+ ALLISON ALBERT WARD

Founder and CEO
Pet Krewe

Allison is a CPG specialist working in both wholesale and D2C channels.

Areas of Expertise
Business Development & Sales, Business Modeling, General Business Strategy, Management/Human Resources, Marketing & Branding

+ JON ATKINSON

CEO
The Idea Village

Jon is an expert in startups, customer development methodologies, and entrepreneurial finance. His past experience combines a diverse knowledge as a professional investor and ‘recovering’ banker with skills gained as a professor, CEO, CFO, business advisor, board member, and strategic consultant to deliver unique business insights in guiding and financing unique business insights in guiding and financing growth oriented companies. Jon was previously the founding director for the Loyola University Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at Loyola University New Orleans. He is also a co-founder and the Fund Administrator for Lagniappe Angels, LLC. Jon also holds his MBA in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from Tulane University.

+ HARRY FOX

Co-founder
Bloks

Harry is a recovering financier, returned Peace Corps volunteer, 3x startup Founder, ski aficionado, & computer nerd with an MBA & MS Data Science.

+ DAVID GUILFORD

Financial Advisor
*NYLIFE Securities

David is a financial Services professional, lean startup mentor, and serial entrepreneur.

+ DIANNA LIU

President + Founder
ARIX Technologies

Dianna Liu worked for ExxonMobil in operations/logistics on the trading floor and as a mechanical engineer in an ExxonMobil refinery. She founded ARIX Technologies, a robotics company for oil & gas, went to Yale for an MBA and went through IdeaVillage's EnergyX program in 2019.

Areas of Expertise
Fundraising & Investor Relations, General Business Strategy, Management/Human Resources, Marketing & Branding, Software Programming/Technology Development

+ REED STEPHENS

Co-founder & CEO
Bloks

Reed is a curious tech guy and Louisiana native. He's passionate about startups, and happy to help with business, AI, development, or other tech needs.

BS Engineering at LSU, MBA at Tulane, MS CS at Georgia Tech, Snowball Specialist

+ CHRISTA COTTON

Founder and CEO
El Guapo Bitters

Christa Cotton is the Founder/CEO of New Orleans Beverage Group, which holds the trademark to El Guapo - a line of bitters, syrups and mixers manufactured here in Orleans Parish. She's currently building America's first bitters brewery in Mid-City after raising a seed round in 2021. She is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

Areas of Expertise
Business Development/Sales, Digital Marketing/SEO/Social Media, Fundraising + Investor Relations, Marketing + Branding, General Business Strategy, Market Research, Public Relations, Business Modeling, Project Management

+ PATRICK BURTCHAELL

Senior Product Designer
Facebook

Patrick builds software. In his career, he's worked as a product designer, a software engineer, and a founder of his own studio. Currently, he's a senior product designer at Facebook, working on privacy and end-to-end encryption for Facebook Messenger and Instagram; and a volunteer product designer at the U.S. Digital Response, helping governments and nonprofits deliver critical services. He has a B.Des and minor in HCI from Loyola University New Orleans.

Areas of Expertise
Design, General Business Strategy, Software Programming/Technology Development, Website Development

+ LESLIE CAMPISI

Chief Marketing Officer
Morty

Leslie has 20+ years working in the global tech ecosystem, in-house at startups, in tech PR, and in VC. She is a marketer with deep experience in brand, corporate communications, and editorial strategy. She is also an entrepreneur & operator who has launched and run agencies. She is based in NYC with deep networks in London and SF and in the fintech sector. She is a tech generalist having worked across B2B, B2C, B2B2C, and nearly every vertical. She is enthusiastic about working with female and BIPOC founders, as well as companies building new business models. This includes those truly re-engineering the way a process or system works vs. just improving UX. She is also excited about working with businesses with B2B and B2C ambitions, mission-driven founders and companies and first-time entrepreneurs.

+ BARRET BLONDEAU

Founder and CEO
Falaya

Barret is the founder and CEO of Falaya, a real estate app that is redefining the how real estate is sold by driving efficiency, transparency, and placing the control back into the hands of homeowners. He lives and breathes the real estate space as a broker and real estate investor. Barret earned both his bachelor’s in marketing and MBA from LSU.

Areas of Expertise
Digital Marketing/SEO, Product Management, UX/UI, Branding/Marketing

+ DYLAN DIBONA

Partner
Monday and Partners

Dylan DiBona has over 20 years of experience working with new and established brands to help them express their reasons for existing in ways that are clear, authentic, and defensible. With practical experience that crosses all media Dylan brings a no-nonsense, practical approach to the work he does. Throughout his career his work has won awards but, more importantly, has consistently grown clients' businesses.

Areas of Expertise
Design, Digital Marketing/SEO/Social Media, Marketing & Branding, Website Development

+ ANDREW J. ALBERT

Director
Venture for America New Orleans

Founder
Exclave Spirits & River Basin Distillery

Andrew is the Director of New Orleans for VFA where he is responsible for fundraising, developing company partnerships, and supporting fellows within the city of New Orleans. Additionally, he works with VFA's investments in all Fellow-founded companies. Finally, Andrew is the founder of two spirits brands, River Basin Distillery and Exclave Spirits.

+ JOSH WEINER

Founder and CEO
*Oh Shoot!

Joshua Weiner is an entrepreneur from Chicago, IL. He began his career as a web and graphic designer. He founded, "Oh Shoot!", a student-services marketplace (Idea Village Cohort - 2020). As a product-focused CEO, he developed the system workflow, and multi-device, user-experiences for the Oh Shoot! platform.

Through his consulting practice at Switch Studio, he helps clients build and develop- robust, useful, and beautiful systems. He resides in Redmond, WA, and is furthering his career in systems architecture and design.

+ FRANCO SILVA

Vice President
Mexssub

Franco is a serial entrepreneur, currently involved in multiple startups across several industries. His primary focus is Origin-8, and O&G technology company looking to scale into the international market. He also has projects in the Pet Industry, Sports Industry, and Real Estate Industry (co-working & storage). His areas of focus are team building, negotiating, strategic planning, leadership, and business clarity (prioritization, vision, alignment).

Areas of Expertise
Business Modeling, General Business Strategy, Legal, Management/Human Resources, Marketing & Branding, Market Research

+ CHRIS READE

Chief Executive Officer
LookFar Ventures, Carrollton Enterprises

Christopher (Chris) Reade started programming computers in 1984 at age 13. He started my first company (Desktop Publishing) in 1988 at 17, and graduated from Rutgers in 1994. He started his second company (Outsourced e-mail) in 1995, and moved to New Orleans from Manhattan in 1998-2000. He changed the company's name to Carrollton Technology Partners in 2003, and grew his company(ies) substantially Post-Katrina. Since then, Chris started LookFar & LookFar Ventures in 2014, Entrepreneur Mortgage Finance in 2016, spun off LookFar Labs in 2018, opened Club Discovery in 2019, and spun off Carrollton Export Services in 2020.

+ MATT CANDLER

Founder
Night Shift Bikes

Matt is into electrification, education & both kinds of equity: 25 years teaching, coaching & early-stage investing, mostly in new schools & learning tools; 15 years side-hustling on electric motorcycles; committed to creating opportunity and jobs as we transition to clean energy in the Southeast. He is the founder of 4.0 Schools, Night Shift Bikes, LearningNext. He has mentored at Tech Stars and Energy Tech. He an advisor to Flux Hybrids, B2U Energy Storage. Previously, he worked with New Schools for New Orleans, NYC Charter Center, KIPP, Atlanta Committee for Olympic Games.

Areas of Expertise
Business Development/Sales, Design, Personnel, Team Growth + HR, General Business Strategy

+ JUSTIN WOHLSTADTER

Founder & CEO
Waldo.fyi

Justin is the Founder & CEO of Waldo.fyi, where he's building a better Google search, for work. Before that he was Founder & CEO of AskWonder.com, the largest on-demand desk research service, powered by a hive mind of brilliant research analysts around the world. Before founding AskWonder.com, Justin served as the Director of Product Design for Divide (acquired by Google) out of their New York, Hong Kong, and London offices. Prior to that, he co-founded BOLDstart Ventures, where he led or co-led investments in Divide, GoInstant (acquired by Salesforce), Klout (acquired by Lithium), Rapportive (acquired by LinkedIn), Blaze (acquired by Akamai), ThinkNear (acquired by Telenav), IndieGoGo, and Yipit, among others. Justin attended Harvard University and Oxford University, writing his master's dissertation on how the Internet will affect access to higher education.

+ TJ NEAL

Corporate Controller

EOI Service Company

TJ has 12-years of experience leading and serving as an advisor to small businesses and non-profit organizations. His passion is focusing on operations, finance, technology, and strategic planning to build empowered teams and organizations.

Areas of Expertise
Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, Education

+ ANNA STEELE

Operations + Talent Acquisition Professional

Anna has over two decades of experience in talent (recruiting), culture, operations and leadership. She is co-founder of The Youni Company (Idea Village 2020 cohort) and is currently working on several other entrepreneurial endeavors. As a startup cheerleader and experienced fundraiser, she has helped many startups prepare for raising capital and beyond.

Areas of Expertise

Digital Marketing/SEO/Social Media, Business Model Canvas, Team Building, General Business Strategy, Operations

+ JOSH ENTE

Senior Consultant
The Justice Collective

Josh advises organizations across sector, size, and industry to understand and operationalize principles related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. To Josh, activating those principles are essential for long-term organizational health and prosperity, but it's easier said than done! He's happy to help you think through what that could look like in your unique context, how to set up all of your current and potential stakeholders for success, and take on big questions in bite-sized pieces.

+ EDDIE CLIFF

Senior Director, Product Management
Salesforce

Eddie currently leads a team of product managers focused on building best in class products for small to medium size businesses. Prior to leading a team, he owned the Chat and Social channels for Service Cloud. He's have worked for Salesforce in a number of other roles(Sales, Solution Engineering, & Customer Success) around the world (New York, Singapore, Sydney, & San Francisco).

+ JOE BRINZ

CEO
Engineering & Inspection Services, LLC

Joe Brinz is a company visionary who has spent the past 19 years serving Engineering & Inspection Services, LLC as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer. Joe is responsible for the development and execution of strategic company goals, and he helps foster a culture that is conducive to collaborative, creative thinking at all levels of the organization.

+ JOHN FOSTER

President
Middle School MBA

John is an author, executive, angel investor, and lifelong student of markets. John’s industrial career failed its way through process engineering, plant operations, business management, M&A, and corporate strategy, finally failing big enough to exit. John now teaches kids the lowdown on business, economics, and entrepreneurship in the hopes that they can fail bigger and sooner.

+ AKSHAY GUPTA

Executive Partner
New Day Partners LLC

Akshay Gupta is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has built and successfully exited from multiple venture-funded technology-enabled businesses.

Areas of Expertise
Business Development & Sales, Business Modeling, Fundraising & Investor Relations, General Business Strategy, Legal, Marketing & Branding, Market Research

+ THOMAS TRAHAN

Lead Investment Capitalist
Acadian Capital Research

Thomas is an experienced Angel Investment/Venture Capital analyst who eats, sleeps, and breathes startups and investing. Possessor of a deep-generalist skill set - combining grit gained as a startup founder, and first-hand experience gained via operating an alternative asset research firm.

+ RUPA MOHAN

Founder and Chief Product Office
The Sweat Social LLC

Rupa has a background in corporate finance and spent 10-years on Wall Street before she left to pursue her passion for health and wellness. She started The Sweat Social almost 6 years ago and since then has scaled her business to a corporate audience and expanded to a global client base. The Sweat Social is in the health and wellness industry, but she also has a background in Corporate Finance, working in the Pharmaceutical industry as well as the Financial Services industry.

+ LAUREN SIEGEL

Managing Director
trepwise LLC

As the Managing Director at trepwise, Lauren Siegel brings her experience in marketing and operations management, as well as strategic planning and business development to the firm. She brings to the table a wealth of business knowledge and a vast network of local professionals and entrepreneurs. Lauren works with her clients to design effective and creative strategies to sustainability and scalability. Her sweet spot is supporting innovative visionaries who feel a bit lost in plotting the next steps to reach their dreams. Lauren also enjoys learning from entrepreneurs who are both knowledgeable and passionate about their industries. The result is an enriching relationship that builds capacity on both sides of the table.

Prior to joining trepwise, Lauren worked as a marketing and operations consultant for small and large ventures. She has experience in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, and has worked in a variety of industries including food and beverage, fashion, digital media, public health, and healthcare.

+ COREY TISDALE

Board Member
BBQ Guys

Corey cofounded BBQGuys, ran an EO accelerator, started and is on the board of Return of the Masterminds executive education non-profit. He is also an angel investor. He has in depth experience in e-commerce, technology, marketing, angel investing, management and strategic planning, and financial modeling.