BGP Forges Billion Dollar Brain Alliance in Los Angeles Startup Industry
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 23, 2013
Los Angeles’ leading tech incubator/accelerator Be Great Partners (BGP) has just announced the latest addition to their team of ten highly experienced and successful mentors: Joel Holland, Alex Zhardanovsky, Darcy Wedd, Gautam Gupta, Michael Krieger, David Santulli, Michael Orza, Alexander Debelov, Michael Mothner, Ola Danilina, Jeff Fissel, and Jeff Avallon. These professionals’ backgrounds will offer the portfolio companies under Be Great Partners great insight into their respective industries’ business development.
“We wanted to bring in a high caliber of professionals to help guide the vision, strategy, marketing, and development of our portfolio companies to build them into successful ventures,” says Lin Mao, CEO and Founder of Be Great Partners. “The team of mentors we have assembled have the potential to grow these startups to multi-million dollar companies, only furthering BGP’s mission to cultivate Los Angeles’ economic and technology sector.”
Joel Holland grew Video Blocks, the first subscription-based provider of stock video and audio, to the #4 Fastest Growing Media Company according to Inc. Magazine, making the prestigious Inc. 500 list. Holland has been named among BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25” and the United States Small Business Administration’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Alex Zhardanovsky is an avid angel investor, having invested in over fourteen businesses and grown his past company he co-founded, Epic Advertising, to over $ 200 Million in annual sales. He is now Co-Founder of one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies, PetFlow.com, which is projected to reach over $ 50 Million in sales in its third year of operations.
A seasoned mobile executive with over sixteen years of experience, Darcy Wedd is the CEO and Founder of PayVia. Wedd holds past experience as a founding member of one of the fastest-growing carrier billing companies in North America that ultimately resulted in the creation of North America’s largest operator network billing provider.
Gautam Gupta is the Co-Founder andCEO of NatureBox, one of Be Great Partners’ newest portfolio companies’ CEO. Gupta is offering his knowledge to Be Great Partners. While a Principal at General Catalyst Partners, Gupta sourced and was involved with the investments in GoodData, PlumDistrict, BigCommerce, Shareaholic, Honest Company and FriendBuy. He has also worked at Proctor and Gamble, building his knowledge in brand strategy and consumer preferences.
Working with some of the largest wireless data communication, printer, and server synchronization clients as part of Kirton McConkie, Michael Krieger has practiced and perfected international intellectual property law. He is one of Utah’s Legal Elite and a Mountain States Super Lawyer for Intellectual Property.
Founder and Executive Director of United Planet, David Santulli is well versed in international affairs and business, having traveled to over 100 nations. He created the concept of Relational Diplomacy as a practical method to improve intercultural relations.
With BGP hosting many technological companies, Michael Orza is a key player as Founder and CEO of Webair, a service that provides businesses with viable web hosting, web development, and managed solutions for companies of all sizes. Webair is a global leader in the industry with datacenters located in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal and Amsterdam.
Demonstrating outstanding entrepreneurial understanding, Alexander Debelov, CEO of the online video advertising network Virool, was recognized as Babson College’s Most Outstanding Entrepreneurship Student, #1 place winner of John H. Muller Undergraduate Business Plan competition, and was named Top 5 College Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Leading the world’s top search engine marketing firm, Michael Mothner, CEO and Founder of Wpromote, launched a company that has been a member of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Inc. 500/5000 list, with over 3,300% revenue growth from 2003 to 2008. Mothner was part of the “30 CEOs Under 30 To Watch” in 2007 by Inc. magazine, and the 2008 recipient of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Entretech Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit.
Ola Danilina is the CEO and Founder of PMBC Group, a multi-tier public relations agency specializing in Corporate Communications PR and Technology PR. Whether the goal is to attract investors, excite shareholders, go public, go global, or build a brand, her company is the catalyst to a client’s public relations’ success.
Co-Founder of a software development company, Jeff Fissel serves as the Vice President of Business Development at KZO Innovations, playing a key role in select strategic accounts and corporate development activities. He is a member of the development team for the KZO technology, with his expertise in interactive streaming media technologies.
Jeff Avallon is the Co-Founder of an innovative and environmentally responsible whiteboard paint called IdeaPaint that transforms virtually any surface into a high-performance, dry erase canvas. With over 75,000 successful installations worldwide, IdeaPaint is the gold standard for dry erase performance, flexibility and environmental responsibility.
About Be Great Partners
Be Great Partners (BGP), the leading technology incubator in Los Angeles, has an active $ 6 million fund to expand LA’s startup ecosystem and bring the most talented tech startups and continued long-term job growth to Los Angeles, specifically its Miracle Mile. The company is seeking big data projects to invest an average capital ranging from $ 25,000 to $ 50,000, while providing the startups with strong mentorship, world-class facilities and a team of 25 innovative developers. Be Great Partners works directly with entrepreneurs to develop their project’s full potential.
