Managing Director at Techstars NYC

Gary Stewart is the founder of FounderTribes, a VC-backed start-up that uses conversational AI agents and a proprietary semantic recommendation engine to allow tech founders and small business owners to access AI-generated mentorship and warm intros. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Techstars NYC powered by JP Morgan, part of an $80 million fund to invest in and support underrepresented founders. Born in Jamaica and raised in the Bronx, Gary is a VC-backed serial entrepreneur with a successful exit. He is also a visiting lecturer of entrepreneurship at Yale Law School and was an associate professor at IE Business School in Madrid. As an early-stage investor and fund manager in Europe, Gary built a start-up portfolio whose market capitalization grew to $1.6 billion. He is an alumnus of Yale College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Yale Law School. He was co-executive editor of The Yale Law Journal and published an article on vagrancy and community policing that has been cited 251 times. He has spoken at Cambridge, Oxford, Stanford and INSEAD, and he was formerly a contributor to Forbes magazine.

CEO & Chairman at Swanston Labs

André Swanston, a dynamic tech innovator and media magnate, propelled from $9 to a 9-figure exit, boasts a rare ability to forecast industry shifts and seize opportunities. As Co-Founder and CEO of Tru Optik, he revolutionized streaming media advertising. He made history as one of the top 10 exits by a Black American when it was acquired by TransUnion in 2020. André’s latest endeavor, Swanston Organization, encompasses three divisions focusing on developing data-driven technology, venture investments, and philanthropy. Most recently, André and his wife Michelle became co-owners of Connecticut’s first MLS Next Pro expansion team – CT United FC. A notable figure in the media, André has contributed to Bloomberg, Forbes, WSJ, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. He graduated with a B.A. in economics from the University of Connecticut where he pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc and ran track.

Principal at Stray Works

Amber Quiñones is a former fitness instructor and startup operator turned VC. In her current role as the Principal & Director of Operations at Stray, she leads investments and firm-building initiatives to drive systemic change in climate and social justice. Prior to joining Stray, Amber was the Head of Platform & Operations at BBG Ventures and led Growth & Customer Success on the founding team of the proptech startup, withco. As a Stanford grad, Amber cares deeply about user experience and service design. Her personal mission is to elevate underrepresented leaders who are redesigning society’s most harmful systems into ones that can meet essential human needs within our planetary boundaries while leveraging elements of surprise, delight, and awe to transform dominant behaviors.

Educator | Advocate | Consultant

Frank E. Brady is an Award-Winning Poet, Educational Consultant & Mental Health Advocate. He has appeared on BET, Soultrain.com, The Source Hip-Hop Magazine, and recently, ABC Networks. Frank has an undying dedication to youth development. He is a former High School Teacher with a love for Literacy & Social-Emotional Development. Frank is the Co-Author of Suited For Success, 25 stories of life lessons & overcoming adversity.

Recent accomplishments include being nominated for Youth Speaker of the Year and being named Black Enterprise’s Modern Man of the Year. From Forbes to Yale University, INROADS to Reebok, he conducts workshops on personal and cultural development as a specialist in forming human connections for Public Education, Corporations & Non-Profit Organizations.

Frank has received training from the Transformative Action Institute hosted by Columbia University. He is a frequent performer on the national poetry circuits & has worked with some of Hollywood's biggest entertainers. Both national and international audiences have called Frank’s unique blend of spoken word & explosive stage presence, amazingly creative. His mission is to use his God given gifts to inspire & impact people dealing with adversity.

Associate at LRVHealth

Adeyoola or "Yoola" Adeniji is an Associate at LRVHealth, where she sources and supports all aspects of the firm’s investments, from due diligence through execution. Prior to joining LRVHealth, she worked in operations at Cohere Health, a digital health startup automating administrative transactions within healthcare, and held roles at Mass General Brigham, where she co-led technology implementation for population health programs and primary care practices. Yoola earned her MBA at Yale School of Management and a B.S. in Health Education from the University of Florida.

Senior Associate at Serac Ventures

"Darrel is a 2-time founder turned Venture Capitalist.

Darrel currently serves as a Senior Associate at Serac Ventures, an Oklahoma-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in nontraditional founders building the next generation of global companies. The firm invests in companies at the seed stage writing checks between $500K - $750K in sectors including fintech, SaaS, commerce enablement, future of work, and the creator economy.

Previously at Visible Hands, Darrel contributed to the investment in over 105 early-stage companies led by underrepresented founders, amplifying diversity and innovation. His tenure at Comcast as an Investment Analyst was centered around sourcing and research for investing in minority-led startups and funds."

Founder & CEO at Rebundle

Ciara Imani May is the CEO and Founder of Rebundle, the first U.S.-made plant-based hair extension brand on a mission to transform the haircare industry. Her educational background, including a bachelor's in business management from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's in social entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California, sparked a passion for addressing environmental and health disparities in the Black community. Fueled by her own experience of discomfort from synthetic hair, Ciara developed Rebundle's first product, braidbetter, in 2019. This innovative solution, made from repurposed biopolymers and banana fibers, redefines industry standards with non-toxic, sustainable hair extensions. Rebundle’s sustainable innovations have established the brand as a disruptor in the industry, offering more comfort and less waste for consumers.

Co-founder at Black Men Talk Tech & Geocloud

"Abiodun Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of GeoCloud, a Community Tech and Local Search platform that creates hyperlocal experiences through mobile apps and interactive kiosks at high-traffic locations. Their first product uGeo is a Social Map and Local Guide that allows people to personalize their map with interests and preferences to discover events, places, people, groups, guides, tours, and more local experiences that match their interests and lifestyle. GeoCloud’s mission is to aggregate and optimize the world’s location data to enable real-world experiences that are unique to that location and derive location intelligence and insight from those experiences.

Abiodun is also a co-founder of Black Men Talk Tech. BMTT is a tech collective and conference series that supports emerging and elite Black tech entrepreneurs. Their goal is to promote collaboration between Black tech entrepreneurs and other practitioners in the tech ecosystem to create ""unicorns.""

Prior to starting GeoCloud Abiodun co-founded COSIGN, a tech platform that allows brands to create, distribute and monetize visual content through social media influencers and brand advocates. He helped lead the COSIGN platform from concept to launch and raised over $1 million in seed funding.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Abiodun moved to Nigeria as a child and returned to the States at the age of six. His passion for technology started at a young age and brought him to New Hampshire, where he majored in Engineering Sciences at Dartmouth College.

Abiodun is a natural leader with an extensive background in tech, with over a decade of experience building software products in artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital marketing, eCommerce, and social commerce for B2B and B2C customers. In addition to his devotion to tech and entrepreneurship, Johnson is passionate about empowering others to achieve success. He currently resides in Manhattan, where he enjoys traveling and exploring different cultures, spending time with his family and practicing Muay Thai in his free time.

VC Director at Morgan Stanley

Raised across Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, Jemimah brings a unique blend of global perspectives. With over eight years of experience as an angel investor, Jemimah has a proven and distinctive skill of sourcing and closing early-stage private deals in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently a venture capitalist at Morgan Stanley, where she leads the Africa-focused portfolio and supports the global strategy and operations of the firm.

Jemimah is passionate about building the tech-ecosystem in Africa using a hands-on approach and connecting with African founders who are looking to position themselves for successful fundraising rounds. She leverages her deep networks, data analysis, and communication skills to identify and evaluate opportunities, conduct due diligence, and negotiate terms. She also mentors and advises entrepreneurs on product development, market fit, and growth. Jemimah's mission is to empower and amplify the voices of African innovators and create positive social impact

Investor at Sinai Partners

Navi is a Partner at Sinai Capital Partners, an early stage venture fund focused on deep tech. Previously, Navi was a researcher at MIT and an Entrepreneur in Residence at TandemLaunch, a startup foundry and seed fund in North America. As a former co-founder of a MIT-backed startup that invented and commercialized novel imaging technology, Navi has experienced all facets of the tech startup journey. He is a sports enthusiast and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomolecular Sciences from University of St. Andrews in the UK.

Investor at Anthemis Group

Sherrise Pond is a Principal on the Investment Team at Anthemis Group, a multi-stage asset manager that invests in companies embedding finance into their products, services and operations. She is responsible for identifying, evaluating and executing growth stage opportunities within Fintech, Insurtech and Climate Tech verticals. Sherrise’s career spans 15 years in finance, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and credit analysis. Prior to Anthemis, Sherrise worked in the M&A group at Credit Suisse, where she executed multiple buyside and sell-side transactions across various industries including Financial Institutions, Technology, Consumer and Energy. Prior to Credit Suisse, Sherrise worked in international development and impact investments with Kiva, a peer-to-peer microfinance lending platform, and aeioTU – Fundacion Carulla, an organization that provides educational, healthcare, and nutritional services to children in underserved communities across Latin America. She began her career structuring bond transactions for hospitals and healthcare systems in Citigroup’s Municipal Securities Department. Sherrise holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and an M.B.A from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

EIR & Investor at True Ventures

Clarence is executive in residence and an investor at True. He first joined our community as the founder and CEO of portfolio company Upsie, a marketplace where consumers can purchase extended electronics warranties, and was welcomed into Spoke, our venture scout program in 2021. He now focuses on evaluating new investment opportunities for True and hosting platform initiatives to expand our network to new regions and communities.

He was the executive chairman of the board at Upsie before it was acquired and a board member for two non-profit organizations: the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation and BETA. Both are dedicated to illuminating the technology and entrepreneurial landscapes in Minnesota. Prior to founding Upsie, Clarence cut his teeth in both sales and as the leader of a staffing business dedicated to aligning formerly incarcerated individuals with career opportunities.

Clarence takes great pride in his family life and spending time with his wife of 15 years and two children. Both of his kids play sports, so he jokes that his side gig is being their Uber driver.

Christian McKenzie began her career as a retail buyer scouting products to place in 250+ stores for Macy's. Inc. She has also worked for the startups and tech companies that support the retail industry, including Facebook, Inc. and Pear (acquired by Custom Ink). While she loved this work, she wanted to more closely support and drive impact for founders. So she began applying her passion for emerging brands to investing venture funding into startups. Currently, she is an Investor at Cap Table Coalition.

She is a Mentor for the Tory Burch Foundation, Techstars, and Gen Z VCs. She is also a Committee Co-chair for BLCK VC and Black Women in Venture Capital.

She holds a BA from Spelman College and an MBA from NYU Stern.

Associate at Boldstart Ventures

Ernest is an Associate at Boldstart Ventures and joined the team in 2021. He was drawn to Ed and Eliot’s charismatic personalities, dedication to founders at Seed and bold growth goals for the future.

Prior to Boldstart, Ernest worked as a late-stage investor at Audax Group focused primarily on Healthcare, Business Services, Consumer, Industrial Technology and Software investments.

He began his career in the Global Industrials Investment Banking group at Bank of America, where he worked with Industrial companies on a variety of M&A, leveraged buyout, debt financing, and public equity transactions.

Ernest graduated from The University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce with a B.S. in Commerce, and a track in Entrepreneurship. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in New York City.

Founder & Managing Partner at Achebe Capital

Chi Achebe is the Founder and Managing Partner of Achebe Capital, a seed stage VC fund that serves as a bridge across Africa, the African Diaspora, and New Americans. Achebe Capital advances joy, creativity, longevity, and equity across Africa and the African Diaspora, through investing in Care, Climate Action, Commerce, and Culture, and targeting 50:50 gender parity. Achebe Capital has received backing from Melinda French Gates among others. Chi has personally invested in multiple unicorn companies. Portfolio companies include: Bamboo, Brex, Flutterwave, Juno Medical, Mono, and Republic.

Prior to Achebe Capital, Chi led global GTM strategy at Google, enhanced VC fund performance tracking at Citi Bank, founded an award-winning health tech startup in South Africa, and built The Anzisha Prize, a pan-African entrepreneurship award & accelerator program that was anchored by a multi-million dollar commitment from The MasterCard Foundation and African Leadership Group (named one of Africa’s most innovative companies in 2016 by Fast Company). She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (with honors) and an MBA from Columbia Business School (Feldberg Scholar).

Chief Legal Officer at Simply Global Inc

Abraham is a corporate lawyer for venture-backed, tech and CPG companies looking to scale. He is Chief Legal Officer of Simply Global, a wealth optimization ai startup providing corporate structuring high net worth clients; and Managing Partner of Williamson LLC, an corporate law firm serving venture-backed startups.

He graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa from Howard University and holds an M.Phil in Politics, Development and Democratic Education from Cambridge University, Trinity Hall, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

After law school, Abraham worked for a top 20 law firm and founded Diverse Tech Founders Media interviewing over 75 founders and investors.

As a former college debater, Abraham never misses a moment to amplify others’ unique voices and to lend helping hands in a lifelong mission to foster change agents.

Principal at F-Prime Capital

Abdul is a NY-based Principal at F-Prime Capital, where he focuses on early-stage investments in FinTech and Vertical SaaS. He recently lead F-Prime first investment in Africa. At F-Prime, he also leads efforts on the Fintech Index and co-authors the annual State of Fintech Report.

Prior to joining F-Prime, Abdul invested in emerging markets-based technology startups and worked with a venture-backed digital banking/payments startup in East Africa. He began his career in financial services where he carried out assurance and valuations services for venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds based in New York & London. Abdul holds an MBA degree from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and an MPA in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Mr. Arthur W. Thomas III received his bachelor’s in industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University. Upon graduation, he worked in finance for many years while preparing the transition to investing in real estate and community development. Once transitioned, Mr. Thomas focused on residential rehabilitation for both his personal investment company, and in a consultation capacity for other investment organizations. With a heart for his hometown of Newark, and experience in redevelopment, Mr. Thomas partnered with the City of Newark to beautify depressed areas with the construction of new multifamily residences.

During this time, Mr. Thomas became extremely active in a local church, and formed the Divine Grace Foundation aimed at empowering historically marginalized residents with educational resources, entrepreneurial support, financial literacy, health care, and workforce development skills. Both Arthur and his wife Dr. Jennifer Pierre Thomas are active board members in this foundation and are developing programs and raising capital to cultivate these initiatives both locally and abroad in Haiti and Nairobi.

Mr. Thomas recently graduated from a master’s program at Yale Divinity School to enhance his ability to evaluate the ethical intentions and outcomes of community empowerment programs and build strategic partnerships to reduce socio-economic inequities. He also serves on the board of directors for CTNext, ClimateHaven, Inextricably Bound, SCSU Business School, and the Glendower Group CDC. He is co-chair of the “Faith in Action” outreach ministries at Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church and is in the ordination process with the American Baptist Convention. Mr. Thomas is a healer at heart, and passionate about using innovation, real estate, theology, and entrepreneurship as a treatment for combating racism and disrupting the reproduction of poverty outcomes in communities of color.

Most recently, Mr. Thomas joined The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven as the Director of Mission Investments and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, providing the platform for collaborative cross-sector leadership and strategies for equity and empowerment. As such, he is currently piloting an innovative initiative called NHE3. It’s a public-private partnership involving key anchor institutions, business owners, and community leaders to build an equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Haven. Mr. Thomas loves to travel with his wife, shopping, socializing with family and friends, learning about other cultures, reading, playing pool, dancing, and spending time counseling anyone who needs help.

Co-founder at Realist Labs

Meet Marie Rocha, the visionary founder of Realist Ventures, a Connecticut-based venture fund investing in early-stage startups with diverse teams solving scalable problems. Since its founding in 2018, Marie navigated the landscape of venture capitalism and uncovered a common challenge faced by many founders seeking her support – they lacked the essential skills and resources needed to excel in their ventures. This realization ignited a desire to make a lasting impact in the lives of these entrepreneurs. It was then that the seeds of an idea were sown, giving birth to what would later become the force known as Realist Lab. In 2021, Realist Lab emerged, dedicated to empowering underrepresented and aspiring founders seeking to launch and scale their ventures. Realist Lab was conceived as an ecosystem of knowledge, mentorship, and support – a space where founders could not only secure capital but also gain the tools to thrive and succeed.

Co-founder at Stairs Financial

Malcolm-Wiley Floyd has a diverse work experience, starting as a Business Intern at ThinkEco Inc. in 2009. Malcolm-Wiley then interned at Thrive Capital in 2012 before joining McKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst from 2012 to 2014. Following this, they worked at Catalant Technologies as a Business Development and Strategy professional from 2014 to 2016. In 2016, they became a Business Manager at B12 until 2017 when they co-founded and served as the CEO of Swayed Technologies, Inc. until 2019. From 2019 to 2020, they were a Founder in Residence at Antler. Currently, they are the Co-Founder and CEO of Stairs Financial, which they started in 2021.

Malcolm-Wiley Floyd obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Economics from Harvard University, where they studied from 2008 to 2012. Malcolm-Wiley also attended Y Combinator and Horace Mann, but information about the degree or field of study for these institutions is not provided.

Founder at Revival

Daryl is first and foremost a fanatic older brother who always comes armed with a story about his latest adventure. Affectionately described by others as “someone you want on your team when sh** hits the fan”, Daryl brings that same intensity to the strategy and vision for Revival as he is always insistent on putting deals in front of consumers that feel like a home run.

Prior to his time in Student Debt advocacy, Daryl led design efforts for everything from small business support and Cannabis Legalization to grassroots efforts to stop broken windows policing.

Outside of work, Daryl is a marathoner, a novice sailor and that person who will facetime an old friend without any warning. More than anything, Daryl cares about access to opportunity and regularly volunteers and donates to organizations focused on helping people create a better life for themselves.