Nisbet Venture Fund : Finalists
The Nisbet Venture Fund, established through the generous support from Marian Nisbet and Chip Nisbet ’86, provides Davidson College students and recent alumni capital to fuel the expansion of their innovative ideas through the The Jay Hurt Hurt for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College.
“Black Is Womxn” is a collection of NFTs making space for Black womxn by Black womxn. As four Black womxn artists, we aim to transform NFT platforms into a space to grow, educate, and create community.
Mbye Njie is an activist and founder of Legal Equalizer, a mobile app that allows users to capture police encounters after being pulled over, automatically notify loved ones in real-time, provide information on legal rights involving that encounter, and receive legal advice at the scene. Njie launched the first version of LE in 2015 after seeing the fallout from the Michael Brown case, and pulling from his own personal experiences with law enforcement. He is originally from Gambia, West Africa and moved to the US in 1990 when he was just 9 years old. Since living in the US, Mbye has dedicated countless hours to helping others, including volunteering at homeless shelters and local churches as well as helping with the Fair Fight and New Georgia Project organizations. Mbye is currently on the College Alumni Board at Davidson University and lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with his husky
Jeff Mann ’84 is an independent consultant and investor. He has lived in Europe since soon after graduating, and now splits time between Amsterdam and France. He was an IT industry analyst for Gartner for 24 years and before that worked at a Dutch software startup company.
Andrew Edelman is the Head of Strategic & Platform Partnerships at Zapier. He previously worked at Box, Google, and Bank of America. He graduated from Davidson College in 2007 and received his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He and his family currently live in Austin, Texas.
CA’Buddy, aka “Cancer Buddy,” provides cancer patients with care packages and plush treatments buddies, while donating a portion of profits to underfunded cancer research.
Beth Bledsoe is Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief People Officer for MSC Industrial Supply. Beth has responsibility for over 6300 associates and supports the strategy and performance of the organization by attracting and developing talent, engaging associates, ensuring career growth opportunities, and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture. Beth joined the MSC Human Resources team in 2015 and was promoted to her current role in 2019. Prior to joining MSC, she served in HR leadership roles with Ingersoll Rand Company. Beth earned a master’s degree in human resources at the University of South Carolina and bachelor’s degrees in business administration and corporate communications from the College of Charleston. She and her family reside in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Jake is a seasoned technology innovator with over a decade of experience brining technology products to market as an entrepreneur and in large enterprise organizations. He currently serves as Head of Technology Partnerships at Snappy Gifts and as a consumer mentor at the Harvard Innovation Lab. Jake recently relocated to Davidson NC with his family and is always looking for opportunities to support startups.
With 25+ years of business experience, Allen put his Davidson work ethic and critical thinking skills to work and built a successful marketing career that spans sports, real estate, alcohol and coffee/tea, home improvement, apparel and ecommerce in companies like MillerCoors, Lowe’s Home Improvement, S&D Coffee & Tea, Brown-Forman and Hanesbrands, Inc. He’s built brand and company go-to-market strategies and marketing platforms, as well as customized national marketing to need local sales needs in the field. He’s built partnerships with Kroger, the Kentucky Derby, the Cincinnati Bengals, Netflix, Paramount, the Cincinnati Reds, the NHL, and ESPN’s Bassmasters. Besides his marketing success, Allen also is the co-Chair of the non-profit Assist the Goal, which provides scholarships, clinics, and equipment to less-fortunate youth who want to participate in the growing sport of lacrosse.
Davidson NFTickets is a decentralized system to sell and purchase tickets with a resell royalty. It allows organizers to issue/sell tickets for their events (whether that may be a sports event, a concert, or a party) as an NFT, and get paid in royalties whenever the ticket is sold on the secondhand market.
Jean Pierre LeJacq is the founder and CTO of Quoin, Inc., a software
consultancy with offices in Boston, Davidson, and Nicaragua. Jean Pierre is a
graduate of University of New Hampshire and MIT. Besides running Quoin, Jean
Pierre has been involved in a number of startups in healthcare, media
monitoring and analytics, finance, and engineering. He has dual citizenship in
the US and France, and is fluent (mostly) in both languages.
Altan Tutar is a data scientist / entreprenuer-in-residence at Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm operating in 22 different cities. Altan is an exceptional talent visa holder in the United Kingdom and committed to contributing to the London innovation ecosystem. At Antler, Altan is responsible for managing, analyzing, and visualizing data for investment teams. Altan is daily obsessed with improving out-dated processes and exploring data could empower investors at the every stage of the venture journey from Pre-seed to Series A+. Prior to joining Antler, Altan was a computer science master’s student at Imperial College London, where he researched applied deep learning in robotics. Altan brings the investor perspective with a technical mindset to the investor team, helping them designing better products.
Our mission at GZM is to provide affordable, analytical, and effective media marketing services to small businesses that are ready to make the transition to the digital era. We equip businesses with the tools and resources needed to establish financially and socially strong brands, while helping them engage with the highly relevant Generation-Z.
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My Access Abroad ignites opportunities abroad and empowers people to achieve personal freedom. In addition to helping others on their international journey, we’re working to make the workplace of the future more diverse and inclusive, opening conversations about unconscious biases, and increasing opportunities abroad for low-income and underrepresented communities.
Thomas Rocca is a 2017 Political Science graduate. He works as a sales and support team lead for Sharetribe, a Finnish software company helping entrepreneurs build online marketplaces. He lives in San Diego where he and his fiancee Steff are learning how to surf.
Grant graduated from Davidson in 2002, and since then has worked in non-profit and for companies large and small including: Disney, Pepsi, Unilever, Hershey, a brand innovation consultancy, and a fast-growing cannabis company (which recently sold for $2 billion) — mainly in marketing, strategy, innovation, and brand roles. He currently runs an independent consultancy advising companies on marketing & growth strategy.
Duncan is President and CEO of Effició, Incorporated, an education firm,
and advisory, and has served as an advocate of entrepreneurship for over
two decades providing entrepreneurial education and training for
entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners around the world.
Duncan’s expertise extends to research on entrepreneurial cognition and
behavior, innovative marketing, economic intelligence, and power
relationships; in addition to three other business ventures. To further
her contribution to intellectual rigor in entrepreneurship, Duncan is
currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Luleå University of Technology in
Luleå Sweden. Duncan has established herself as one of the leading and
most comprehensive small business resources today that can ‘mobilize’
entrepreneurs to exceed their definition of success. Learn more about
Duncan at https://efficio.biz/.
Crypto consulting services- educating and guiding customers through the new and continually changing world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Evan Rozantes serves as the Innovation Portfolio Manager at the Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College. Prior to joining Davidson, Evan began his career in private equity at Bain Capital and CapitalSource. Thereafter and over the past 15 years he went on to start and successfully exit three startups ranging from a promotional product company, pediatric healthcare organization and most recently one of the first code schools in the world.
Evan has served as a mentor to founders in the startup space through various organizations including YouthCities, Techstars, QC Fintech, and LaunchLKN.
David Danielson (Class of 2019) is a startup founder, technology enthusiast, and avid learner. He is a founder and formerly the CFO of Lucid Drone Tech, winners of the 2018 Nisbet Venture Fund. David now serves as the President of Danielson Advisory Group, a consulting firm that provides data analysis, financial analysis, and advisory services to small and medium businesses.
A job searching application that matches young professionals with potential opportunities based on their skillset. Our vision is to help communities grow by connecting talent with small businesses that need it.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ProctorFree, a rapidly growing technology company that uses machine learning to improve the quality of education, Mike has a passion for innovation and mission-driven businesses. Prior to starting his own business, Mike worked as marketing director for Everblue Training Institute, a startup focused on marketing environmental sustainability and green building. Earlier in his career, Mike served in the Army and as a defense contractor where he completed three tours in Iraq. Mike has also served four years as a Board Member for the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce and three years as the Vice Chairman of Communication and Technology on the Chamber Board of Directors. Outside of the office, Mike values spending time with his family, at his children’s school, coaching youth sports, reading, and staying active.
I am a business development consultant hoping to add value for the incredibly talented founders participating in the competition. I know that I would have appreciated having access to these kinds of resources as I was starting my career. I feel honored to get to work with such energetic and bright minds.
Mike Faubert is President of Store Solutions LLC d.b.a. EasyKlip and Owner of Mount Up LLC, maker of the LockDok. 25 years of consumer product experience who is passionate about bringing innovative new products to consumers.
YMLX by Yami is an online clothing brand offering more than 100 in-stock clothing items to young, fashionable women. We wish to bring all women confidence while making them look and feel good.
Ana Henriques (she/her) leads global business strategy, operations, category, marketing and partnerships for more than 50+ beverage brands distributed across the Americas, Africa, China and the United Kingdom. As Global Vice President & Head of Non-Alcoholic Beverages (NABev) at Anheuser-Busch InBev, her focus is on building a beverage industry disruptor that helps consumers celebrate wellness their way — no matter their lifestyle, location or socioeconomic situation. She also serves on the ABI Foundation board of directors. Henriques graduated with an M.S. in Marketing from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Davidson College. She also holds a certificate in Management and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics.
Proud to lead an incredible team at Revenue Analytics, and to partner with customers across multiple industries to create value and enrich lives. Working together, we have driven over $1 billion in revenue growth!
Drew is an expert in strategic growth and market development, namely helping launch, grow and scale profitable businesses. He started his career at the Corporate Executive Board (ultimately sold to Gartner) where he managed a research team in CEB’s financial services practice; he has since worked in-house at both private-equity and venture-backed companies during high growth phases. In his current role as a Managing Director at Hanover Research’s Corporate Practice, Drew helps align customers’ market intelligence gaps and growth objectives with the various skills and services afforded by Hanover’s team of 300+ data scientists and market researchers. Drew graduated from Davidson College (History) and the University of Southern California’s Marshall School (MBA), where he focused on Entrepreneurial Management.
Anjali Shah is a global innovation executive who has grown and transformed businesses for more than 25 years. She has a proven track record for leading Corporate Development, Go to Market (GTM) and Innovation at companies including Mercury Interactive, HP, CompuCom, and Wells Fargo, where she currently serves as head of Innovation Strategy. She envisions and executes digital strategies that transform customer experiences, expand markets, and grow revenue.
Anjali holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany. She serves as the Marketing and Community Relations Chair on the Blumenthal Performing Arts board and as a member of the board of Launch LKN, a nonprofit serving the Charlotte entrepreneurial community.
Kristi Mitchem is chief executive officer and head of BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), BMO’s asset management division, where she leads a team of investment professionals dedicated to delivering superior performance across a range of asset classes including multi-asset, alternative and more traditional exposure to listed fixed income and equities. BMO GAM has over $300 billion in AUM and is recognised as a world leader in ESG investing and corporate engagement.
Prior to joining BMO in 2019, Ms. Mitchem served as the CEO of Wells Fargo Asset Management where she led 28 autonomous investment teams. She has more than 20 years of experience in roles related to asset management, defined contribution pension plans and equities markets at State Street Corporation, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs.
Ms. Mitchem is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. At State Street she was a driving force in bringing to market a gender diversity index exchange-traded fund (ticker: SHE) designed to invest in U.S. companies committed to advancing the roles women play in their management and on their boards.
Ms. Mitchem was named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2018, as one of the Top Women in Asset Management by Money Management Executive in 2017, and as one of Treasury & Risk’s Top 100 Influential People in 2008. She is also listed in several patent filings focused around guaranteed income requirements.
Ms. Mitchem earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Davidson College, where she graduated summa cum laude and was awarded First Honors. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She is also a Fulbright Scholar.
William Spencer Mitchem was born and raised in Milton, Florida, a small town in the northwestern part of the state. He entered Davidson in the Fall of 1955. While at Davidson, he majored in English history and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and President of the Debate Team. After graduation, Spencer attended Harvard Law School. Following law school, he spent a short time in the United States Army and then joined the Law Firm of Beggs and Lane in Pensacola, Florida. As a corporate lawyer for forty years, he represented banks, timber companies and served as general counsel to a hospital system. In 1965 he married Mary Anne Dominick of Lake Charles, Louisiana. They had three children, all of whom graduated from Davidson College. Spencer is very proud that his daughter Kristi is a member of Davidson’s Board of Trustees.
Jay Hurt is a 1988 graduate of Davidson College with a BA in Economics. He is the former President & CEO of The Hurt Company, Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held oil marketing and distribution companies, a position he held since 1992. During this time, Jay grew The Hurt Company from a small regional company to a nationwide provider. In 2010, Jay was instrumental in the strategy creation and formation of RelaDyne, LLC, where he served as RelaDyne’s Executive Vice President before retiring in 2015 after successfully selling RelaDyne in one of the largest private equity backed transactions in industry history. In 2018, Jay helped establish The Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in appreciation for the role that Davidson College played in his professional and personal success.
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