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Founder Institute Mentors

Austin Fall 2025

Founder Institute Mentors join weekly feedback sessions, host office hours, and in general provide you feedback every step of the way. In addition, through our Equity Collective, Mentors are invested in the success of your company both during and after the program.

See the list of current and past mentors for the Austin program below.

Mentors

Aaron

Aaron Ali

CEO, Helix
Aaron

Aaron Chavez

Managing Partner, (un)conventional ventures
Abdellah

Abdellah Aouf

Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Abe

Abe Chu

Co-founder & CMO, NextSeed
Abhi

Abhi Dobhal

Founder/ COO/CFO , Warehouse Republic
Abhishek

Abhishek Kumbhat

Dr, SapidBlue Technologies
Adam

Adam Weinroth

CMO & Advisor, Various Startups
Adeo

Adeo Ressi

CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
Aeryn

Aeryn Cagle

FI Mentor
Aki

Aki Ohashi

Vice President, Evolution Ventures
Albert

Albert Baez

President, Blended Sense
Alexandru

Alexandru Bogdan

Co-CEO, Linnify
Amanda

Amanda Lettmann

CEO, COO & Co-Founder, Kardia Ventures/ SimpleDisability, Inc.
Amanda

Amanda Eakin

FI Mentor
Amanda

Amanda Patterson

CEO, RocketFuel Labs
Amos

Amos Schwartzfarb

Managing Director, Techstars Austin
Andrew

Andrew Millet

Founder, Process Pro Consulting
Andy

Andy Hart

Advisor, a Mana Project
Anita

Anita Roberts

FI Mentor
Anu

Anu Pansare

CEO, Volyx
Arturo

Arturo Piña

President, ProductCamp Austin
Ashley

Ashley Jennings

Managing Director , Texas Innovation Center - Technology Commercialization at UT Austin
Ashley

Ashley Connell

CEO & Founder, Prowess Project
Becky

Becky Taylor

Interim Executive Director, Austin Technology Incubator
Ben

Ben Stacey

CEO, Pitchverk
Ben

Ben Chaib

FI Mentor
Bob

Bob Bridge

Founder and Executive Director, SWAN Impact Network
Bora

Bora Laci

Assistant Director of Programs, SMU Tower
Bre

Bre Cruickshank

Founder & CEO, Radical Girl Gang
Brendan

Brendan Kennedy

Co-President: Austin , Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs Texas
Brett

Brett Beckett

Vice President - Finance & Strategy, Realogy - Independence Title
Brian

Brian Hammer

Founder & CEO, Residual Media
Brian

Brian Childress

Architect, Technical Advisor, Calendly
Brian

Brian Sparkes

Head of Communications, Bay Angels
Brianna

Brianna Mc Kernon

Chief of Staff, Aspen Insights
Candace

Candace Ohm

Founder, Canz.Art
Candice

Candice Digby

Partnerships and Events Director, Vapor IO
Cara

Cara McCarty

CEO, Betterleave
Caroline

Caroline Healey

Director , Antler
Catalin

Catalin Briciu

Co-Founder | Co-CEO, Linnify
Chad

Chad Barrett

Business Performance Adviser, Insperity
Charles

Charles Martin

Co-Founder , Flux Bucket
Chintan

Chintan Oza

Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
Chris

Chris Palmisano

Investor, Sano Ventures, LLC
Chris

Chris Turnley

FI Mentor
Chris

Chris Smurthwaite

Founder, VC Insider
Christiana

Christiana Yebra

CEO, Vouch
Corey

Corey Rose

Vice President, Global Technology & Innovation, Opportunity Austin
Cs

Cs Freeland

Co-Founder, Texas Venture Association
Dana

Dana Rygwelski

Founding Director, MassChallenge Texas
Dana

Dana Marruffo

Principal, Buzz Public Relations, LLC
Dana

Dana Abramovitz

Founding Team, SXSW
Daniel

Daniel Alvarez

Vice President, Disruptive Technology & Disruptive Commerce, JPMorgan Chase & Co
Daniel

Daniel Hernandez

Founder & CEO, Palaterra
Daphne

Daphne Bernicker

CEO, HumanAim
Dave

Dave Heimnuck

CEO / Founder, Hidrent
Dave

Dave Blake

Owner, Spirit Pieces
David

David Kobierowski

FI Mentor
David

David Robinson Jr.

Founding Member, Blueprint Local
David

David Franklin

Founder & CEO, knowRX
David

David Gibson

FI Mentor
David

David Mandel

Managing Partner, Managing PartnerManaging Partner Emerging Ventures Fund
David

David Valentino

Managing Director, Austin Venture Association
David

David Hendrawirawan

Founder, Data Integrity First
Dean

Dean Cruse

Principal, DC Marketing
Dennis

Dennis Dayman

Startup Advisor & Seed Investor, Bluewater International, LLC
Dennis

Dennis Menendez

FI Mentor
Diane

Diane Yoo

Managing Partner, Medingenii Capital
Dianthe

Dianthe Skurko

Principal, GVC Partners
Dr. Nikki

Dr. Nikki Siso

Founder, The Conscious Collective
Dustin

Dustin Byington

FI Mentor
Ed

Ed Latson

CEO & President, Opportunity Austin
Edward

Edward Madongorere

Co-Founder, CEO, Moon
Emma

Emma Borochoff

Head of Marketing, 8fig
Emmit

Emmit Schultz

Founder & CEO, Savi, Inc.
Eric

Eric Fishhaut

President, Gelber & Associates
Eric

Eric Samdahl

CEO / Founder, GHSD Group
Eric

Eric Salwan

Co-founder, Firefly Aerospace
Erin

Erin Pitts

Founder / Creative Partner, The Label Collective
Ezinne

Ezinne Udezue

FI Mentor
Fabian

Fabian Geyrhalter

Founder and Principal, FINIEN
Francesco

Francesco Cassinerio

Mentor, Founder Institute Texas
Frankie

Frankie Arvelo

Startup Counsel, Arvelo PLLC
Franklin

Franklin Kamnang Ngansop

Cofounder , Vitamin C&S Coaching
Gabriel

Gabriel Rucker

Co-Founder & CEO, Founding Titans
Garrett

Garrett Dailey

Co-Founder; CEO, Lucid Consulting
Gennadiy

Gennadiy Goldenshteyn

Managing Partner, First Principles, LLC
Ghazi

Ghazi Saddem

CEO, Ghazi Saddem Consulting
Gray

Gray Mc Dowell

Certified Business Performance Advisor, Insperity
Guc

Guc Ozenci

Tech-Entrepreneur | Mentor | Director | Investor, Founder Institute
Guy

Guy Parker

Chief Strategy & Creative Officer, Ambient Way
Harrison

Harrison Wells

VC, Notley
Haynes

Haynes Dallas

CEO, Managed Facility Solutions (MFS),
Hazel

Hazel Chappell

CEO | Founder, ishca health Inc
Heath

Heath Butler

Founder/Managing Partner, Gestalt Growth Advisors
Heather

Heather Buffo

FI Mentor
Heidi

Heidi Leach

Vice President, Emerging Tech & Disruptive CommerceVice President, Emerging Tech & Disruptive Commerce, JP Morgan
Horacio

Horacio Rodriguez Rilo

Founder, Boop
Howard

Howard Freidman

Managing Partner, Bluechip Jets
Hugh

Hugh Forrest

Chief Programming Officer, SXSW
Ian

Ian Bidot

FI Mentor
Ignacio

Ignacio Castro

Managing Partner, 128vc
Ivelin

Ivelin Ivanov

Mentor, Founder Institute
Jacqueline

Jacqueline Hughes

Founder, Austin Startup Week
Jaleh

Jaleh Daie, Ph.D

Chairman/Founder, AgFoodHealthSpan (AFH Vertical), Band of Angels
James

James Phelan

Investment & Growth, The Cannon
Janice

Janice Omadeke

CEO, The Mentor Method
Jasmin

Jasmin Brand

Founder / CEO, Her Texas
Jasmin

Jasmin Brand

CEO and Founder, Her Texas
Jason

Jason Taylor

FI Mentor
Jason

Jason Assir

Principal Consultant, Opex Digital Consulting
Jason

Jason Scharf

Creator and Co-Host, Austin Next
Jason

Jason Rigolli

FI Mentor
Jason

Jason Rigolli

Mahdlo, CRO
Jason W.

Jason W. Taylor

President & Founder, CodeLaunch Accelerator
Javier

Javier Arriagada

Founder & CEO, Straton Investments
Javy

Javy Martinez

Managing Director | Startup Advisor | Event Host, Founder Institute North Texas
Jeff

Jeff Eversmann

Mentor, FI
Jenaro

Jenaro Diaz

Founder & CIO, Minero
Jodie

Jodie Slater Hastings

Co-Founder , The Slate
Joe

Joe Daniels

Partner, Co-Chair - Emerging Companies, Partner & Co-Chair, Emerging Companies Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Joe

Joe Beard

Founder / CEO, Advisor
Joey

Joey Jones

Co-Founder/Chief Revenue & Compliance Officer, CurveBlock Ltd
John

John Bianchi

CEO, The Omega Agency
Jonathan

Jonathan Libby

Partner Development Manager, Tableau
Jose

Jose Padilla

FI Mentor
Jose Angel

Jose Angel Ortega

Investor, VC
José Luis

José Luis Silva Vázquez

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Dux Capital
Joseph

Joseph Liu

Venture Partner, Wise Ocean
Joyce

Joyce Durst

CEO & Co-Founder , Acceleration Growth Partners
Juan

Juan Thurman

Managing General Partner, SWAN Impact Fund
Juan

Juan Martinez

Founder, HyveCity
Judy

Judy Tsuei

Founder, Wild Hearted Words
June W

June W Choi

Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
Justin

Justin Mc Kenzie

Vice President, Bandera Electric Cooperative
Katie

Katie Russel

Executive Director, Central Texas Angel Network
Kelly

Kelly Caviglia

Director - Head of Startup Banking, Bridge Bank
Ken

Ken Pomella

Business Coach & Consultant, Ken Pomella, LLC
Kendall

Kendall Gallagher

Head of Sales , Skaled
Kennie

Kennie Matthews

Chairman & CEO, M Infrastructure, Inc.
Kevin

Kevin Sharp

General Partner, WIV Ventures
K.J.

K.J. Royal

Founder, Join Sprints
Kristie

Kristie Whites

FOUNDER & CEO, Serving Social
Kristy

Kristy Alballero

Co-Founder & CFO, IOOGO
Kwame

Kwame Boler

Co-Founder & CEO, Spritz
Kyle

Kyle Wiggins

FI Mentor
Laura

Laura Kamrath

CEO, Zebra Marketing Solutions
Lauren

Lauren Washington

Co-Founder, Black Women Talk Tech/Fundr
Lauren

Lauren Postler

Founder & Managing Partner, Solution Focused
Levi

Levi McMellian

CEO | Founding Partner | Managing Director, CFO4Life
Lily

Lily Turner

Manager, Global Investment & Innovation, Opportunity Austin
Lito

Lito Rodriguez

Partner, DWX Par
Liz

Liz Deering

Owner, Haven
Logan

Logan Jennings

Managing Partner, Global Profit Advisors
Lucas

Lucas Chaya Del Pino

Entrepreneur - RE investor, CHL Rentals
Malcolm

Malcolm Woods

Founder - Alumni, Meander Travel
Mara

Mara Rada

Chief Operations and Strategy, Loon (loonbio.com)
Marc

Marc Nathan

Senior Director of Market Development, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
Marcos

Marcos Rodriguez

Mentor Investor, Rodriguez Capital Holdings LLC
Maria

Maria Pienaar

Principal, First Principles
Mariana

Mariana Muntean

Founder & CEO, Cinevva
Mariano

Mariano Gonzalez

Founder and General Partner, MGV Capital Group
Mario

Mario Soave

Founder, CleverFi
Marlon

Marlon Montgomery

Director of Technology & Product , Globant / MediaTech.ventures
Martín

Martín Martinez

Founding & Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
Maryna

Maryna Burushkina

Founder, GrowthChannel
Matt

Matt Brown

HEAD OF TECH & GLOBAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, Galaxy Venture Capital
Mauricio

Mauricio Delgado

Co-founder and CPO, Nada
Maxim

Maxim Nazarov

Investment Director , FinSight VC
Melisa

Melisa Pinto-Rivera, MS

Founder, Creativa Impact Capital
Melissa

Melissa Unsell-Smith

Co-founder and President, https://rectifydata.com
Mellie

Mellie Price

Executive Director, Texas Venture Labs, University of Texas at Austin
Mercedes

Mercedes Bankston

Founder, Funderstar LTD
Miao

Miao Yan

Global Product Manager-Alternate Energy, Xylem
Michael

Michael Morton

CEO, Morton Consulting Group
Michelle

Michelle Witt

Principal, Propelled Marketing
Mike

Mike Breck

Principal, Acuity Thinking
Mike

Mike Solow

FI Mentor
Molly

Molly Walsh

Director, Founder Institute, Miami Florida
Muhammad Hamza

Muhammad Hamza Altaf

FI Mentor
Najiba

Najiba Wajiha Mahboob

CEO, Toureela
Nakevia

Nakevia Miller

Founder, Nakevia Designs
Narek

Narek Gevorgyan

FI Mentor
Natasha

Natasha Gorodetsky

Founder&Head of Product, Product Pursuits
Nathan

Nathan Ryan

CEO and Co-Founder, Blue Sky Partners
Navin

Navin Jagannath

Principal, KRP Consulting
Neha

Neha Sampat

Founder, CEO, Contentstack
Nelly

Nelly Yusupova

Founder, TechSpeak.co
Nelly

Nelly Yusupova

Founder, TechSpeak.co
Nick

Nick Hahn

President & Founder, Creative Liberation
Nikola

Nikola Korac

CEO, Downstream IT Solutions
Noah

Noah Wallach

Founder, Hope OS
Oji

Oji Udezue

FI Mentor
Oleg

Oleg Lysiak

Partner Success Manager, Honeycomb Software
Omar

Omar Zaki

Founder, Qima Ventures
Pablo

Pablo Vidal Arean

CMO, VC Lab
Paola

Paola Origel

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, ChainLink Capital
Paul

Paul O'Brien

CEO, MediaTech Ventures
Pavan

Pavan Kumar

Founder, 3pmVentures
Peter

Peter Busch

FI Mentor
Prerna

Prerna Sharma

Associate Partner , Antler
Q

Q Manning

Head of Design, SmartAC.com
Rafael

Rafael Kartaszynski

CEO, TechEdge Developers
Rahul

Rahul Agarwal

Principal Technical Product Manager, Hasura
Rajesh

Rajesh Gopi

FI Mentor
Ram

Ram Prasad

Fractional CPO/CTO, Delence
Richard

Richard Delgado

Partner, ERA Capital Partners
Riley

Riley Knox

Founder, Accelerate3D
Robert

Robert Balderas

Founder & CEO, Bob's Containers
Rogelio

Rogelio De los Santos

Cofounder and Managing Partner, Dalus Capital & FI Monterrey
Roger

Roger Heaston

President & CEO, Refinition
Roland

Roland Peña

SVP Global Tech & Innovation, Opportunity Austin
Saima

Saima Siddiqui

Director of Product Management, Joyride.com
Sally

Sally Aiello

Business Development, Walmart
Samuel

Samuel Riehn

Chief Executive Officer, SBIR Advisors Inc.
Sara

Sara Davidson

Managing Partner, Undeniable Ventures
Scott G.

Scott G. Cornelius

VP, Refinition
Sean

Sean Bauld

Founder & Chief Experiment Officer, spxk
Sean

Sean Voigt

Founder & Managing Director, Mount Koya Capital & Advisors
Sebastien

Sebastien Long

Founder & CEO, Lodgeur
Shane

Shane Brechmann

Founder & CEO, Topmost Ventures
Shelby

Shelby Stephens

Founder & CEO, GrowthMatch
Shlomi

Shlomi Podgaetz

Director/CEO, Rizasmart Consulting
Shree

Shree Moorthy

Senior Vice President, Vertex Software
Sloan

Sloan Foster

Principal , Envisage Associates
Sneha

Sneha Lundia Agrawal

Founder & CEO, Step2Growth
Sophia

Sophia Clark

Founder & Creative Director, Galiatea
Stefan

Stefan Brunner

Angel Investor , CTAN
Stephanie

Stephanie Lopez

Vice President, JPMorgan Chase & Co
Stephanie

Stephanie Mc Kee Zielinski

Host & Producer, INSIDE.COM
Sterling

Sterling Smith

CEO, Sandbox Commerce
Steve

Steve Jennis

Founder and CEO, Jennis Consulting Group
Tarun

Tarun Gulati

Founder & CEO, Adios
Taylor

Taylor Johnson

Partner, Performance Coach, The Liminal Collective
Thom

Thom Singer

CEO, Austin Technology Council
Tiana

Tiana Laurence

GP, Laurence Innovation
Tim

Tim De Silva

Founder & CEO, Culture Pilot
Tony

Tony Banning

Chairman, Smash
Trey

Trey Ikard

FI Mentor
Ty

Ty Audronis

Founder/ ceo, Tempest Droneworx
Ty

Ty Audronis

CEO, Tempest Droneworx
Tyler

Tyler Durman

CEO & Founder, Ignition Growth Consulting
Ugochi

Ugochi Owo

CEO, Flindel
Unnat

Unnat Bak

CEO, Revscale
Valentina

Valentina Gomez

CX-UX-UI Designer, Yonderinteractive
Valliappan

Valliappan Narayanan

Director of Engineering, AT&T
Vidhi

Vidhi Data

FI Mentor
Vivek

Vivek Dixit

Managing Partner , 369 Growth Partners
Wesley

Wesley Grottesman

Partner, Brand Foundry Ventures
William

William Douglas

CEO, OpticWise
Wogbe

Wogbe Ofori

Founder, Wrx Companies
Yagub

Yagub Rahimov

Founder, Polygraf AI
Yemi

Yemi Oluseun

Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
Yj

Yj Lin

Senior Program Manager, Dell
YJ

YJ Lin

Program Manager, Dell for Entrepreneurs

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