Mentors & Judges
Many thanks to the judges, mentors, and speakers who are volunteering their time for the Navajo and Apache Counties 2019 Pioneer Pitch!
Aram Chavez -- Faculty, Arizona State University, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and founder of Aha to Exit
If you read Venture Beat or Crunchbase, it often sounds like startup unicorns go directly from idea to exit, without too much time or effort in between. But, the truth is that startup giants like Uber, Airbnb, and Slack were in business 8-10 years before they gained the widespread public attention they have today.
What were they doing all that time? Following the predictable path that most startups need to follow from AHA! to Exit. Listen as Aram Chavez, entrepreneur, speaker, and former investment banker turned professor of entrepreneurship at ASU shares the key milestones every startup needs to hit on their way to mega-success. Co-developed by Chavez and fellow professor Steven Cho, the map outlines the ten steps every startup needs to take on their way to a unicorn exit.
If you read Venture Beat or Crunchbase, it often sounds like startup unicorns go directly from idea to exit, without too much time or effort in between. But, the truth is that startup giants like Uber, Airbnb, and Slack were in business 8-10 years before they gained the widespread public attention they have today.
What were they doing all that time? Following the predictable path that most startups need to follow from AHA! to Exit. Listen as Aram Chavez, entrepreneur, speaker, and former investment banker turned professor of entrepreneurship at ASU shares the key milestones every startup needs to hit on their way to mega-success. Co-developed by Chavez and fellow professor Steven Cho, the map outlines the ten steps every startup needs to take on their way to a unicorn exit.
Paul Thomas -- Executive in Residence, Moonshot at NACET and NAU professor
After a nearly 30 year career as a successful President and CEO, where I led both Public and Venture backed Technology Companies and raised more than $130M in Venture Capital I returned to Flagstaff, Arizona and started a new career.
In the summer of 2013 I returned to Northern Arizona University as an Executive in Residence and Assistant Professor of Practice at the WA Franke College of Business. In 2015 I started as Chief Entrepreneur for the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET) new Accelerator. In 2016 I became the CEO for Northern Arizona Leadership Alliance (NALA). I have the absolute best career in the world in that I spend my days working with students, start-ups, and fellow CEOs all working to make Northern Arizona thrive and succeed. Specialties: Experience in executive management, fund raising, start-ups, M&A, corporate restructuring, channels, sale & marketing, and all aspects of operations. Find Paul here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomastpaul
After a nearly 30 year career as a successful President and CEO, where I led both Public and Venture backed Technology Companies and raised more than $130M in Venture Capital I returned to Flagstaff, Arizona and started a new career.
In the summer of 2013 I returned to Northern Arizona University as an Executive in Residence and Assistant Professor of Practice at the WA Franke College of Business. In 2015 I started as Chief Entrepreneur for the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET) new Accelerator. In 2016 I became the CEO for Northern Arizona Leadership Alliance (NALA). I have the absolute best career in the world in that I spend my days working with students, start-ups, and fellow CEOs all working to make Northern Arizona thrive and succeed. Specialties: Experience in executive management, fund raising, start-ups, M&A, corporate restructuring, channels, sale & marketing, and all aspects of operations. Find Paul here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomastpaul
Kiersten Hathcock -- Entrepreneur, Shark Tank winner, and Tedx Speaker.
Kiersten Hathcock is an ex-TV marketing executive turned self-taught furniture designer/carpenter. In 2007, she founded Mod Mom Furniture while teaching herself to build furniture. For three and a half years, she built everything in her four hundred square foot garage until 2011 when she outsourced manufacturing here in the US. Over the years, Mod Mom Furniture has not only been featured in magazines, TV shows like Shark Tank and The Nate Berkus Show, and modern design books but is being purchased by families, celebrities, and interior designers from around the globe. Celebrities like Christina Applegate and Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camilla as well and tastemakers like Rachel Zoe flocked to Mod Mom for unique, stylish, eco-friendly furniture. In November 2018, Kiersten delivered a Ted Talk entitled, "Become the Carpenter of Your Life." | Website: Mod Mom Furniture |
Kiersten Hathcock is an ex-TV marketing executive turned self-taught furniture designer/carpenter. In 2007, she founded Mod Mom Furniture while teaching herself to build furniture. For three and a half years, she built everything in her four hundred square foot garage until 2011 when she outsourced manufacturing here in the US. Over the years, Mod Mom Furniture has not only been featured in magazines, TV shows like Shark Tank and The Nate Berkus Show, and modern design books but is being purchased by families, celebrities, and interior designers from around the globe. Celebrities like Christina Applegate and Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camilla as well and tastemakers like Rachel Zoe flocked to Mod Mom for unique, stylish, eco-friendly furniture. In November 2018, Kiersten delivered a Ted Talk entitled, "Become the Carpenter of Your Life." | Website: Mod Mom Furniture |
Scott Hathcock -- CEO, Moonshot at NACET
For the past two years, Scott Hathcock has served as the President and CEO of Moonshot at NACET, a nonprofit incubator/accelerator entrepreneur program based inFlagstaff, AZ. In addition to assisting company founders directly, Moonshot at NACET also manages and oversees incubator programs for developing rural areas in creating eco-systems for entrepreneurs to thrive across the state of Arizona. This past year, Moonshot at NACET programs also extended beyond the state and are now being received in Nevada and Washington.
In 2018, Flagstaff's program alone secured $4M in grants and capital for their members, created 221 full-time jobs, and member companies have generated $3.16M inrevenue. In October of 2018, Hathcock announced a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) making the city of Flagstaff the very first AWS CloudStart City inthe United States. This new collaboration allows for start-ups to accelerate scale using Amazon's cloud services as well as create and “AWS certify” a workforce development pipeline of talent for these companies. Moonshot at NACET is harnessing the power of entrepreneurial talent in Arizona and abroad by helping innovators and risk takers transform their ideas into viable and scalable businesses. Find Scott here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthathcock/
For the past two years, Scott Hathcock has served as the President and CEO of Moonshot at NACET, a nonprofit incubator/accelerator entrepreneur program based inFlagstaff, AZ. In addition to assisting company founders directly, Moonshot at NACET also manages and oversees incubator programs for developing rural areas in creating eco-systems for entrepreneurs to thrive across the state of Arizona. This past year, Moonshot at NACET programs also extended beyond the state and are now being received in Nevada and Washington.
In 2018, Flagstaff's program alone secured $4M in grants and capital for their members, created 221 full-time jobs, and member companies have generated $3.16M inrevenue. In October of 2018, Hathcock announced a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) making the city of Flagstaff the very first AWS CloudStart City inthe United States. This new collaboration allows for start-ups to accelerate scale using Amazon's cloud services as well as create and “AWS certify” a workforce development pipeline of talent for these companies. Moonshot at NACET is harnessing the power of entrepreneurial talent in Arizona and abroad by helping innovators and risk takers transform their ideas into viable and scalable businesses. Find Scott here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthathcock/
Tracy Mancuso -- Director, SBDC NPC Show Low Campus
Tracy Mancuso has been the Director of the SBDC at NPC for 10 years. Her prior background was as a local business owner for PTM Publishing for 20 years, and as a branch manager and commercial Lender for Great Western Bank as well as a Personnel Director for Frontier State Bank.
Tracy Mancuso has been the Director of the SBDC at NPC for 10 years. Her prior background was as a local business owner for PTM Publishing for 20 years, and as a branch manager and commercial Lender for Great Western Bank as well as a Personnel Director for Frontier State Bank.
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