Thank you to our amazing judges!
Based out of Colorado, Saba Karim is the Global Startup Pipeline Manager of Techstars, the global platform of investment and innovation - responsible for helping source startups from across the world for its distinguished accelerator. Saba is a public speaker, often delivering workshops on Pitching, Growth Marketing and Fundraising, and is called upon as a judge at startup pitch competitions such as Web Summit in Lisbon (the largest tech conference in the world). Saba was also on the founding team of Evolve, the worlds first dating CRM that went on to be acquired by Hubspot (NYSE:HUB).
Saba Karim
Global Pipeline Startup Manager @ Techstars
Stephen is a Principal at Hyde Park Angels, the most active early stage investor in the Midwest. He has managed over $25M in investment across 60+ deals in my time at HPA and love the opportunity to help entrepreneurs realize their vision. Outside of work, you can find him at Wrigley Field or traveling around the US. He's passionate about energy and the massive shifts we need to reach a carbon-neutral world.
Stephen Ross
Principal @ Hyde Park Angels
Courtney leads the venture acceleration team at MATTER, a global healthcare startup incubator and corporate innovation accelerator. They are mobilizing a community of entrepreneurs, innovators, civic leaders, scientists and clinicians committed to improving health and care for every patient. At MATTER, she helps startups leverage meaningful solutions to today’s most pressing healthcare challenges by connecting founders with investors and strategic partners. She cares deeply about access to care and upholding the universal right to a healthy, dignified life. Her commitment is to better understand how healthcare innovation can advance care and care for all, as well as think about how she can lead sustainable and inclusive change.
Courtney Zhu
Venture Acceleration Manager @ MATTER
Nick continues to play a crucial role at early-stage companies, helping create brands and go-to market strategies for the last eight years. Whether it is design, development or business strategy, Nick has managed and directed digital products at all stages of their lifecycle- from concept to market. With the mind of an entrepreneur and the eye of a designer, Nick has brought dozens of brands to market from food & beverage brands, to Ecommerce platforms, to mobile apps & games. He most recently lead a blockchain enabled media platform through a $36 Million ICO after 4 pivots over the same number of years. It was during these pivots and previous launches that Nick mastered the art of finding product-market fit. He now helps teams of all sizes to derisk big business decisions to optimize chances for new ideas to succeed.
Nick McEvily
Partner @ Further Faster Design
Brad has spent the last 10 years as a founder/operator, leading teams for several early-stage ventures. Brad is a builder. He loves helping to solve big, messy startup problems. As the "COO" of Techstars Chicago, he makes the wheel turn in their efforts to find, help, grow and fund the best founders. Aside from Techstars, Brad is the founder/lead-organizer of Chicago Startup Week. He is a mentor at 1871 and The University of Chicago's Polsky Center. Brad serves on the board of Humanity Rising, Miracle League of Music City, and the Associate Board of Make-A-Wish Illinois. In his free time, Brad enjoys woodworking with CNC routers/laser cutters.
Brad Schnitzer
Program Manager @ Techstars Chicago
Prior to New Stack, Austin helped early-stage startups nail their customer acquisition and top-line growth metrics through paid acquisition and product optimization. He's worked with startups including a global rideshare service, an IoT Smart Home security system, and a Millennial/Gen Z focused e-commerce brand. These efforts led him to venture capital, beginning as a scout in Los Angeles and now as a part of the deal team for New Stack Ventures.
Austin Ju
Deal Lead @ New Stack Ventures
Interested in running an event with Open Scout?