Ivan Soto-Wright, Co-Founder and CEO of MoonPay
Ivan Soto-Wright is a financial technology entrepreneur, investor, and early adopter of digital assets. He is co-founder & CEO of MoonPay. He is also founder & general partner at HODL, a venture capital fund and company builder. Ivan received his B.S in Economics from GW.
Jon Halpern, President and Co-Founder of Pineapple Payments
Jon Halpern, a proven entrepreneur and leader through various for-profit and not-for-profit ventures, joined the Pineapple Payments team in 2016 as president to execute on Pineapple’s vision for the future of payments. As a sophomore in college at The George Washington University, Jon co-founded his first company, AthleteTrax, in 2012 to revolutionize the way recreational sports leagues and facilities leverage technology to accept payments and manage their businesses. He graduated from GW with BBA in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship.
Carey Anne Nadeau, Co-CEO at LOOP
Carey Anne Nadeau is a Co-CEO at LOOP. Previously, Carey Anne did research for the Brookings Institution, the premier Washington D.C.-based think tank, focusing on measuring the economic impact of social policy in cities. Prior to founding LOOP, Nadeau had obtained her Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a focus in Public Policy from GW and Masters from MIT and founded a prior company which built applied Artificial Intelligence models for corporate and government clients.
Ed Barrientos, President and CEO of Brazen Careerist
Brazen Careerist is a career-focused social networking site targeting Gen Y. Ed is also Managing Partner of Zeitgeist Holdings, LLC, an angel investment firm focused on investing in early stage technology companies. As a well-known serial entrepreneur (Arc Second, Max Schlatterer GmbH), Ed is very engaged with university students, entrepreneurship groups, and angel investment forums. He holds an M.B.A. from GW and serves on the Board of Advisors for the GW School of Business.
Warren Brown, Founder of CakeLove and LoveCafe
TV personality, author, and entrepreneur, Warren Brown first started his bakery, CakeLove, in 2002, and now operates seven storefronts in the DC area. He also hosted the Food Network TV show "Sugar Rush" from 2005 to 2007. Warren holds two degrees from GW, a J.D. and an M.P.H. and has been profiled by GW Today. Daron Coates, Managing Director of ThinkBox Group
ThinkBox Group is an emerging leader in the energy as a service industry with an experienced team of entrepreneurs, engineers, financiers and business leaders. TBG has developed over $200M in renewable evergy, distributed generation, energy / water efficiency and operations technology projects that will generate more than $10M in coast savings annually. Daron Coates graduated from the GW School of Business with an EMBA in '71.
Bo Davis, Founder of Prometheus and Wasabi Sushi
With its roots as GW's original course management software, Prometheus was founded by Bo Davis in 1997, and merged with Blackboard in 2002. Bo now also owns Wasabi Sushi, a restaurant with three locations in the District. In a recent Entrepreneur magazine article he acknowledges the critical role that GW entrepreneurship professor George Solomon played in helping Bo found Prometheus. Bo received his B.A. in Philosophy from GW in 1997. Dylan Fox, Founder and CEO of Crowdvance
Crowdvance has given hundreds of small organizations across the country (i.e. youth sports teams and student organizations) the ability to collect donations online. In exchange, Crowdvance rewards donors with exclusive perks such as concert tickets, movie tickets and apparel. Dylan led Crowdvance to a 3rd place win in the 2012 GW Business Plan Competition, and in 2013, Crowdvance won the $15,000 first prize at an international business plan competition at Texas Christian University. Dylan is a recent graduate of the GW School of Business, 2013.
Allen Gannett, CEO of TrackMaven
TrackMaven provides insights into your marketing performance, competitors, content, and campaign strategy, so you can focus on differentiating your message. Thier mission is to make marketers more effective through data that is understandable and actionable. Allen received his Bachelors Degree in Political Science from GW.
Todd Glassman, General Counsel at 2U, Inc.
Education is one of the most powerful drivers of change and upward mobility. 2U empowers forward-thinking universities to reimagine education, ensuring that students everywhwere can dream bigger, reach their highest potential and fulfill their aspirations through life-changing educational experiences. Todd holds a BBA from GW.
Sarah Hillware, Founder of Girls Health Ed
Sarah Hillware is a social entrepreneur, marketing, and communications strategist. She is also the Founder of Girls Health Ed, a nonprofit health education program for girls and young women ages 8 to 17 throughout the US and Kenya, which she started while she was a student at GW. She has given two TEDx talks on the empowerment of girls and women, and writes for The Huffington Post in her spare time.
Paul Orentas, Managing Principal at ThinkBox Group
ThinkBox Group is an emerging leader in the energy as a service industry with an experienced team of entrepreneurs, engineers, financiers and business leaders. TBG has developed over $200M in renewable evergy, distributed generation, energy / water efficiency and operations technology projects that will generate more than $10M in coast savings annually. Paul Orentas graduated from the GW School of Business with an EMBA in '96.
Chip Paucek, CEO and Co-Founder of 2U, Inc.
Education is one of the most powerful drivers of change and upward mobility. 2U empowers forward-thinking universities to reimagine education, ensuring that students everywhwere can dream bigger, reach their highest potential and fulfill their aspirations through life-changing educational experiences. Chip holds a BA in Political Communication from GW.
Andrew Perlman, CEO and Director of Vringo, Inc.
Vringo, Inc. is engaged in the innovation, development and monetization of mobile technologies and intellectual property. Vringo's patent portfolio consists of 31 patents and applications, 11 of which have been granted. Andrew has an extensive background in the technology and entertainment industries. He received his Bachelors Degree from GW.
Michael Quinn, Founding Partner of Q Advisors
Michael Quinn, founding partner of Q Advisors, brings a unique and highly valuable background to telecom, media, and technology (TMT) investment banking that combines finance, hands-on M&A experience, and law. With more than 25 years of international operations and investment banking experience in the telecommunications industry, Michael has originated, structured, and executed more than 100 deals totaling more than $4 billion in transaction value. Michael received a B.A. in International Affairs from GW. He is currently on the Advisory Board of the GW School of Business and on the Board of the Elliott School of International Affairs at GW.
Roland Schumann, Co-Founder of SwapDrive
Roland Schumann and GW classmate Marc Wallace founded SwapDrive with seed money provided by their GWSB professor, William Money. SwapDrive offers online storage solutions and was acquired by Symantec in 2008 for $123 million. Roland earned his GW M.S. degree in Information Systems Management.
Junaid Shams, Co-Founder of GSM Nation
GSM Nation provides contract-free retail and wholesale service to one of the largest selections of smart-phones in the market. Junaid has been recognized nationally - Bloomberg Businessweek's "Top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25" and Under30CEO's "Top 30 Most Influential Entrepreneurs under 30." In 2012, GSM Nation was selected as one of the top 100 companies by Empact100, and received the "Most Industry Disruptive Company" award during the White House ceremony. Junaid and GSM Nation have also been featured in Entrepreneur and Forbes Magazine, which all showcases the company's tremendous growth in the last 4 years. Junaid earned his bachelor's degree in Public Health in 2008 and an M.D. in 2013.
Anthony Shop, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Social Driver
Social Driver partners with their clients to drive results with social-fueled strategies. This approach is integrated into everything that they do from design and development, to engineering and social media strategy. Anthony led Social Driver to win First Place during the 2011 Business Plan Competition. Anthony receieved his MBA from GW.
Amber Wason, Owner and Co-Founder of Riide Electric Bicycles
Riide is contributing to the urban renaissance of local manufacturing emerging in metropolitan cities all around the United States by providing an electric bike for busy millenials who want to avoid an unpredictable transportation system, perennially clogged roads and endless, daunting hills. Bicycles are made right in DC. Amber received her Bachelors Degree in International Business and Marketing.
Jason Zocks, Executive Vice President of Program Management at 2U, Inc.
Education is one of the most powerful drivers of change and upward mobility. 2U empowers forward-thinking universities to reimagine education, ensuring that students everywhwere can dream bigger, reach their highest potential and fulfill their aspirations through life-changing educational experiences. Jason holds a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from GW.
