Join us for the Purdue Innovates and Purdue Alumni Entrepreneurship Network Startup and Technology Expo 2026 on April 22-24. The event will highlight and showcase Purdue’s finest innovators and entrepreneurs including students, faculty, staff, alumni, startups and issued patent recipients.
Celebrate Purdue’s innovative spirit with three days of sessions by and for entrepreneurs and innovators, pitches, and networking opportunities.
About This Event
April 22
Join us in the afternoon for IP and startup workshops designed to equip innovators with the tools to advance and commercialize their ideas. The evening concludes with an invite only reception recognizing Purdue patent recipients.
April 23
Kick off the morning with dynamic presentations from Purdue Innovates Capstone teams and Commercialization Fellows. Midday brings a networking lunch, followed by a full afternoon of events including a student pitch competition, Purdue Alumni Entrepreneur presentations, roundtable discussions, and an inspiring keynote. An evening reception closes day two.
April 24
Begin the morning with breakfast networking before diving into a full slate of presentations, startup pitches, keynotes, and alumni entrepreneur sessions. The afternoon continues with additional company showcases, alumni spotlights, open networking, and opportunities for guided tours.
Location
- There will be several locations
schedule
See below for a complete schedule, all of which will take place at the Convergence Center unless otherwise noted. All times are Eastern.
*Schedule is subject to change. Please check back for updates.
Wednesday, April 22
1:30 - 1:45 p.m.
Introduction
Abhijit Karve
1:45 - 2 p.m.
Incubator Overview
Justin Renfrow
2 - 2:30 p.m.
Perfecting Your Pitch
Chelsea Linder
2:30 - 3 p.m.
Company Foundation
Audrey Wessel
3 - 3:30 p.m.
Investor Match
Landon Young
3:30 - 4 p.m.
Licensing 101
Abhijit Karve and Charlie Pruitt
4 - 4:15 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Thursday, April 23
9 - 9:15 a.m.
Welcome (PAEN and Innovates Intro)
9:15 - 10 a.m.
Capstone Lightning Round
10 - 10:20 a.m.
Break
10:20 - 11 a.m.
Commercialization Fellows Innovation Stories
Saloni Darji
Teodora Kljaic
Pranshul Sardana
Sunandita Ghosh
11 - 11:45 a.m.
VC Panel Discussion
Tyler Mantel
Toph Day
Gopal Rajarama
Rene Lewin
Moderator: Travis Stegemoller
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1 - 2 p.m.
New Venture Challenge Pitches
CalcGPT
Kova Group, Inc.
VitaWave Tech, Inc.
echoSURE Inc.
Oppit
2 - 3 p.m.
Information Session: Silicon Catalyst
Don Esses
Foundry Training Room
2:05 - 2:35 p.m.
Keynote: Getting to MVP - Product Innovation in Hard Tech
Grant Chapman
Glassboard
2:35 - 2:45 p.m.
Break
2:45 - 3:15 p.m.
Innovation on Campus
Purdue Entrepreneurial Leaders:
Nathalie Duval
Tim Dixon
Kostas Grigoriou
Brian SHEPLER
Jessica Jud
Moderator: Doug Applegate
3:15 - 3:30 p.m.
New Venture Challenge Awards
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Semiconductor Panel
Rouz Jazayeri
Tayo Adesanya
Anand Raghunathan
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
5 - 8 p.m.
Reception with PAEN and Purdue Innovates
Friday, April 24
*All Friday's events will be hosted at the Spurgeon Club.
8 - 9 a.m.
Breakfast Networking
9 - 9:30 a.m.
Opening Presentation
Brooke Beier
Senior Vice President, Purdue Innovates
Introduction to Purdue Innovates
9:30 a.m.
Purdue Innovates Startups
Movwize
Advance Waste Processing
Lyowave
Introduction by Abhijit Karve
9:50 - 10 a.m.
CCO and Sam Cleveland Presentation
Discover ways for students to get involved in startups
10 - 10:30 a.m.
Keynote: Commercializing AI
Tayo Adesanya
Calvyn Hendryx-Parker
10:30 - 11 a.m.
Session 1: Mentorship Networking
Networking Group by Industry:
Jennifer Lopez
Grant Chapman
Mike McCracken
11 - 11:30 a.m.
Keynote: Open Innovation
Sally Kay
Dan DeLaurentis
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Keynote - From Foundation to Flywheel: The Rise of Entrepreneurship in Indiana
David Watkins
12 - 1 p.m.
Lunch
1 - 1:45 p.m.
Accelerator Pitches
Vibe Robotics
Second Opinion
FiberX
Resolvr
Evolink
Introduction by Doug Applegate
1:45 - 2:30 p.m.
Session 2: Mentorship Networking
PAEN Members
Networking Group by Industry: Jennifer Lopez, Grant Chapman, Mike McCracken
2:30 - 3 p.m.
Keynote: Building Deeptech Startups Like Groq And The Future Of Compute In The Ai Era
Dinesh Maheshwari
Former CTO of Groq
Interviewed by Tyler Mantel / Roll Tack
3 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Connect w/ university & network
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Optional Tour
Mackey Arena
Registration required
Keynote speakers
GRANT CHAPMAN
Grant Chapman is the CEO of Glassboard, a hardware product development firm. With a decade of experience in the tech industry, Grant has consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to drive growth, foster innovation, and lead companies to new heights.
Grant was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN, where he developed an early interest in technology and problem-solving. His passion for technology led him to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Electrical Engineering and Certificate in Entrepreneurship at Purdue University. During his time at university, he was deeply involved with Purdue’s evGrandPrix and Electric Vehicle Club.
Grant began his career as a mechanical engineer at Indy Power Systems, where he quickly distinguished himself as a talented engineer with a knack for solving complex problems. His early work in developing grid energy storage solutions laid the foundation for his future success.
In 2015, Grant co-founded Glassboard, a move that marked a significant milestone in his career. Under his leadership, Glassboard has grown from a small engineering services firm to the full service product development company that it is today. Grant has been instrumental in expanding the company’s breadth and capabilities.
Grant believes in the importance of creating technology that is not only functional but also intuitive and user-friendly. His leadership style is characterized by a focus on collaboration, transparency, and empowering his team to achieve their best. He is passionate about building products that delight users and are market successes in the industries in which they compete.
TAYO ADESANYA
Tayo Adesanya is the Founder and CEO of Lola Vision Systems, a fabless semiconductor company building mission-critical AI chiplet architectures for defense, aerospace, and autonomous systems. As a proud Purdue University alumnus, former track and field Big Ten Champion and NCAA All-American athlete, Tayo leads the development of advanced modular SoCs that integrate secure RF communications, multimodal sensor fusion, and high-performance AI compute to enable autonomy in contested environments.
Under his leadership, Lola Vision Systems has forged strategic partnerships with U.S. defense innovation hubs and industry leaders, including a multi-year CRADA with NSWC Crane Division, letters of support from major primes, and collaborations across the Microelectronics Commons.
Tayo’s vision extends beyond defense: he is spearheading efforts to diversify semiconductor design talent through workforce development initiatives in Africa, beginning in Nigeria.
A technologist and ecosystem builder, Tayo blends deep technical expertise with strategic vision — driving the convergence of AI, secure edge compute, and sovereign semiconductor manufacturing to shape the future of resilient autonomy.
CALVIN-HENDRYX PARKER
Calvin Hendryx-Parker is the co-founder and CTO of Six Feet Up, a custom software development agency that specializes in solving hard problems.
Calvin’s Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) is to inspire and enable tech leaders to open minds and bring the world together for a sustainable future. At Six Feet Up, Calvin establishes the company’s technical vision and leads all aspects of the company’s technology development.
Calvin is passionate about the open-source community and specializes in app development, AI, big data, and cloud technology. He is regularly sought after to share his expertise, both at international conferences and in the media.
In 2019, Calvin was named an AWS Hero — one of only 43 Heroes in the United States. He is the co-founder of IndyPy, the largest Python meetup in Indiana with 2,500+ members. In 2023, he was named Tech Executive of the Year by the Indiana Business Journal.
DAN DELAURENTIS
Dr. Daniel DeLaurentis is Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) and the Bruce Reese professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. As EVPR, he is the Senior Research Officer for the University responsible for increasing the scale and impact of Purdue University’s research enterprise and enabling the success of faculty-driven research by supporting cross-college collaborations. His own research program operates through the Center for Integrated Systems in Aerospace (CISA), working with faculty colleagues and students to research problem formulation, modeling, design and system engineering methods for aerospace systems and systems-of-systems. Research outcomes cover all facets of system of systems (SoS) engineering, including advances in modeling and simulation, dependency analysis methodologies, complexity assessment, optimization, and control with applications ranging from urban and regional Advanced Aerial Mobility, supersonic fleets, and more recently hypersonic vehicles and missions.
DeLaurentis previously served as Chief Scientist of the U.S. DoD’s Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) UARC, working to understand the systems engineering research needs of the defense community (primarily) and translate that to research programs that are then mapped to the nation’s best researchers and students in the SERC network of 25 universities. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. Dr. DeLaurentis has been elected Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
SALLY KAY
Sally spent 36 years with The Dow Chemical Company and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. After working in R&D, Finance, Sales and Marketing her career was focused on various areas of innovation and new product development. Since retiring Sally has started her own consulting business, Strategic Product Development, which focuses on the front end of the innovation process. She also mentors start-ups and entrepreneurs through various programs in the Cincinnati area, at Purdue University and at the University of Tennessee.
Sally has been active in The Product Development & Management Association (PDMA) since 1988, both nationally and at the chapter level. She serves on the Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award Committee and is the past Chair of The Committee. She was an Associate Editor of the 3rd Edition of the PDMA Handbook of New Product Development and was the author of ‘Lessons Learned from Outstanding Corporate Innovators’, a chapter in the handbook. She was also a presenter in The University of Cincinnati’s MOOC on Innovation and Design Thinking.
Sally has a BS in Biology/Chemistry from The University of Pittsburgh and is an honorary Purdue Boilermaker.
BROOKE BEIER, PhD
A Purdue University alumna, Brooke Beier joined Purdue Research Foundation in 2013 and has since held many important roles within the organization, most recently senior vice president of Purdue Innovates upon its inception 2023. Beier oversees the personnel under the umbrella of efforts at Purdue Innovates, including the Incubator and Office of Technology Commercialization.
Beier had a major role in launching Purdue Innovates and, at her direction, it is a comprehensive system, streamlining access to both technology commercialization and startup support resources. This includes de-risking technologies for licensing to startups and industry, incubating and accelerating Purdue-connected startups and providing investment support to Boilermakers. She plays a vital role in connecting Purdue’s world-class research with industry, helping faculty and student innovators turn ideas into startups, partnerships, and patents.
Under her leadership, Purdue has been ranked #4 in the world for U.S. patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Her management has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in investment as well as over $100M in royalties from Pluvicto, the largest return to Purdue from a startup or IP license in its history. Her leadership continues to expand Purdue’s global impact through innovation.
Beier holds a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering of Purdue University. Her graduate research focused on the development of wireless, implantable medical devices in the fields of cardiology, diabetes and spinal cord injury.
As an undergrad, Beier was an all-big ten tennis player. Throughout graduate school, she served as an assistant coach for the team.
DAVID WATKINS
David Watkins is SVP of Entrepreneurship & Small Business at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), where he leads ecosystem development, capital programs, and support for entrepreneurs across the state. He previously led the Indiana Small Business Development Center and brings experience across university-based global and entrepreneurship programs. David works closely with founders, investors, and ecosystem partners to drive innovation and growth.
DINESH MAHESHWARI
Dinesh Maheshwari is the former CTO of Groq (acquired by NVIDIA) and a deep tech advisor (alt-r, Blumind, Prospera, Zinite). With 30+ years of experience, he has worked across major technology waves spanning high-performance computing, EDA, networking, and machine learning. He has worked with 10 startups, co-founded three, is a founding partner of Silicon Catalyst, and holds 100+ U.S. patents.
Speakers and Panelists
AUDREY WESSEL
Audrey Wessel is a partner at Gutwein Law, a business law firm based in Indiana. Her practice focuses on assisting emerging technology companies through their life cycle, from formation, to venture capital financings, though an exit in the form of merger or acquisition, while acting as outside general counsel along the way. She is a graduate of Purdue University (College of Science, 2012) and the Indiana University McKinney School of Law (2015).
CHELSEA LINDER
Chelsea Linder is an ecosystem builder with in-depth experience leading initiatives that support technology adoption, workforce development and entrepreneurship. She serves TechPoint as VP of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where she works to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and practical business impact. She brings over a decade of experience as a leader working in the tech and entrepreneurship space alongside public, academic, non-profit and private partners. Her work centers on helping organizations build the human, data, and digital foundations needed to grow responsibly and competitively.
Prior to her current role, Chelsea served as Partner at gener8tor, a nationally-ranked startup accelerator and venture capital firm. She also spent 6 years in operations at Angie’s List. Chelsea has a degree in international business from Butler University and serves as chair of the board of the Venture Club of Indiana. In her free time, Chelsea spends time reading and exploring Indiana’s beautiful parks with her husband and two young daughters.
LANDON YOUNG
Landon Young is a trans-disciplinary entrepreneur, researcher, and investor focused on high-impact technology innovation. He is a Kauffman Foundation Global Scholar, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Landon holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University.
As an active investor, Landon has worked with early-stage startups as both an angel investor and a venture capital investor at Elevate Ventures. In addition to his investment experience, he is the founder of LeadSigma and DonateEquity, where he applies his expertise in scaling businesses and fostering innovation.
CHARLIE PRUITT
Charlie Pruitt, corporate counsel, leads the Transactions group at Purdue Innovates, supporting OTC, Incubator, and Ventures. He oversees the negotiation, documentation, and compliance of licenses and other agreements related to Purdue IP and Purdue Innovates programing. A licensed attorney, Charlie has worked in university tech transfer for 13 years, including at the University of Dayton and the University of Southern California before joining PRF in 2020. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University (College of Arts and Sciences, 2007) and the University of Dayton School of Law (2013).
DON ESSES
Don is an accomplished Engineering and Operations Executive with 40+ years’ experience managing large scale semiconductor manufacturing and engineering organizations, international organizations, and outsourcing strategies (LSI Logic, Qualcomm). He has expertise in semiconductor supply chain operations and logistics. His most recent experience is advising semiconductor startups.
- BSEE Purdue University
- 2 US Patents
- 2005 Purdue University Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award
TYLER MANTEL
Tyler Mantel is a former founder who built and sold two technology companies. He has taught entrepreneurship at Harvard and previously led Purdue Ventures. Today, as a Partner at Roll Tack Ventures, he invests in Series A and B B2B technology companies, helping high-growth startups scale. Tyler holds dual engineering degrees in mechanical and chemical engineering from Purdue University.
Roll Tack Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in B2B technologies that strengthen the mid-market corporate tech stack, driving growth, boosting efficiency, and ensuring protection. Backing founders tackling the Midwest’s core industries and scaling solutions with global relevance (Series A & B).
CHRISTOPHER “TOPH” DAY
Toph is the CEO of Elevate Ventures, the #1 most active Seed and Early-Stage investor in the Great Lakes Region and top twenty in the United States, the Chief Visionary for Rally, where cross sector innovation convenes and the host of Innovate or Evaporate podcast. He is an innovator, entrepreneur, business creator, community builder, job maker and wealth creator throughout his endeavors over the last 30 years having co-founded eight businesses in seven different sectors with multiple exits to Fortune 500 companies.
He has led companies across multiple sectors including artificial intelligence, SaaS, hardtech, broadband, entertainment, investment banking and real estate. He collaborated to develop the US patent for Web Domain Ranking w/ Temporal Effects and coauthored the book Pillar-Based Marketing, a category best seller. He is an IBJ Forty under 40, Indiana’s Dynamic Leader of the Year in 2024 and named as one of Indiana’s 250
most influential leaders.
GOPAL RAJARAMA
Gopal Rajaraman is an investor at Lockheed Martin Ventures, focusing on autonomous systems, AI, power and propulsion and cybersecurity. He joined from Motorola Solutions, where he spent 23 years across engineering, product, and venture, most recently serving as GM of its drone software business. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from Purdue University.
RENE LEWIN
Rene Lewin is President of RRLCapital, LLC, an early-stage investor across AI, healthcare, and data-driven technologies. He brings nearly 40 years of experience from Wyeth and Eli Lilly, where he served as SVP of Human Resources. He is an active member of the Tamiami Angel Fund and serves on multiple boards. He is a Purdue University Daniels School alumnus and was selected as an Old Master in 2024.
TRAVIS STEGMOLLER
Travis Stegemoller is General Counsel at gener8tor and a startup advisor focused on early-stage companies. He brings deep expertise in intellectual property and business law, with a career spanning roles at adidas and as a Partner at Barnes & Thornburg, where he led entrepreneurial services. Travis has spent his career working alongside founders, helping startups navigate legal complexity and scale. He is also a proud Purdue University alumnus.
NATHALIE DUVAL-COUETIL
Nathalie Duval-Couetil is a Professor in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation at Purdue University, and the director of University Entrepreneurship Education Initiatives (Office of the Provost / Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship). She is responsible for the launch and development of the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a university-wide program enrolling over 2000 students per year. Through her leadership, the program has won the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Model Program Award from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Deshpande Award for Excellence in Curriculum Innovation in Entrepreneurship, and became ranked among the Princeton Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs.
Prior to her work in academia, Nathalie spent several years in the field of market research and business strategy consulting in Europe and the United States with Booz Allen and Hamilton and Data and Strategies Group. She received a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an MBA from Babson College, and MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University.
TIM DIXON
Tim is the Managing Director at Purdue DIAL Ventures, where our focus is on the journey from farm to food and all the steps between. We uncover the nascent ideas needed to improve our world’s food supply through tech innovation. We seek entrepreneurial leaders who want to make an impact in Food & AgTech, a technology segment projected to be among the fastest-growing over the next decade.
Before DIAL Ventures, Tim led Doyen Analytics, a niche Human Capital firm focused on providing portfolio leadership insights for VC and PE investment firms. The company utilizes a proprietary mix of assessments across behavioral, skill, and instinctual domains to consistently identify the highest-performing CEOs and leadership teams, significantly reducing the time and financial risks for their investor and company clients. Two decades of methodology development at the operational level help assure real-life application and results.
KOSTAS GRIGORIOU
Kostas Grigoriou is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Strategy at the Daniels School of Business and the Director of the Springer Business Initiative at the College of Engineering. He earned his PhD in Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship from Georgia Tech.
Kostas has extensive experience building and funding new ventures. Former academic, strategy consultant, entrepreneur, and venture studio director. His mission is to develop the future hybrid “tech+business” leaders by offering immersive and practical experience in all facets of new venture creation and helping students think, learn, and ACT as innovators, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to understand complex challenges, solve problems, create value, and drive meaningful economic impact.
An expert at human-centric business design and building high-performing teams. He has led business design teams building B2B software companies at High Alpha and AI startups at Forum Ventures. At High Alpha Innovation, he developed and applied the venture studio formula of de-risking and accelerating new venture creation in partnership with corporations, universities, governments, and VC funds across verticals such as industrial, supply chain, healthcare, CPG, finance, and agriculture. He also built a digital health venture studio in The Sanguine Lab.
At McKinsey & Co., he led strategy engagements with Fortune 500 corporations in digital transformation. Kostas has also been in business academia before, at Florida International University & Georgia Tech, teaching Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship and doing research at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and human capital.
BRIAN SHEPLER
Brian Shepler, PharmD is the Associate Dean for Engagement and Partnerships, and a clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. In these roles, he oversees the Experiential Learning Program and teaches chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and renal replacement therapies to second year PharmD students. Dr. Shepler earned his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and PharmD from Purdue University. He worked as a hospital pharmacist after graduation before returning to Purdue in 2000. Dr. Shepler is the faculty advisor for the Purdue chapter of the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO). He has developed several Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) track programs that allow students to specialize their rotation schedules into hospital, ambulatory, community, and industrial pharmacy practice.
JESSICA JUD
ROUZ JAZAYERI
Rouz Jazayeri earned a BSEE and an MSECE from Purdue in 2002 and 2004, respectively. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Catapult Ventures. At Catapult, Jazayeri and his team have built one of the world’s top seed-stage deep tech funds, supporting a new generation of practical, hands-on founders. Catapult’s success includes early exits from Oculii, XNOR.ai, Left Hand Robotics, FlightWave, and Engine ML.
Before Catapult, Jazayeri honed his investing skills at Kleiner Perkins alongside mentors like John Doerr and Wen Hsieh, working with companies such as Quantumscape, DJI, Ring, iControl, and MyFitnessPal. Earlier in his career, Jazayeri helped develop groundbreaking products at Intel, including its first 45nm microprocessor and the first MacBook Air to exceed 12 hours of battery life.
Jazayeri met lifelong friends at Purdue, including his wife. Outside of work, he enjoys tennis, football, and supporting his three kids in their own journeys.
ANAND RAGHUNATHAN
Anand directs the Integrated Systems Laboratory in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue. His group’s research spans various topics in VLSI and Computer Engieering, including System-on-chip design, domain-specific architecture, computing with nanoscale post-CMOS devices, and heterogeneous parallel computing. He is Associate Director of the SRC/DARPA Center for Brain-inspired Computing and Co-Director of the Center for a Secure Microelectronics Ecosystem. Before joining Purdue, Anand was a Senior Researcher at NEC Laboratories America and held a visiting position at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University.
JENNIFER LOPEZ
Jennie López embodies “Bring Yourself” in everything she does.
She empowers inclusion and inspires leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations to reach new heights through her ultimate superpower: authenticity.
Her unique strengths are rooted in her Latina heritage, passions, and experiences as a mom. Intentionally using these strengths has been the key to her personal and professional success.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Jennie moved to the U.S. to earn her Master’s in Chemical Engineering. Her 23-year career in Fortune 500 companies includes leadership roles in Manufacturing & Quality (including Site Head positions), Global Brand Leadership, and Chief Operating Officer. One of her most fulfilling roles was serving as VP / Head of Global Recruiting and Talent Acquisition at Eli Lilly and Company. She also served on Eli Lilly’s executive board for the Organization of Latinos and led the Eli Lilly Latino VP/President Council where she focused on advancing Latino talent.
In 2020, Jennie launched her business with a bold mission: to help leaders become unicorns in their industry and create lives of alignment, joy, and impact. Today, she empowers high-achieving professionals to own their voice, activate their unique superpowers, and thrive in both their careers and personal lives.
Jennie has also served on several boards and advisory councils, including Genesis Research, Latino Career Assessment, and the Indy Council Accelerate Advisory Board, where she contributed to workforce development and Latino representation.
In addition to her corporate and entrepreneurial work, Jennie has built a successful dance and fitness career. Her achievements include dancing for artists like Julio Iglesias and Ednita Nazario, performing on TV, serving as an NFL Cheerleader and Captain for a Super Bowl-winning team, and becoming a global Zumba Master Trainer, Presenter, and Fitness Instructor.
Jennie is the author of the Amazon Best Seller Intentional Unicorn and a contributing author of Hispanic Stars Rising Volume 2. She also delivered the message of “The Life of Fitting In” as a TEDx speaker. Jennie is the co-host of the podcast “Very Caliente” (featured in the Los Angeles Tribune Podcast Network). She is a sought-after speaker for national and global organizations and has received honors including:
- 2020 Working Mother of the Year
- 2024 Woman of Making History in Indianapolis (Telemundo Indy)
- 2025 Nominee for Poderista of the Year (Prospanica Indy)
She is also an active member of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners), passionate about supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering authentic leadership. Currently she is collaborating with Los Angeles Tribune as the lead in the Spanish Market to empower the Latino/Hispanic global community.
Jennie credits her greatest inspiration to her family: her husband Brad and their two children, Izzie and Ethan, who are her driving force behind everything she does. After years of hiding her “unicorn horn,” Jennie now proudly embraces it and empowers others to do the same.
Instagram: @intentionalunicorn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/intentionalunicorn/
Website: www.jennielopez.com
YouTube: Intentional Unicorn
TikTok: IntentionalUnicorn
MIKE McCRACKEN
Mike McCracken has extensive experience in the energy industry through his career of developing and managing oil and gas assets and currently serves as CEO of Freedom Energy.
Prior to the formation of Freedom Energy, McCracken served as CEO of Flat Creek Resources and Stateline Operating where he led his team through its initial fundraising and played an integral role in the evaluation and development of its Permian Basin asset position. In 2023, Stateline Operating recapitalized its assets into Freedom Energy for an undisclosed amount. Prior to forming Flat Creek, McCracken served as Chief Operating Officer for Black Mountain Oil and Gas where he oversaw acquisition and divestiture transactions, led the technical and operational teams, and was responsible for the negotiation of partnerships with major oil companies to facilitate trades and asset sales. In 2017, Black Mountain Oil and Gas successfully sold its Delaware Basin assets to Marathon Oil for $700 million. In 2018, Black Mountain sold its mineral position to various parties and a portion of its Pecos County assets to XTO Energy for an undisclosed amount.
Before joining Black Mountain, McCracken held various positions in both private and public companies including Vice President of Development for Enduro Resource Partners, Staff Engineer at Pioneer Natural Resources, and Engineering Specialist at ExxonMobil, where he started his career in the Upstream Research Company.
McCracken earned a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science, and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. Additionally, he serves as president of the Purdue Alumni Entrepreneurship Network and is an instrument rated pilot who enjoys flying, running, and skiing.
New Venture Challenge Judges
Davide Dantonio
Davide Dantonio is Program Manager for gener8tor, a nationally-ranked VC, with 285 accelerators in 46 communities around the USA and EU. Davide, in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), runs multiple pre-accelerator programs in Indiana, called gBETA, for industry segments related to 5G Technology, AI, Industry 4.0, Advanced Manufacturing and B2B SaaS. Davide has coached multiple early-stage founders exploring strategies for growth and scale thru non-dilutive funding, venture capital and business development.
Mary Dougherty
Josh Thiel
Nida Ansari
Nida Ansari helps innovation districts and tech hubs build ecosystems that attract venture capital and drive regional economic growth. She brings 15+ years at the intersection of hardtech, venture capital, and economic development—and knows what it takes to move from vision to traction.
Brad Thompson
Over the years, Brad Thompson counseled well over 200 startups in my medical device FDA regulatory law practice. Having retired from law, now him and his family are investing in about 12 startups per year in any technology making the world a better place, including medical devices and drugs, healthy food, sustainable agriculture, energy efficient automotive/mobility, electromechanical systems, and artificial intelligence. They are active participants in three angel networks based in Indianapolis, Chicago and Minneapolis. To help the startup ecosystem, Brad serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois (UIUC) College of Engineering coaching startups.
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