We discussed a few things including

1. Their career journeys

2. Miami ecosystem

3. Austin/Texas ecosystem

4. Trends, opps and challenges for entrepreneurs and startup communities

5. Outlook for 2026

Melissa Medina has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur, operator, investor, community leader and philanthropist. A native to Miami, she is CEO & Co-Founder of eMerge Americas with a mission of helping transform South Florida into a global tech hub.

The eMerge Americas signature event, launched in 2014, is a global tech conference held annually at the Miami Beach Convention Center - this year's event is on April 22-24. With Melissa’s leadership, the eMerge Americas conference now attracts more than 20,000+ attendees from over 50 countries. In addition to the annual conference, eMerge organizes year-round executive summits, innovation challenges, startup pitch competitions, masterclasses, webinars, a world-class global accelerator program, as well as publishes venture activity and investment insights reports.

Melissa is also a Partner at Medina Ventures, an early-stage venture fund, as well as the President of the Medina Family Foundation, which has a mission to fund local initiatives that focus on mentoring children and empowering families. Melissa was named by the South Florida Business Journal as one of the “2023 Power Leaders in Technology.”

Melissa also sits on the Board of The Miami Foundation. She is passionate about transforming Miami into a global technology hub and supporting Miami-based non-profits who seek to empower tomorrow’s leaders. Most importantly, Melissa is a mother and most passionate about her 5 children.

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Experienced in economic development, public policy, and venture capital, Paul O'Brien puts a focus on shaping the systems that enable entrepreneurship and innovation. He leads legislative and coalition strategy for Founder Institute, around issues impacting startups, capital formation, and civic infrastructure, and as publisher of Startup Economist.

With a passion for media innovation and investment, Paul seeded MediaTech Ventures, a media industry venture development group. Former Venture Partner in Meaningful Ventures, O'Brien is Founder and Director of Funded House and Director of Founder Institute for Texas. Historically, a seasoned marketer with an early career at Yahoo! and HP.

From there, Paul led the early growth of startups such as Outright.com (Acquired by GoDaddy), Zvents (Acquired by eBay’s Stubhub), and MicroVentures (Venture Capital). Paul has an unusually strong technical background considering the role he tends to play today; he built websites in the '90s and continues to engineer and produce content at seobrien.com. He was featured in the book, Online Marketing Heroes, and frequently speaks at startup and media conferences.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Your career journeys

2. Gitte's biotech venture

3. Garnet's venture capital firm

4. Discuss effects of federal policies on innovation ecosystem

5. Discuss outlook for 2026

Garnet Heraman is a serial entrepreneur and investor with 25 years experience at the intersection of innovation + technology. Originally from the island nation of Trinidad & Tobago, he was educated at Columbia University (BA), NYU (MBA) and The London School of Economics.

As a dotcom entrepreneur Garnet had 3 exits, 1 of which was to a publicly traded company. As an investor, he is co-founder and managing partner of Aperture® Venture Capital, a seed stage fintech fund backed by 7 different Fortune 500 corporations.

He is also an LP in other VC funds such as NY InsurTech Fund II and the Berkeley Skydeck Fund, as well as a prolific angel investor. Garnet is highly sought after as a startup technology expert, appearing in over 30 business publications and at events on 5 continents.

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Gitte Pedersen is a scientist, CEO, company builder, and investor with a mission to improve health and sustainability. RNA enthusiast. Focused on helping cancer patients survive through better diagnostics and treatment navigation tools.

Serial entrepreneur. Advised several small and medium-sized biotech companies and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bringing in +$1B deals to Danish Biotech companies. Advised the European Commission on evidence-based innovation and investment policies.

Won numerous prizes and awards and raised $8M+ in grants. Worked at Novo Nordisk in several management positions, inventing, developing and bringing multiple products to market worldwide.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys
2. Carta
3. Archangel and Techstars
4. Current trends
5. Outlook for investing for 2026

Hamza Shad is an insights manager at Carta, where he analyzes data on startups and the venture capital ecosystem. He leads Carta's quarterly State of Pre-Seed report on early-stage companies and has spoken at Startup Grind, 500 Global, SOSV, the World Bank, and more.

Previously, Hamza conducted research on entrepreneurship in emerging markets at Endeavor. He holds a bachelor's in economics and political science from the University of Chicago and a master's in international development from University of Oxford.

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Mellie Chow is an Engineer turned Entrepreneur / Operator turned Angel Investor / Venture Capitalist with over 25+ years of experience across multiple industries including telecommunications & cable, utilities & power generation, banking, healthcare, government, and food.

She is a Board Advisor at Techstars Toronto Accelerator and a Venture Partner at Archangel Network of Funds, Axion Fund, ventureLAB EIR and University of Delaware - Horn Entrepreneurship - Venture Acceleration Lab mentor.

She is also an adjunct professor at New York University SPS and Elizabethtown College of Competitive Product Strategy. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering (University of Waterloo), an MBA (Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management & Schulich).

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Jenny's career journey

2. The funding environment, then your fund

3. What she is seeing at the universities she teaches at; trends in young talent

4. Her new book

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re startup ecosystem

Jenny Fielding is a seasoned venture capitalist and technology trailblazer with a diverse background in law, finance, and entrepreneurship. As the founder of two tech startups, she understands the challenges of building companies from the ground up. She's also the author of the new book, Everywhere Ventures, https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Everywhere-Travel-Entrepreneurship-Roadmap/dp/B0DHQQTCG3

Now, with a decade of investing experience and a portfolio valued at $10 billion, Jenny leads Everywhere Ventures, the go-to venture fund for early-stage founders around the world.

Beyond investing, Jenny is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and Cornell Tech, where she inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs. A sought-after speaker, Jenny has been featured on Bloomberg TV, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and TechCrunch, among many others.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys

2. History of NFHA

3. Michael's impact on organization; AI in housing/financial services

4. April 28-30 Responsible AI Symposium
https://events.nationalfairhousing.org/2025AISymposium

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re fair housing and technology

Lisa Rice is the President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the nation’s only national civil rights agency solely dedicated to eliminating all forms of housing discrimination and ensuring equitable housing opportunities for all people and communities.

Lisa has led her team in using civil rights principles to bring fairness and equity into the housing, lending, and technology sectors. She is a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Board of Directors, Center for Responsible Lending Board of Directors, FinRegLab Board of Directors, JPMorgan Chase Consumer Advisory Council, Mortgage Bankers Association Consumer Advisory Council, Freddie Mac Affordable Housing Advisory Council, Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, Quicken Loans Advisory Forum, Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Advisory Council, and Berkeley’s The Terner Center Advisory Council.

She has received numerous awards including the National Housing Conference’s Housing Visionary Award and was selected as one of TIME Magazine’s 2024 ‘Closers.’

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Dr. Michael Akinwumi translates values and principles to math and code. He ensures critical and emerging technologies like AI and blockchain enhance innovation, security, trust, and access in housing and financial systems, preventing historical injustices.

As a senior leader, he collaborates with policymakers and industry to strengthen protections and advance innovation. A Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow at Rutgers, he developed an AI policy tool for state-level impact and co-developed an AI Readiness (AIR) Index to help state governments assess their AI maturity.

Michael also advises AI companies on developing, deploying and adopting responsible innovations, driven by his belief that a life lived for others is most meaningful, aiming for lasting societal change through technology.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys

2. Ben's Coaching approach

3. Tara's coaching approach; future coach for college students

4. Ben's book, CLIMB

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re health and mental health.

Tara Thurber is the Founder | Director of Partnerships at DefinedTalent and Head Coach | FUTURE COACH. She is a connector, committed to helping people realize their visions and take action to bring them to life. With over 15 years of experience in recruitment, talent acquisition, HR services and career development, she focuses on empowering businesses and individuals to uncover meaning, direction and purpose in both their professional and personal journeys.

Her expertise enables her to focus on innovative, people-centric solutions covering multiple industries and a diverse community of talent. As a certified life and career coach, Tara helps people find their True Core, encouraging them to discover their potential while guiding them toward success and happiness.

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Benjamin Kenyon is a veteran NBA Performance Coach and the founder of Climb Performance Coaching. After 11 seasons in the NBA—most recently as Director of Performance for the Philadelphia 76ers—Ben now helps high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders find clarity, sharpen focus, and overcome burnout.

He’s also the author of CLIMB, a powerful guide that lays out the framework he uses with his clients to help them reset, refocus, and perform at a high level—without sacrificing their wellbeing. Backed by 20+ years in elite performance and driven by data and purpose, Ben combines real-world tools with bold energy and outrageous optimism.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Thierry's career journey

2. Nokia Bell Labs history and current research

3. AI and Generative AI

4. Space and network on the moon

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities in tech

Thierry Klein is the President of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia. His global multi-disciplinary team conducts fundamental and applied research focused on new Nokia value chains, business opportunities and ecosystems.

Bell Labs Solutions Research pursues research and innovation into advanced technologies, architectures, systems and applications beyond Nokia’s current product and solutions portfolio, including research into advanced sensing technologies, AI-based knowledge systems and fundamental algorithms, autonomous software and data systems, and integrated solutions and experiences.

Prior to his appointment as President of Bell Labs Solutions Research, Thierry was the Head of the Integrated Solutions and Experiences Research Lab at Nokia Bell Labs, leading a global research team dedicated to applied research, innovation and advanced technologies with the mission to design, develop and prototype massively disruptive solutions, systems and experiences for the next human-industrial revolution.

The research domains span new wearable devices, cloud robotics and drones, image and data analytics, industrial process optimization and automation enabled by 5G networking and edge computing technologies.

Previously, he was the Head of Innovation Management for Vertical Industries with a focus on the transportation, automotive and connected industries sectors. He also served as the Founding Vice-Chair of the Board of the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), a cross-industry association bringing together the telecommunications and automotive industries that he helped found and launch in September 2016.

He was also the Program Leader for the Network Energy Research Program at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent with the mission to conduct research towards the design, development and use of sustainable future communications and data networks. He served as the Chairman of the Technical Committee of GreenTouch, a global consortium dedicated to improve energy efficiency in networks by a factor 1000x compared to 2010 levels.

He joined Bell Labs Research in Murray Hill, New Jersey in 2001 and his initial research was focused on next-generation wireless and wireline networks, network architectures, algorithms and protocols, network management, optimization and control. From 2006 to 2010 he served as the Founder and CTO of an internal start-up focused on wireless communications for emergency response and disaster recovery situations within Alcatel-Lucent Ventures.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys

2. The Meet Group

3. Noom

4. New book Designing Success and female entrepreneurship

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re health, wellness and tech

Geoff is the CEO of Noom. He is also a serial entrepreneur and long-time public company CEO.

He co-founded The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed social dating and live-streaming company connecting millions of active users globally. Geoff served as The Meet Group’s CEO from 2013 to 2023, leading it through its sale for $500 million in 2020.

Geoff grew a live-streaming video & creator economy revenue stream from $0 to in excess of $200 million annualized. Post-acquisition, Geoff also served as co-CEO of the parent company ParshipMeet Group, which includes a portfolio of dating apps including eharmony, MeetMe, Tagged, Lovoo, Skout, Growlr, among others.

Under Geoff’s leadership, The Meet Group was early to social networking, mobile apps, live-streaming video, and creator economy. A driving force of industry consolidation, Geoff acquired 4 companies and was acquired twice.

With smart viral marketing, Geoff grew MeetMe from nothing to millions of active users. With product and strategic vision, he acquired and turned Tagged into a live-streaming video leader. With Livebox, he created a successful enterprise Creator Economy service powering some of the top-grossing social apps in the US.

Leveraging product and technology to transform the user experience, Geoff successfully transitioned The Meet Group from an advertising model to a fast-growing live-streaming video & creator-economy solution, ultimately attracting tens of thousands of Creators and powering some of the largest social apps in the world.

Under Geoff’s leadership, the video Platform-as-a-Service enterprise product that he conceived of — Livebox — launched and grew to power 6 of the top 50 social apps in the US by revenue.

Geoff is an expert in building culture across disparate teams. As CEO of The Meet Group, he acquired and integrated 4 companies: Tagged, LOVOO, Skout, and Growlr, into one cohesive culture.

While building culture, Geoff also drove efficiency, realizing major cost synergies while growing top-line revenue at every acquisition target, through a combination of off-shoring and building a single shared services platform to power multiple apps.

Geoff is the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner for the Philadelphia Region.

Geoff graduated from Harvard University in 2000 with a BA in Economics.

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Catherine Connelly is an entrepreneur, engaging speaker, and author of Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM9C9CC4

Catherine co-founded The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed social dating and livestreaming company connecting millions of active users globally. The Meet Group was acquired in a $500 million sale in 2020.

Catherine’s nearly two decades of entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding myYearbook at fifteen, creating what would eventually become The Meet Group, and leading brand strategy and marketing for The Meet Group through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and rebrands.

Catherine graduated from Georgetown University and holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner for the Philadelphia Region in 2011.

Catherine has been featured on CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, MTV, ABC News, Fox News, CosmoGIRL, BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, and CBS. Catherine writes the newsletter Growing Up Startup, sharing lessons inspired by her entrepreneurial journey.

Subscribe and learn more about Catherine's free office hours at: cconnelly.me.

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