Reshape tech landscape & bridge the SE & SW divide: A thought leader panel

SExSW: The majority of VC dollars has been focused in traditional tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, New York and Boston.

In this new normal, new tech hubs are emerging in Austin, Atlanta and the Washington DC Metro Area. Listen to a panel of thought leaders who are focused on reshaping the tech landscape, bridging the divide between capital, talent and technology.

Meet our panelists:

Lisa Besserman

Lisa Besserman, Founder of Startup Buenos Aires accelerator, has been named as Business Insider’s “Top 100 Most Influential Women in Tech”, and the “Business Innovator of Latin America” by the Council of the Americas. She has also been credited as “The Woman Behind Argentina’s Startup Revolution”.

Lisa is a Google Mentor and has been a judge for dozens of startup competitions around the world. She was recognized as a successful entrepreneur in Forbes magazine and an International spotlight entrepreneur from the U.S Department of State.

Lisa has been featured in prominent publications such as Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Entrepreneur Magazine, TechCrunch and Fortune as a startup expert.

Currently, Lisa serves as the Managing Director at Expa VC, focusing on pre-seed investments and program development. Prior to Expa, she was the Head of Indeed’s global corporate Incubator in Austin, Texas.

Joey Womack

With a life’s purpose of helping to equalize socio-economic disparities in communities all over the world, Joey Womack’s goal is to positively impact 1 billion people by the year 2039. Part super-connector, part startup coach, he is the Founder/CEO of Goodie Nation, a national support nonprofit that is closing the relationship gap for for tech-focused social entrepreneurs and diverse founders, and the Founder/CEO of Amplify 4 Good, a mission-driven agency that uses rapid problem-solving to help large companies, nonprofits, and government agencies create social impact.

Womack, a TEDx speaker, has been named a 2020-2021 Game Changing Founder of Color by SOCAP, one of Atlanta’s 500 most powerful business leaders by Atlanta Magazine, received the Technology Association of Georgia’s (TAG) Diversity in Tech Game Changer Award for Community Engagement and Equity Champion Award by Startup Atlanta, named one of the Top 10 social entrepreneurs in Atlanta by Hypepotamus, featured by McDonalds, PepsiCo, and Jack Daniels for commitment to social impact, and listed by Huffington Post as one of the Top 20 Innovators in the Atlanta Tech Startup Scene.

He serves on the boards for Startup Atlanta, Venture Atlanta, and the Georgia Social Impact Collaborative as well as advisory boards for SXSW and SOCAP’s Spectrum Conference. An entrepreneur since his student days, Womack also launched digitalguestlist.com in 2002 while earning his MBA at Florida A&M University where he was also initiated into Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc.

Jonathan Aberman

Jonathan Aberman is a highly respected thought leader on entrepreneurship and innovation. His experience as a venture investor, innovation consultant, university professor, and media commentator gives him a 360-degree perspective on entrepreneurship and technology innovation. He is identified as a leader of change and influence in print and television media, recognized by Washingtonian magazine as a “Tech Titan,” by the Washington Business Journal as a member of the “Power 100” and by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one of its “50 Most Influential Entrepreneurs” in the Commonwealth.” Forbes Magazine described him as the “unsung hero” of the successful attraction of Amazon HQ2 to Arlington, Virginia.

Through his closely held investment business, Amplifier Ventures, Jonathan has helped to start 16 technology businesses since 2005. Among these businesses are successful companies in cybersecurity, mobile communications, internet, and mobile content and software. His experiences and contacts in the venture capital industry inform his views on technology innovation and provide a hard-earned commercial perspective that he applies to his work.

In 2011, he founded Startup Virginia, Startup Maryland and StartupDC as part of the Obama Administration’s StartupAmerica Initiative. These efforts resulted in the formation of regionally impactful programs including 1776 Accelerator and the iCorps program. In 2012 he formed FounderCorps, a not for profit that aggregated many of the Greater Washington region’s most prominent entrepreneurs and promoted mentorship. In 2018, he formed the Tandem Product Academy, an educational program focused on teaching founders and senior executives essential skills necessary to scale technology product-based businesses.

Shaun Gold

Shaun Gold is the founder of YouTopian Journey, the first self-help digital comic book series & platform for the mental health of Millenials & Gen Z.

Shaun is the true definition of a polymath. He is a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, guest speaker, advisor, super-connector, Jeopardy player (where he high-fived Alex Trebek on air), screenwriter and former nightlife ninja.

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About Founders Network:

Founded in 2011, Founders Network offers lifelong peer mentorship to over 600 tech startup founders globally. Our platform, programs and high-touch service facilitate authentic experience sharing, warm introductions and long-term professional relationships. Additional benefits include over $500k in startup discounts and promotion to 2,000 newsletter readers. Members are located in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and other tech hubs. Each month our Membership Committee admits a new cohort of full-time tech founders who are nominated by an existing member. Learn more at https://foundersnetwork.com

Confidentiality Policy

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record.  In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.