Community

Team/Community

We are founders who have built companies that succeeded and failed. We are ready to take the journey with our portfolio companies, and we bring along a community of experienced entrepreneurs and executives who deliver meaningful advice and connections that lead to revenue. The roots of our community grew from more than a decade of investing in the UCLA entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Partners

Michael Silton

Managing Director

Previously:

Executive Director, UCLA VC Fund
CEO/Founder, Rainmaker Systems (public company)
CEO/Co-Founder, UniDirect Systems (sold to Avent)

Alejandro Guerrero

General Partner

Previously:

Associate, UCLA VC Fund
CEO/Founder, UniqApp
Co-Founder, Live Entertainment Network

DENNIS ECK

Board Member of ULTA Beauty;
Act One Advisory Board

Pioneer in many aspects of retail and e-commerce systems, active supporter of education programs and women in entrepreneurship

KWANZA JONES

Artist, investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist

Co-founder and CEO of SUPERCHARGED Initiative; As an investor, she focuses on on education, entrepreneurship, equal opportunity, and empowerment

JAYATHI MURTHY

Dean of UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

CATHY HALLIGAN

Board Director at ULTA Beauty

Board director at FLIR (Nasdaq:FLIR); previously CMO at Walmart.com, VP at Blue Nile, and VP at Williams Sonoma

SUSAN ENNIS

Media and Entertainment Strategist; former Executive VP at HBO

Business builder and original architect of the HBO brand

ELAINE DAVIS

Advisor

Previously a Senior VP at Conduent, the world’s largest business process services company; and Senior VP at GSK, the world's sixth-largest pharmaceutical company

NASI PERETZ

VP of Engineering at Ticketmaster

Lecturer at USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and co-founder of both TicketMob (sold to Cvent) and WestSideRentals.com

PETER SEYMOUR

CFO of Disney/ABC

Leads one of Disney's largest business groups consisting of the non-sports television properties, and board member at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

BOB BALTERA

CEO of Hawkeye Therapeutics

Former CEO of Amira Pharma (sold for $400mm) and VP of Amgen

JEFF MILLER, PH.D

Director of California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA

Member of National Academy of Sciences, and a UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics

PAUL KESSLER

Co-Founder of Bristol Capital Advisors; Act One Advisory Board

Pioneer on Wall Street in PIPE Strategy. Invested in, provided seed capital for, and/or founded numerous successful companies

MJ JOHNSON

President of RithmPay

Former VP, Trademark & Technology Licensing, Technicolor

JOSE FELICIANO

Founding Partner, Clearlake Capital

The firm has managed more than $6 billion of institutional capital since its founding and led or co-led 100-plus investments

JACKIE PAPKOFF

Senior VP of Research at Evelo Biosciences; former VP at J&J

Deep subject matter expertise in oncology, tumor immunology, inflammation & autoimmunity

JULI STONE THIRTLE

Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting

Commercial strategy, product launch and business operating model consultant for the world's largest consulting firm

DIANA DERYCZ-KESSLER

Investor; former CEO, The Los Angeles Film School

A Latina herself, Diana supports minority entrepreneurs, private sector leader in UNESCO Teach, and co-founder of and special counsel to Bristol Capital Advisors

SUSAN FELDMAN

Co-Founder of One Kings Lane

Board of Governors at Parsons The New School for Design

ROBERTO MEDRANO

IT executive and cybersecurity pioneer

Worked in early phases of firewall, content security, and security policy; deep experience with launching and marketing products and companies

MARK BEAVEN

CEO/Founder of AAM

AAM is the most identifiable global brand for Producer and Songwriter management, exclusively representing world-class talent and their businesses