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Founder Institute Mentors

San Diego 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 San Diego program below.

Mentors

Aaron

Aaron Keith

CEO, Buildify Systems
Abdellah

Abdellah Aouf

Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Adam

Adam Montgomery

Fundraising Manager, Wefunder
A.J.

A.J. Noronha

FI Mentor
Al

Al Bsharah

Interlock Capital, Managing Partner
Albert

Albert Chow

Principal, Anabatic LLC
Alex

Alex Bard

Founder & CEO, Assistly
Alex

Alex Green

Founder, Kanshi LLC
Alexa

Alexa Ramos

Marketing, Individual
Amar

Amar Harrag

CEO, Allied Green Realty
Amir

Amir Emadi

CEO, Skylift Global
Andrew

Andrew Gottlieb

Founder & CEO, No Typical Moments
Andy

Andy White

Startup Operations, Keshif Ventures
Angel

Angel Gambino

Founder, Angel Club
Annie

Annie Brown

Founder, Lips
Anshul

Anshul Shah

Head of Accounting and CFO Partnerships, Brex
Anton

Anton Monk

Co-Founder/ VP of Technology , Entropic Communications
Austin

Austin Neudecker

Managing Partner, Weave Growth Partners
Aviv

Aviv Shalgi

CEO, Solar Simplified
Bardia

Bardia Moayedi

Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Ben

Ben Stacey

CEO, Pitchverk
Ben

Ben Cote

Mentor, Founder Institute
Bill

Bill Fields

NC Market Leader for Venture Debt, Bridge Bank
Bill

Bill Nelson

President & Technical Advisor, Targeted Performance
Bow

Bow Rodgers

FI Mentor
Brad

Brad Feld

Managing Director, Foundry Group
Brandon

Brandon Noel

Entrpreneur, Data Droplets Inc.
Brandon

Brandon Noel

CEO, Droplets
Brendan

Brendan Aronson

CEO, The Military Veteran
Brian

Brian Storms

no title, No company
Brian

Brian Ford

Partnership Director, Founder Institute San Diego
Brian

Brian Olearczyk

CRO, RevCult
Bryant

Bryant Walker

Founder & CEO, TAVO Media Group
Carl

Carl Thomas

Chief Revenue and Business Development Officer, Hookit
Carlo

Carlo Rivis

CEO & Founder, Innovation Discovery
Caroline

Caroline Arzoo

Partnerships, TurboSBIR
Cassius

Cassius Kiani

Founder & Head of Product , Mora.com
Chad

Chad Cazel

Managing Partner, Blackwing VC
Chase

Chase Harmer

CEO, Wishes
Chintan

Chintan Oza

Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
Chris

Chris Capdevila

Founder & Former CEO, LogicalApps
Chris

Chris Carter

CEO & Co Founder, VideoFort
Chris

Chris Foltz

Entrepreneur In Residence, Founder Institute + Responsible Solutions Ltd + IRG 100 CMO's & Change Agents
Chris

Chris Stott

Founder and CEO, Lonestar Data
Christina

Christina Adams

FI Mentor
Christine "Chrissy"

Christine "Chrissy" McDannell

Principle, The Magnolia Firm
Cleve

Cleve Adams

FI Mentor
Coco

Coco Sellman

Entrepreneur & Angel Investor, Remarkable Ventures
Court

Court Lorenzini

Co-founder, Docusign
Courtney

Courtney Gant

CEO & Co-Founder, Skooltopia
Craig

Craig Swiatek

FI Mentor
Craig

Craig Cummings

General Partner, Moonshots Captial
Dan

Dan O'neill

VP Engineering, Certona
Dan

Dan Chapman

Founder, Dan Chapman Consulting
Dane

Dane Drotts

CoFounder, TangoCode
Daniel

Daniel O'neil

Executive Director, Smart Chicago Collaborative
Daniel

Daniel Obodovski

Co-founder, Managing Partner, Diosys Technologies LLC
Daniel

Daniel Arroyo

President & CTO, AstroPrint
Daniel

Daniel Shires

Consultant, Independent
Darryl

Darryl Rettig

Co Founder & CTO, DonationMatch
Dave

Dave Tompkins

Founder, 550 Capital Partners
Dave

Dave Saxton

FI Mentor
David

David Stevens

Founder & CEO, Hydroponic Creations
David

David Metzler

Managing Director, Serenity Ventures
David

David Steel

CEO, EveryoneLinked
David

David Baird

FI Mentor
DC

DC Palter

Angel Investor, Tech Coast Angels
Dennis

Dennis Volpe

Partner, Leadership Research Institute
Derren

Derren Burrell

Venture Capitalist, Veteran Ventures
Derrick

Derrick Oien

FI Mentor
Ed

Ed Cleary

Principal, Root Strategy Group
Ellen

Ellen Chang

Partner, Lightspeed Innovations
Emily

Emily McMahan

Partner, Academy Investor Network
Eric

Eric Grab

Aspiring Explorer, Technologist, Advisor, and Coach, Formerly: Amazon, Booz Allen, DivX, Jaunt, San Diego State
Eric

Eric Weiss

Executive Coach, Full Cycle Executive Coaching
Erik

Erik Smolinski

FI Mentor
Ernestine

Ernestine Fu

General Partner, Brave Capital
Fabian

Fabian Geyrhalter

Founder and Principal, FINIEN
Farooq

Farooq Anjum, Ph D

Co Founder & CEO, Gro Guru
Florent

Florent Groberg

Azure Global Government Expansion, Microsoft
Flossie

Flossie Hall

Director Of Community Relations, Stella Labs
Frank

Frank Peters

Founder & Host, Frank Peters Show
Frank

Frank Mastronuzzi

Founding Partner, Punch Financial
Fred

Fred Morrison

CEO, Simplexity
Gary

Gary Raju

FI Mentor
Gary

Gary Peterson

CEO, AllSeater
Gaurav

Gaurav Bhattacharya

CEO, Involve.ai
Gaurav

Gaurav Bhattacharya

CEO & Co-Founder , Involve.ai
Genevieve

Genevieve Le Marchal

Managing Partner, Suncoast Ventures
George

George Stepancich

CEO, Invisionate
George

George Ploss

FI Mentor
Gina

Gina Campbell

Strategy & Demand Gen (Direct to Consumer Group), SONY, Formerly DivX, MP3.com.
Grant

Grant Creighton

CEO & Founder, LooperLink - LOOPER Golf
Grant

Grant Winns

CEO, Yuna
Greg

Greg Call

FI Mentor
Greg

Greg Moser

President & CTO, ShipCalm
Hayley

Hayley Evans

Co Founder, Women Making Waves
Ian

Ian Suttle

Engineering Director, Google
Irina

Irina Kukuyeva PhD

AI due diligence, Kukuyeva Consulting
Iva

Iva Teixeira

CEO, The Good Face Project
Jacob

Jacob Sapochnick

CEO, Sapochnick Law Firm
James

James Schmachtenberger

CEO, Neurohacker Collective
James

James Africano

General Partner, Regolith Ventures
James

James Hereford

Co-Founder, Launch Factory
Jason

Jason Pang

COO, Bodymatter, Inc.
Jason

Jason Liebrecht

VP of Technology, Activbody Inc
Jason

Jason Zinn

Partner, Emerged, Inc.
Jeff

Jeff Smith

CEO, Growth Catalyst
Jeff

Jeff Balka

Business Growth & Entrepreneurship Lead - Military & Veterans Affairs, JP Morgan Chase
Jeffrey

Jeffrey Martinez

FI Mentor
Jenni

Jenni Wu

FI Mentor
Jennifer

Jennifer Pilcher

Founder & CEO , Strategic Military Communications, LLC
Jenny

Jenny Rodriguez

CEO & Founder, IVOREEZ
Jerome

Jerome Soucy

People & Operations, Hykso FightCamp
Jess

Jess Ewart

Senior Partner, New World Ventures
Jesse

Jesse S

Principal, Terra Legacy
Jessica

Jessica Pratt

Senior Vice President of Sales, Pop & Bottle
Jim

Jim Carlson

Founder, DFL Technology
Joe

Joe Bezdek

Co-founder, DivX, Inc.
John

John Zdanowski

Co-Founder, Assembled Brands
John

John Stilo

CFO, Peerlogic Inc
Jon

Jon Carder

CoFounder and CEO , Empyr
Jon

Jon Carder

CEO, Vessel Health
Jon

Jon Turdiev

Senior Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services
Jonah

Jonah Peake

Founder, the Social Coyote
Joris

Joris Delanoue

FI Mentor
Jose

Jose Doval

CEO & Founder , XBand Sports
Joshua

Joshua Awad

FI Mentor
Joshua

Joshua Pacheco

Associate, Military & Veteran Affairs, JP Morgan Chase
Juan

Juan Toledano

CoFounder, Sundaze
Judy

Judy Tsuei

Founder, Wild Hearted Words
Justin

Justin Renfro

Director of Partnerships, WeFunder
Justin

Justin Nahama

Partner, FisherBroyles, LLP
Kelly

Kelly Perdew

Cofounder, Moonshots Capital
Kelly

Kelly Conkright

Founder, The Brand Terminal
Ken

Ken Wahlster

Founder & CEO, BikeBandit.com
Ken

Ken Davenport

CEO, Mission Edge
Kim

Kim Walpole

Co-Founder / CEO, Trials.ai
Lance

Lance Cottrell

Founder, Feel the Boot
Larry

Larry Kesslin

Founder, Libr8
Lauren

Lauren Postler

Founder & Managing Partner, Solution Focused
Lauren

Lauren Rowley

Director of Investor Relations, Stella Impact Capital
Lee

Lee Mills

CEO, Pixly
Leo

Leo Spiegel

Managing Partner, Mission Ventures
Lisa Song

Lisa Song Sutton

General Partner, The Veteran Fund
Louie

Louie Balasny

Director of Tech and VC, First Republic Bank
Lucas

Lucas Root

Founder, CEO, SGIC Consulting
Mara

Mara Rada

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

Marc Spencer

Founder, The Recharge Group
Marcus

Marcus Haney

CEO, Allegiant Vets
Maria

Maria Pope

Community Manager, Republic
Mark

Mark Haney

CEO , HaneyBiz
Mark

Mark How

CEO, NewGrowth & Origins eCommerce
Mark

Mark Schmid

CEO, Art Function
Mark

Mark Divine

Navy SEAL, Author and CEO, Unbeatable, LLC
Martín

Martín Martinez

Founding & Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
Matthew

Matthew Hedayat

CEO and COO, Stanford Technical Group
Melissa

Melissa Li

Managing Partner and Head of Community, Dorm Room Fund
Merrin

Merrin Muxlow

Executive Director, TiE South Coast
Michael

Michael Davidovich

Founder, Direct EDI, Inc.
Michael

Michael Floyd

Software Engineering and Product Management Leader, Freelance Software Engineering and Product Management Consultant
Michaela

Michaela Keady

Michaela Keady, Zendesk
Michel

Michel Kripalani

CEO, Oceanhouse Media
Mike

Mike Sherbakov

General Partner, The Veteran Fund
Mike

Mike Steadman

CEO, IRONBOUND Media
Mysty

Mysty Rusk

Executive Director, USD School of Business
Nate

Nate Mason

VC, Starburst Aero
Nate

Nate Parsons

Limited Partner, The Veteran Fund
Nathan

Nathan Gray

FI Mentor
Neal

Neal Bloom

Managing Partner, Interlock Capital
Neil

Neil Senturia

CEO, Blackbird Ventures
Nektar

Nektar Baziotis

Founder, ICARUS
Nelly

Nelly Yusupova

Founder, TechSpeak.co
Nerissa

Nerissa Zhang

CEO, Bright App
Noah

Noah Wallach

Founder, Hope OS
Oliver

Oliver Muoto

FI Mentor
Pablo A.

Pablo A. Fernandez

CEO, Secret Table
Parker

Parker Harris

CEO, Junto Global
Pat

Pat Walsh

FI Mentor
Paula

Paula Sweis

Principal, SILVERWEISS International
Pete

Pete Biggam

Director / Mentor / Advisor, Founder Institute
Pete

Pete DiSalvo

Founding Partner, Blackwing Ventures
Peter

Peter Shaw

Managing Director , Procopio Business Advisors
Ramesh

Ramesh Dontha

FI Mentor
Rebeca

Rebeca Hwang

GP, Kalei Ventures
Regina

Regina Bernal

CEO, Trailblazer
Reid

Reid Carr

CEO & Founder, Red Door Interactive
Rhana

Rhana Pytell Kozak

CEO & Founder , BRIGHTERSTEP
Rhett

Rhett Jeppson

Military and Veterans Affairs - Director of External Programs, JP Morgan Chase
Ricardo

Ricardo Dos Santos

Sr Director of New Business Development , Biological Dynamics
Rick

Rick Valencia

Founder, ProfitLine
Rishi

Rishi Sharma

West Coast Lead , Newlin VC
Robert

Robert Pruter

CRO, SPHER, Inc.
Rocco

Rocco Cortese

President, Entrepreneurs Organization (E.O.)
Rod

Rod Loges

CEO, One Degree Financial
Roger

Roger Rappoport

Partner, Procopio
Rosie

Rosie Arango

COO, Bright App
Rupak

Rupak Doshi

CEO, TurboSBIR
Russell

Russell Brand

CEO & Founder, Responsible Solutions Limited
Russell

Russell Wardhaugh

PEO Consultant, TriNet
Ryan

Ryan Tseng

Co Founder, Warehouse Innovations
Ryan

Ryan Micheletti

Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
Saba

Saba Karim

Entrepreneur & Investor, Techstars
Safa

Safa Aliabadi

Managing Director- Innovation & Tech Banking , Citizens Private Bank
Sagar

Sagar Pande

Co-founder, Blaze Power
Sameer

Sameer Sortur

Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Samuel

Samuel Riehn

Chief Executive Officer, SBIR Advisors Inc.
Sara

Sara Ledterman

General Partner, 3+ Ventures
Sarah

Sarah Apsel

Angel Investor, 37 Angels
Scot

Scot Chisholm

CEO & Chairman, StayClassy
Scott

Scott Davis

Director of Veteran Entrepreneuership, PenFed Foundation
Shahi

Shahi Ghanem

Managing Director, WI Harper Group
Shahin

Shahin Enayati

Managing Director, Made Noble Corporation
Shaiwal

Shaiwal Priyadarshi

CTO, Co-Founder, MetaMedia
Shaun

Shaun Alger

CRO, Volohaus
Stacey

Stacey Cooper

Partner, Stacey Cooper Law
Stanley

Stanley McChrystal

CEO and CoFounder, McChrystal Group
Steven

Steven Morley

Business Advisor, Success4Execs
Stuart

Stuart Volkow

Program Manager, UCSD
Taj

Taj Adhav

Founder, Leasecake
Tanaka

Tanaka Mawindi

FI Mentor
Tarun

Tarun Gulati

Founder & CEO, Adios
Tay

Tay Nguyen

Owner, Gate Consulting
Taylor

Taylor Mc Lemore

Managing Director, Techstars
Tim

Tim Hsia

Managing Partner, Context VC
Tirrell

Tirrell Payton

Tirrell Payton - Founder & CEO, Kaliki (San Diego FI), Kaliki
Todd

Todd Goldstein

EVP, Global Partnerships & Business Development, Talent Inc.
Tom

Tom Walpole

CTO, TrialsAi
Tony

Tony Murphy

Founder & Principal, Ask Tony
Trevor

Trevor Longino

Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
Troy

Troy Hazard

Global President, Entrepreneurs Organization
Tucker

Tucker Hamilton

Commander, F-35 Integrated Test Force, US Air Force
Ty

Ty Vachon

CEO, ORA Informatics
Tyson

Tyson Mc Dowell

President, Avadyne Health
Vern

Vern Chan

Certified Startup Coach, Your Pivot
Vladimir

Vladimir Pletyukhin

Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
Yann

Yann Deredec

CEO, Yama Group
Yemi

Yemi Oluseun

Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive

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