Orange County California is home to numerous successful companies and promising startups, so it’s only natural that it also serves as a hub of entrepreneurial expertise.
Since launching in 2014, the Orange County Founder Institute has helped launch more than 15 up-and-coming OC startups, but none of these companies would be where they are today without the help of experienced FI mentors to guide them through the challenges.
Our Mentors provide the passion and support needed to help the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed, sharing best practices and critical feedback throughout the company-launch process. And, while our Mentors are constantly reviewing and rating the progress of participants in the Founder Institute program, the Mentors themselves are also rated anonymously by the program participants to determine their share of the Graduate Liquidity Pool. This incentivizes FI Mentors to go above and beyond in helping our companies succeed.
There are over 30 total Orange County Founder Institute Mentors, and while all of these Mentors provide an invaluable service to our Founders, below are the Mentors that have gone above and beyond to garner the highest ratings from program participants:
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1. Jeff Jackel (Co-Founder & CEO of BuzzMob/ Chatter Inc) Jeff Jackel is Co-Founder and CEO of Chatter, a software development company known for its flagship product, BuzzMob, a cross-platform communication solution in education technology. He also has over 12 years creating and building businesses in a variety of industries. |
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2. Atul Patel (Co-Founder of Optimal.com, Startup Advisor) Atul Patel was the Founder and CEO of OneScreen. He also has help found Optimal (acquired), a leading social marketing and analytics platform, and LeadiD, a leading direct marketing trust and compliance platform. He has experience in both startups and large corporations. |
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3. Chris Hawkins (Co-Founder, SignNow, GM at Barracuda) Chris Hawkins is the General Manager of Barracuda, an industry-leading IT solution. He has was also the CEO and Co-Founder SignNow, the first online notary, and served as the President of Bold Group, which creates innovative software and process improvements for niche financial firms. |
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4. Andrew Bermudez (Co-Founder & CEO of Digsy) Andrew has over 12 years of hands-on experience in the commercial real estate brokerage field, and has developed online applications that help automate complex and repetitive processes. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Digsy, an on-demand commercial real estate brokerage service. |
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5. Azad Virk (Corporate Attorney at Stradling) Azad Virk is a Corporate Attorney at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, which represents Southern California’s most innovative emerging growth companies, as well as Fortune 500 and global organizations. |
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6. Jeff Curie (CEO of Bitvore) Jeff Curie specializes in creating valued business solutions and industry-leading companies from emerging technologies. He is the CEO of Bitvore, an SaaS personalized intelligence gathering system that provides companies with their own "NSA in a box". |
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7. Carey Ransom (CXO at Payoff) Carey Ransom currently serves as the CXO at Payoff, a technology-enabled, consumer-focused financial services company, and is a Board Member at OCTANe OC, which is dedicated to connects people and ideas with capital and resources to fuel technology growth in Orange County. |
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8. Vince Bianco (CEO of Advanced Medical Reviews) Vince Bianco is currently the CEO of Advanced Medical Reviews, and has held numerous titles at major tech companies, including Interim Executive at OneAccord, EVP of Sales & Marketing at Meracord, and VP of Business Development at iBN Sports. |
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9. Malcolm Lewis (Founder & CEO, RefGo) Malcolm Lewis has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. He is currently the SVP of Marketing Solutions at WorkWave, a leader in the massive industries of field service management that aquired his company RefGo. He was also the Founder & CEO of Zellba, a marketplace for home sellers and real estate agents. |
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10. Russell Stern (CEO of Solarflare Communications) Russell Stern is the CEO of Solarflare Communications, the leading provider of application-intelligent networking I/O software and hardware. His previous roles include Board Director of Newport Media, President and CEO of the JNI Corporation, and COO of Quantum. |
Could you use expert training and feedback to launch a company in Orange County? Then apply to the Orange County Founder Institute today, or check out an upcoming free startup event.
