She believes that diversity is an essential and under-utilized asset to all businesses. Susan focuses on enterprise businesses and technology. Her background is in search and natural language processing technology and her operational experience spans product development roles from coding to product management at both startups and Fortune 500 companies like PayPal and Salesforce.  When not investing and advising, Susan can be found climbing one of San Francisco’s many hills, frequenting the ever-growing array of 3rd-wave coffee shops around town, and singing with the Loose Interpretations.

Frank Gruber grew up in the Midwest heartland and is an entrepreneur, new media journalist and angel investor. He is the author of Startup Mixology: Tech Cocktail’s Guide To Building, Growing and Celebrating Startup Success published by Wiley. He cofounded Tech.Co (formerly Tech Cocktail) in 2006, which has grown into a hub for the creative class, offering tech startup focused news, events, and resources. Frank has built and launched products for the masses while at AOL, Tribune and Classified Ventures along with startup efforts like Thankfulfor, Splog Reporter and more. As a journalist his works have been featured in a number of top media publications like Tech.Co, TechCrunch, Fortune, HuffPo, etc. Frank is an advisor to many startups including TurboAppeal, Zuldi, and Umba. Frank was nominated for 2013 Entrepreneur of Year in Nevada, honored as a “Washingtonian Tech Titan” in Washington, DC in 2009, 2011, and 2013, and was named by Forbes as one of the most connected people in tech. His alma maters include Purdue and Northwestern respectively. You can find him on Twitter at: @FrankGruber and @TechCoHQ.

Jen is cofounder and co-CEO of Established. Previously, she cofounded, operated and sold Tech.Co, a news, content, and events organization focused on better connecting and educating entrepreneurs, and amplifying startup communities everywhere. Consalvo is also a startup investor and advisor, and a founding member of NextGen Venture Partners. Prior to Established and Tech.Co, Consalvo led product development teams in a range of product areas such as digital imaging, community & social platforms and personalization. Much of her career was at AOL, planning and building products used by millions of people globally. Jen has served on the digital advisory boards for The Nature Conservancy and for the Master of Arts in Media Entrepreneurship at American University. She was nominated by Nevada's TBAN for 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year, listed by Business Insider in their 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter, named a 2013 and 2011 Tech Titan by Washingtonian Magazine, was has been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, DC Modern Luxury Magazine, and others.

DJ Saul is the CMO and Managing Director of ISL (an AdAge 2014 Small Agency of The Year). One of the company’s first employees, DJ is now responsible for ISL’s marketing, DC operations, partnerships and business development as well as the company’s ongoing experimentation/prototyping efforts. He was recently named a 2015 Washingtonian Tech Titan. DJ advises companies and early stage ventures on everything from digital to experiential marketing strategy, to branding and partnership development, and has been described as “an invaluable pillar of support for the region’s aspiring entrepreneurs.” In short, he brands, markets, and creates experiences that launch companies, sell products, and connects people and organizations with what they need to succeed. He also speaks and writes regularly on building meaningful relationships, brand strategy, emerging tech and marketing trends, and entrepreneurship. He teaches much more about marketing strategy in his courses on Brand Positioning and; Product/Company Naming. DJ studied International Affairs at George Washington University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. He is a member of NextGen Angels, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Shapers, co-producer of the DC Tech Meetup, and serves on the advisory board of Think Local First DC. In his spare time, DJ plays in the DC Bocce League where his team, Ben’s Chili Bowl Bocce, has donated thousands of dollars in winnings to local non-profits. He has won DC’s Great Urban Race and was a finalist in the Great Urban Race National Championship. DJ is an ardent supporter of DC United and Liverpool F.C.

Susan is currently the Head of Business Development for Make School where she is helping to build diverse classrooms and change the face of technology. Previously, Susan was the Director of Partnerships and Development at Girls Who Code. She was Deputy Director at Craigslist Foundation and started her career in product management roles at Yahoo! and in digital music, most notably at Shawn Fanning’s SNOCAP. She cares about the future of computer science education, cycling and yoga. She stops for puppies.

Adam is Founder/CEO of Lucas Point Ventures and an active investor in and advisor to early stage companies. Previously he was a top ranked sell side investment analyst in the UK, Asia and the US. Adam’s current investments include The Muse, Rapt Media,Glassbreakers, VenueBook, Hire an Esquire, Pinks and Greens,Validately and Snaps. In the first half of 2014 he served as Chief Financial Officer of NYC based cybersecurity company NopSec, another of his investees. In addition in 2014 he was named one of the 25 Angel Investors you need to know in New York by AlleyWatch as well as one of 100 Tech Influencers You Need to Know. In 2015 he was featured in Tech.co as “One of 8 VCs Making Waves“. He serves on the Board of Pinks and Greens and an Advisor to Hire an Esquire, Tactile Finance and San Francisco based SwoopTalent. He is on the Executive Advisory Board of techweek. Adam is and member of and/or advisor to several angel groups including 37 Angels and Astia Angel where he is a founding Angel and chairs the Astia East Coast Advisory Board. He is an Mentor for Boulder based accelerator program MergeLane and an Advisor to San Francisco based Women’s Startup Lab as well as the Vinetta Project. In the not for profit space he is Board member at International House New York and a member of their Executive Committee. He is also a Board member at the Center for Talent Innovation. Adam is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs where he is a Capstone workshop advisor and member of the Management Faculty. He holds a BA and MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cass Business School, London.

Shelly is founding partner of the Shatter Fund, a returns driven fund investing in technology companies led and started by women. Shatter is the culmination of Shelly’s entire career of working in the Tech industry as a founder, investor and advisor, and extensive experience in mentoring and empowering women in the US and abroad. Shelly has the privilege of being appointed to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) by the Obama Administration and Vice Chair of Secretary Clinton's Women in Public Service Project. Shelly has been named one of the top 20 influential Indian women by the Economic Times of India, named to the Forbes ‘40 women to watch over 40’ list in 2013, and profiled by Fast Company as one of three entrepreneurs achieving success through selfless work.  

Maci Peterson is the CEO and co-founder of On Second Thought, a messaging app that lets you take back text messages before they get to the other person. In 2015, she was named “Tech’s Newest Innovator” by Essence Magazine and recognized among Washington Business Journal’s “40 Under 40”. On Second Thought won First Place at SXSW’s annual pitch competition #StartupOasis in 2014, was named “The Texting Savior” by AT&T, and won 1st Place in the inaugural Women Who Tech Startup Challenge, in partnership with Craig Newmark of craigslist and Fred and Joanne Wilson. Before launching On Second Thought, Peterson was a brand manager at Marriott International and a marketing strategist for The Root. Peterson received her Bachelor of Arts in public relations and advertising from Chapman University. Follow Maci on Twitter: @OnSecondThought

Over the last 12 years, Angela’s placed 60 angel investments and advised startups spanning everything from mobile to consumer products to clean tech. Angela proudly maintains multiple leadership roles in the flourishing Portland startup ecosystem. In addition to being Co-Managing Director of Portland Seed Fund, she’s also Director of Portland State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, which has housed more than 30 emerging tech companies to date. Angela is a past Chair of Angel Oregon and past President of Keiretsu Forum Portland chapter. An entrepreneur herself, early in her career, Angela launched, secured funding, and managed several ventures including a clean water educational nonprofit. She can also regale you with tales from the three years she sailed around the world professionally as a tall ships sailor. Angela holds a B.A. in English and History from Boston University and a M.A. in Environmental Studies from University of Oregon.

Penny Lee is a seasoned political and communications strategist with over 20 years of experience. She has worked extensively with the executive branch, as well as elected officials in both houses and across the aisles of Congress, State Government, and in the private sector. Lee is presently a Senior Advisor at Venn Strategies, LLC, having served as the firm’s President for the past four years. Venn Strategies, LLC is a public affairs and government relations firm located in Washington, DC. She has provided federal, state, and local advocacy, strategic positioning, guidance, crisis communications ad-vice, and political strategy direction to clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits. As an avid golfer, Lee has also served on the First Tee of Greater Washington Board, and the Advisory Board for Bloomberg Government. Lee has lectured at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Mara Lewis is a serial entrepreneur and champion for diversity in tech. After launching her first startup in college, she went on to found 4 more tech startups, and is currently the Managing Director of Start Co. — an accelerator and venture fund for early stage startups. To date, she has helped accelerate over 30 high-tech, high-growth companies. Mara sits on the Board of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and advises Fortune 500 companies on innovation strategy and corporate venture. Mara has been quoted in the media as a thought leader for women in technology, and in 2012, helped launch Upstart, one of the nation’s first accelerators for women-led tech startups. She resides in San Francisco, CA with a secondary residence in Memphis, TN to support startups outside of traditional tech hubs.

Pocket is the Founder of SoGal and Founding Partner of SoGal Ventures. During graduate school, Pocket built and grew SoGal from a new student organization in November 2014 to an empowering global community of 3,000+ diverse entrepreneurs and investors in 26 countries. She created and produced dozens of large-scale events for hundreds of emerging founders, and advised over 20 startups within a year. She is also known as a master connector. Prior to SoGal, Pocket was a Global Marketing Specialist co-managing a $3B product portfolio. Born and raised in China, Pocket is bicultural and bilingual. She holds a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree from University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Business Administration degree from College of William & Mary. Follow Pocket on Twitter @pocketysun

Ligaya launches new markets for consumer technology companies. She kickstarted Airbnb’s international development as Global Head of Offline Marketing & Community during their most rapid growth phase. Prior to that, she was a Marketing Manager for Yelp, helping the company expand their footprint across the US. Ligaya now angel invests and advises startups and serves as a mentor for 500 Startups. She is also a regular speaker at SXSW, various TEDx, and CMX Summit. Ligaya was also selected as a 2014 TechWomen by the US Department of State.

A veteran journalist turned digital and social media strategist who led cross-functional teams to develop creative content and community experiences for popular media brands like Vibe, Spin, and Fast Company, as well as for a host of B2B and B2C brands. Although always a technologist and storyteller, Lynne got her start in the content/community space at the original social network, BlackPlanet.com. Currently working as a Content + Community Engagement Consultant developing brand marketing strategies and campaigns, with a focus on insights, strategy, planning, and execution to help brands reach their business goals by better engagement with their target audience through the power of storytelling. Also a tech evangelist and still a journalist covering popular culture, as well as various aspects of emerging media and technology, such as the augmented reality and wearable technology markets, for various media outlets. Lynne is currently writing a diversity tech column for Ebony.com, called "The Upload" and has often appeared as a guest on TWIT TV's "This Week In Google."

Sibyl is the Executive Director for DC Innovates (DCI), a nonprofit organization with the mission of fostering and supporting a diverse tech innovation economy in DC. DCI manages the Digital DC Technology Fund (DDCTF), a $1 million fund and customized mentorship program dedicated to promoting the success of early and growth stage technology ventures in the District. Sibyl is also the President of DC Web Women (DCWW), one of the longest-running tech nonprofits for women in D.C, which supports and advocates for women and girls in technology. For over a decade, Sibyl has created successful digital campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, non-profit associations, and startups.

Susan Mernit is an innovator and media entrepreneur working to help local communities build civic engagement, improve economic development and give voice to people of color and those in underserved communities through amplifying the power of local media and discussion on the web. Mernit is the founder of Oakland Local, a news & community hub for Oakland, recognized as one of the most interesting and unique local sites in the country because of its civic engagement model and its training academy and programs. Mernit sometimes works as a consultant, trainer, and coach, and is interested in projects focused on community media, bridging the digital divide, new revenue models for media, media entrepreneurship and product strategy. She was the consulting web strategist for The Center for Investigative Reporting’s California Watch project and is currently a circuit rider for the Knight Foundation Community Information Challenge. A former VP at AOL and Netscape, and a former Yahoo Senior Director, Mernit was the consulting program manager for The Knight News Challenge in 2008-09, as well as a consultant to organizations including Salon.com & TechSoup Global. Mernit spent summer 2008 at TechStars, incubating a company that died; that experience has super-fueled her energy. She has been a contributing editor at BlogHer, a blogger, and was is a co-founder of Hack the Hood, a project that provides Oakland youth with tech training and exposure to tech careers while also helping local businesses become more visible online. A popular trainer and speaker, Mernit works often with The Knight Digital Media Center at USC’s Annenberg School and does trainings and webinars with  The Poynter Institute. She was the Keynote program chair for the October 2009 Online News Association conference in San Francisco and is an experienced facilitator and presenter. Follow Susan on Twitter: @SusanMernit

Adam is the founder of Fosterly, an Eisenhower Fellow, an advisor to numerous startups, an angel investor, and former intrapranuer and VC at Discovery. He now consults for organizations, universities, and governments -- often with a sustainability and future facing technology impact focus -- around the world. A solutions-focused executive, thought leader, and board member with more than ten years of success across the entertainment media, startup, nonprofit, finance, legal, and CPG industries,, Adam leverages extensive experience leading strategic planning and partnerships. His broad areas of expertise include business development, key partnerships, rapid ideation, marketing, and project management. In addition to providing commentary for CNBC nearly two dozen times, he's also enjoy speaking opportunities related to innovative technology trends, trust/authenticity, and the future. Adam has keynoted private and public events (ranging in size from intimate gatherings to large conferences for Fortune 100 companies), and has served as a panelist, moderator, judge, presenter, and emcee at events around the globe. Just a few of the brands he has collaborated with include American Airlines, Anheuser-Busch, Box.com, Discovery, DocuSign, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, NASA, Pfizer, and Verizon. Follow me on Twitter: @Adamz

Sapna is an angel investor, start-up advisor, retail expert and entrepreneur. Through Red Giraffe Advisors, Sapna makes angel and early-stage seed investments in the retail, fashion and consumer start-ups. Sapna is also a member of New York Angels, one of the most active angel groups in the world. Sapna advises start-ups at the Wharton School, NYU Stern and Columbia Business School and at accelerators including XRC Labs and Trendseeder. Previously, Sapna co-founded and led Retail Eye Partners, a successful independent Wall Street equity research firm. At Retail Eye, Sapna assessed the monthly and quarterly performance of major retailers in the specialty, big box and department store sectors through intensive channel checks and analysis. Sapna also co-founded and launched a menswear e-commerce retailer, Mind the Chap, and led the Marketing and Web Development areas of the company. Prior to Retail Eye Partners, Sapna was Executive Director of Strategy and Customer Insight at Linens ‘n Things, Inc., responsible for customer targeting and segmentation, market and consumer research, corporate strategic planning, new business rollouts and competitive benchmarking. Prior to Linens ‘n Things, Sapna was Director of Strategic Planning & New Business Development at Ann Taylor, where she worked on launching Ann Taylor’s e-commerce site, developing a color cosmetics line, visioning the store of the future and improving store operations. Sapna also has experience at Gap, Inc. Previous to her career in retail, Sapna worked in investment banking at Punk, Ziegel & Knoell and at Morgan Stanley as a credit analyst. Sapna received her B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School as well as a B.A. in East Asian Studies from the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Diane works on communications, events and programs for Mozilla's 1000+ global staff. Previously, she worked in Mozilla's MDN Web Docs group supporting web developers worldwide. She joined Mozilla to run WebFWD, Mozilla’s accelerator for open source startups. She currently works on internal communications; previously she was Program Manager for Mozilla’s Developer Relations team. Pre-Mozilla she did communications, marketing, product management, and business development at various startups as well as at Charles Schwab. She got her MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and her BA in History from Stanford.

Nathaniel is an experienced entrepreneur. He founded NGP Software, Inc. in 1997 (now NGP VAN, Inc.) to join his interests in politics and technology and grew that company into the market leader in fundraising and compliance software for progressive political campaigns. Nathaniel served as Chief Technology Officer for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign in 2007-8. In 2009, Nathaniel founded the information graphic products company Timeplots and reserved the name Graphicacy for information graphics consulting and services. Together, Timeplots and Graphicacy are dedicated to making the visual display of information more comprehensible and aesthetic. He is also an adviser, coach and investor in a variety of businesses, and a founder of the antipoverty nonprofit Lever Fund.

I love impulsive people who design beautiful and emotional products because they couldn't dream of doing anything else. When we started TheFamily, Nicolas, Oussama and I wanted to kill the toxicity of the French tech environment. How? We looked to design an ambitious infrastructure for startups, by scaling education, tools and access to capital in order to create billion dollar startups. With TheFamily, I work tirelessly to make changes to a landscape ruled by elitism, where neither youth nor diversity are welcome. We’re driven by a strong belief in the ability of local talent - no matter where it comes from - to build international champions. I was born in 1984 to an open-minded and loving family. With a father from Casablanca and a mother from Paris, my siblings and I grew up around plenty of music, drawings, and culture. They pushed us to find our own quests for meaning. For me, having grown up in a suburb of Paris, part of my quest came from always being aware of the discrimination and racism that was present yet largely ignored in France.  Throughout my life, I enjoyed developing my artistic skills, but a strong desire to compete with decision makers made me choose business studies. So for university, I selected a French management school, EM Lyon. After university, I ended up discovering the tech culture by pure chance. After spending time in art galleries and with artists’ collectives, a friend forwarded me a job posting from a non-profit organization involved in digital innovations. I immediately fell in love with this new world. Artists, engineers, and doers were all fighting the same battle. Digital was providing the tools necessary for breaking down the walls that prevented them from working together. In 2009, YCombinator was already a big deal. I travelled all over Europe, discovering different ecosystems and using this experience as an inspiration to create something new for the French market. I launched Le Camping - the first startup accelerator in France. After 3 seasons, 36 startups, and 18 fundraising rounds, I left for a new adventure - serving as CEO of TheFamily.