Rick is an Industry Fellow at UC Berkeley and Adjunct Faculty at Northeastern University
where he currently teaches Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is a Silicon Valley native with direct experience and thought leadership across industry, government, venture capital, and academia. Rick has been a member of executive teams of three separate companies that started with zero revenue, raised rounds from leading VCs, went public, gained Fortune 500 status, and sold for a collective $12B. He connects governments and economic development agencies with the vast resources available throughout Silicon Valley. Rick is Head of Mentors for the European Innovation Academy and advisor to Alchemist Accelerator as well as to dozens of early-stage startup companies.

Currently the Managing Partner at Half Past Nine, a digital strategy management consulting firm architecting actionable digital strategy for small-to-mid-sized companies. Previously served for two years as the VP of Marketing for Pressure Profile Systems, a global supplier of the world’s most advanced tactile sensors. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Altitude University, an advanced training platform for the drone industry. Has held various management roles from consultant to CMO, in companies across industries in B2C, DTC, and B2B.

Vadim is an entrepreneur and an investor. He is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Clingo - a US-based early stage startup in digital health that is being incubated in the MIT/Harvard ecosystem. He started his career in JPMorgan and spent 10 years dealing with all aspects of buying, selling, operating, and financing businesses while working in M&A, leveraged finance, and private equity out of London. He was on the board of IDS, invested in several early-stage startups, and co-founded a logistics company in the past. He has an MBA from MIT, an MSc from the London School of Economics and he studied Computer Science in college. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and a big believer in Ukrainian tech.

Alina is a serial entrepreneur and has founded tech companies in the hardware and software spaces. She is a faculty member at Northeastern University and a mentor at several global organizations, including Global Social Benefit Institute, European Innovation Academy, and Stanford LISA Executive Program.

Olga started her career in 2010 as an Operations Manager at Burenina fashion brand. From 2010 to 2012, she was a Costume designer / Producer at 95 Kvartal, Inter (TV channel), Radioactive Films, Plastilin Films and 1+1 (TV Channel). In 2014-2015, she served as an Iteration Manager at Gap Inc./GID. During 2015-2016, she was a Program Manager at Affinity (tryaffinity.com). Currently, Olga is a Director of Operations at HACK Temple and Co-founder and COO of Wunderdogs.

Harley is a full-stack developer, with expertise in startups, cybersecurity, and fintech. He is
co-founder of @TailOffers.

Felix is a Managing Director of Blackstone LaunchPad at Cornell University, an experiential
university-wide entrepreneurship program. Felix is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and an active member of various investor groups. He held executive and management positions in business development, technology, and strategy at international companies. For example, Felix was the Vice President of Business Development at ARC International (LSE: ARK.L). Prior to ARC, he was a Co-Founder and the CEO of Alarity Corporation (acquired by ARC International, now Synopsys), a company that specialized in multimedia IP. Felix is also a mentor at Techstars and a mentor and advisor at Princeton University’s Keller Center. He is also a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Minority Venture Partners, a business acceleration company whose mission is to increase and expand Minority and Women Business Enterprises in emerging technology sectors throughout New York City and the tri-state area.

Will is a career problem solver; he works with early-stage businesses to clarify their mission and strategy. His career spans entrepreneurship, finance, and strategy consultancy. In 2015, Will became Head of Strategy of The Trampery, a workspace provider for creative startups. During his tenure he drove the growth of the business which included operating five spaces across London, developing a new co-living village, and delivering an international consulting business with projects in Oslo and the Balkans. In 2017, he moved to France to start a new type of residential work and event space in a fairy tale castle. Chateau de La Salle successfully launched in May 2018. Since then, Will has operated as a freelance strategist, with projects such as advising USAID in Ukraine, developing a placemaking strategy for Lingang, a new city in China, and developing the strategy for the European Creative Hub Network. He was also the Venture Director at Zag, a commercial design consultancy that has created new products for customers such as Facebook, Yamaha, and Lego. Will is a judge on Marriott Hotel’s Test Bed program and for the Hult Prize.

Chuck is the Myron C. Taylor Alumni Professor of Business Law at Cornell Law School and the Founding Director of the Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship program at Cornell Tech in New York City. He is also the Co-Founder of eō Business Incubators. Prior to entering academia, Chuck held senior legal and business positions in the financial services industry in New York and Tokyo, including as a Managing Director of Nomura Securities International, Salomon Brothers, and Citigroup. His law and banking experience extends to venture capital and other investments, IPOs (including by VC-funded companies), and mergers & acquisitions. Chuck is an honorary doctor of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and a Co-Founder of the Institute for Law, Technology & Innovation in Ukraine.

Traian has been involved in projects in various fields: sports, logistics, HoReCa, art and consulting. He has worked in companies and projects such as Ignite Chișinău, UnArtOras, IHUB, Tekwill and Vintage. His expertise will be useful to startups at the product development, sales, PR and marketing stage.

Olga is a finance expert, trainer and entrepreneur. She advises manufacturing startups with an online presence. In the past she worked in state organizations such as ODIMM and was economic advisor to the Prime Minister of Moldova. Olga can help startups access sources of funding.

Alexander has extensive media experience. In 2013 he launched Diez.md which is now one of the most popular media portals in Moldova. He can help startups create good media relations, develop communication strategies and marketing processes.