Speakers for 2024

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Jason McCann

Vari.com

Jason McCann is the founder and CEO of Vari, a leading workspace innovation company. With over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, he is dedicated to creating people-centric environments that enhance productivity and well-being.

Starting his career in his mother’s hair salons, Jason learned the importance of customer-centric principles early on. In 2013, he co-founded VariDesk, known for its innovative sit-stand desks, which later evolved into Vari to encompass a broader range of products and services.

Under Jason’s leadership, Vari has grown rapidly, offering a full suite of office furniture and pioneering concepts like VariSpace, a multi-tenant campus for enterprise-level clients. Jason’s achievements include receiving the fastest-growing company award in Dallas in 2016 and EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2017.

Jason is a sought-after speaker at industry events and has been featured in publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur. He is actively involved in his community, serving on the board of the Texas Real Estate Council and mentoring future entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Coppell High School Incubator program.

Jason holds a B.S. and MBA from the University of Houston and resides in Coppell, Texas, with his family. His passion for creating exceptional workspaces continues to drive positive change in the business world.

Gordon Whitten 

I See it Ventures

Gordon Whitten is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in launching successful companies and raising substantial capital investments. He began his entrepreneurial journey at age 14, founding a lawn mowing business that ignited his passion for business.

Originally from Harvard, NE, Gordon’s small-town roots instilled in him a strong work ethic and drive for success. After graduating with Honors in Business Administration from Hastings College, he embarked on a series of entrepreneurial ventures, including Champions Fun Center in Lincoln, which he grew into a thriving enterprise employing over 100 individuals.

Gordon’s innovative spirit led him to develop ItsDeductibleTM, a tax-saving software product that gained national recognition and attracted partnerships with major companies like H&R Block and Intuit.

In recent years, Gordon has focused on Opportunity Zones, investing in real estate and business development projects in the Omaha Metro area. His commitment to fostering growth and innovation continues to make a positive impact in the business community.

Outside of work, Gordon enjoys spending time with his family and pursuing interests such as Husker football and travel.

Hanah Molloy

Trillion Health & Hormone

Hanah Molloy, a dynamic entrepreneur and visionary leader, is the Chief Executive Officer of Trillion Health and Hormone, a trailblazing organization specializing in women’s health, hormone therapy, gynecology, and regenerative medicine. Born in Omaha, Molloy’s entrepreneurial journey started as a small child with lemonade stands, dog walking, and babysitting.

This early entrepreneurial start evolved into a multimillion-dollar women’s health organization as an adult.

She is defined by a profound commitment to revolutionizing women’s healthcare.

Under Molloy’s leadership, Trillion Health and Hormone has achieved remarkable success, earning a prestigious position on the Inc 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America, ranking at an impressive #137.

Molloy is committed to challenging the status quo for women’s healthcare and has a personal mission to empower 10 million women in the next 10 years.

Paul Jarrett

Bulugroup.com

Paul Jarrett is the CEO & Co-Founder of Bulu, the industry authority in “Tricky Ship” including high volume kitting, ecommerce pick-and-pack fulfillment and multi-channel logistics. Paul’s unique approach disrupting traditional linear fulfillment is his Hibryd, Hub & Spoke model. 

Paul and his Co-Founder, Stephanie, launched Bulu in 2012. Paul quickly gained recognition as a trailblazer and has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, PSB, Inc., CBS  News, and many other major media outlets. 

Paul is well-known as an Ecommerce and consumer packaged goods expert, as well as a memorable keynote speaker with an authentic and straightforward style. 

Sandy A. Lane

Sandyalane.com

With over two decades of experience as a consulting partner at a prominent CPA firm, Sandy transitioned into the entrepreneurial world, founding and leading a major healthcare startup before pivoting to business consulting and development. Originally from the Midwest, Sandy now calls Durango, Colorado home, where she actively supports the local startup ecosystem and business community as an independent consultant. 

John Hill

Techstars

John is the heartbeat of the Techstars network, as well as one of the most supportive individuals across any ecosystem (…ask almost anyone).

Once the Higher Education Evangelist at LinkedIn, he then become the Network Catalyst for Techstars. 

John believes “changing the world” can be more than hyperbole, and that building relationships and connecting people with opportunity are at his core. 

Speakers for 2023

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Jeff Hoffman

Priceline.com; Ubid.com

Jeff Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, published author, Hollywood film producer, and a producer of a Grammy winning jazz album. In his career, he has been the founder of multiple startups, he has been the CEO of both public and private companies, and he has served as a senior executive in many capacities. Jeff has been part of a number of well-known companies, including Priceline.com. uBid.com, CTI, ColorJar, and more.

Today Jeff serves on the boards of companies in the US, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. He supports entrepreneurs and small businesses on a worldwide basis, serving on the boards of The Unreasonable Group, the global board of directors of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (supporting entrepreneurship in over 170 countries), the US State Department’s GIST program (Global Innovation through Science and Technology, working in 49 emerging nations), the APEC Startup Initiative (the Asia Pacific Economic Council’s 21-member nation association), and many others. He supports the White House, the State Department, the United Nations, and similar organizations internationally on economic growth initiatives and entrepreneurship programs.

Jedidiah Weller 

CEO of Startup Wars

Jedidiah Weller (Jedi) is an accomplished entrepreneur who focuses on empowering the intersection between business and technology. He is currently the CEO at OpenForge and the founder of Startup Wars, as well as the organizer of the Startup Junto meetup in Philadelphia. 

He has been a speaker and mentor at Startup events across the world, including Thailand Startup Summit, San Francisco’s Developer Week, Austin’s SXSW, The Web Summit, and more. 

Van Deeb 

Motivational Speaker, Author, and success coach

Van Deeb is the country’s foremost expert on selling and customer service and is dedicated to helping others become successful in business. He has inspired tens of thousands to succeed through his motivational and informative workshops, speaking events, newsletters, and books.
After winning more than 100 regional and national sales awards as a successful real estate agent in Dallas for 10 years, Van launched Deeb Realty in 1993 and worked as the sole agent from his home in Omaha, Nebraska. Within 15 years, the company grew to over 350 agents, making it one of the largest independent firms in the United States. DEEB Realty changed its name to Nebraska Realty in 2015 and now has over 1000 agents statewide.

Currently, Van speaks to people across the country empowering them to become successful and incorporating the attitude: “There is nothing I can’t do with the proper mindset, drive, and determination”. His philosophy about focusing on the basics and fundamentals continues to motivate, inspire and guide professionals to realize their full potential.

Zuly Matallana  

CEO of TIARA

Zuly Matallana is the CEO and Brand Founder of Tiara. She was nominated in 2020 for WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women and always draws on her passions to overcome obstacles and believes it’s that fire within her that makes all of her accomplishments possible. She is one of the 8% of women globally who holds a patent for her sustainable shower cap and is currently working to launch a revolutionary natural hair and deodorant line.

Zuly’s drive to transform the way women care for their hair, while reducing single-use plastics, led to the creation of TIARA shower caps. Her sustainable design was noticed by Tory Johnson and her team, leading to a feature on Good Morning America, and a subsequent winning pitch on the Canadian hit series Dragons’ Den.

 After losing an aunt to breast cancer, Zuly’s mission shifted to eliminating harmful ingredients in products that women rely on each day. She is about to launch a line of consciously made natural deodorants, that offer a functional alternative for women around the world. 

Tessa Porter 

President of Sprinkk

Tessa Porter is the President and Founder of Sprinkk, an Omaha, Nebraska-based company focusing on confectionery process design and small-scale contract manufacturing. She’s also the founder of Norma’s, a new natural fruit snack brand. Additionally, Tessa uses Sprinkk to amplify the voice of women in STEM, introduce confectionery science to students, and advocate for careers in the trades and manufacturing. Prior to starting her own company, Tessa led at Ferrara Candy Company as the Head of Innovation and Technology. She is proud to have developed a unique and powerful R&D team, as well as many unique products ranging from RAP® Protein Gummies to the full line of Black Forest Organic® products. She has a Masters in food science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Ben Jackson 

Investor, Product Leader at WP Engine

With nearly 2 decades of startup and scale-up experience, Ben is a high-energy serial entrepreneur, investor, and corporate executive, founding and scaling multiple companies and building teams across sales, customer success, support, marketing, and operations teams at LinkedIn, TigerPaw Software, FBC (acquired by Love’s Capital), Flywheel, and WP Engine.  His experience spans fitness, luxury travel, social networks, SaaS, fintech, HRIT, and PaaS.

He is an early investor and advisor to several Nebraska-based startups, investment funds, and ecosystem-development initiatives, including Alpaca, Nebraska Angels, NMotion/gener8tor, Proven Ventures, NMotion, MOVE Fund, Abstrakt, Impower Health, Breeze, LeverageRX, and New Venture Network.

Speakers for 2022

Rick Knudtson

Co-founder and CEO of Workshop

Rick Knudtson is a designer, self-taught digital marketer and serial entrepreneur. He is currently co-founder and CEO at Workshop in Omaha. Rick previously founded and helped Flywheel grow into an international brand with a team of 100+ Flywheelers, thousands of customers across the globe and multiple award-winning products.

Rick has a passion for sales and marketing strategy, simple business models and building highly functioning teams. As an entrepreneur, he has a long list of not-so-successful projects. Each experience has shaped his perspective on what it takes to build high-growth, world-class organizations.

Outside of Workshop, Rick writes about sales and marketing strategy on his blog More Up, Less Right, spends time with his family and continues to explore new things in his hometown Omaha.

Carolina Acosta

Founder of Tragos Games LLC

Charista Baye

Co-Owner of Thoughtful Franchise Brokers

Charista Baye is a serial entrepreneur who has been both successful and unsuccessful at starting businesses. Before becoming a franchise broker she was in the advertising industry for 8 years. As a franchise broker she works as a matchmaker for those looking to leave corporate America and find the perfect franchise fit for their situation. 

Charista has a passion for helping entrepreneurs with their dream of business ownership. She’s excited to share her rocky journey of entrepreneurship. Oftentimes we only hear of successes so talking about business failures is also important too. She will share why her business failed, how to know when to take risks or move on, and how to avoid costly mistakes. 

 Outside of work, Charista loves spending time with her husband and 3 children. 

Willy Theisen

Founder of Godfather’s Pizza

William Theisen is a restaurant entrepreneur from Omaha, Nebraska, born in Chicago and raised in Clinton, Iowa. He was the founder and former owner of Godfather’s Pizza, a popular pizzeria chain that has locations in over 40 states. Theisen got the idea to start a pizza chain when he was running his own bar called “Wild Willys.” He noticed many of his customers carried pizza, from a pizza restaurant next door, into his bar to eat it. Theisen decided to remove the wall separating the two businesses. The first Godfathers opened in 1973. Many locations opened throughout the country and Theisen looked to have a hit on his hands. He sold his interest and ownership in the company in the mid-1980s to Pillsbury and stepped down from operating the company. Pillsbury has long since sold the restaurant chain.

Hannah Nodskov

Founder of Hannah Caroline Couture

Hannah Nodskov is the founder of Hannah Caroline Couture, a custom wedding gown design company based in Omaha, NE. A graduate of UNO’s College of Business Administration, Hannah started her business in high school. She has since grown it into a premier bridal company that has worked with brides in dozens of states across the US and beyond, appeared on the runway in New York City, Atlanta, Portland and throughout the Midwest, and was recently worn on the red carpet of the 2021 Emmy Awards. Hannah is passionate about entrepreneurship and loves to mentor and inspire fellow entrepreneurs by sharing her journey. 

Genevieve Thiers

Founder of Sittercity.com, Opera Singer, TV Produce and Startup Investor

Genevieve Thiers is an disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker and investor that lives in the Chicago area. Her first company, Sittercity.com, is America’s first company to take caregiving services online. Sittercity.com now has millions of users and new locations in the UK and Canada.

Genevieve was recognized by President Bush at the White House as the Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneur Champion of the Year for 2006, and her companies have won over 18 major awards, including the CEC Momentum Award, the WBDC Rising Start Award, a CNN Young Heroes feature, the UPS Out of the Box Award, the INC 500 list, and more. Genevieve has been featured thousands of times in the press for her work, by the TODAY show, Ellen, the View, MSNBC, the CBS Early Show, CNN, Live & Style, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Redbook, Parents, Parenting, Marie Clare, TIME, Better Homes and Gardens, Working Mother and more.

She has lectured or spoken at the TED Global, Cusp, Amex, Groupon, Enova, Inland, the CEO Conference, the Heartland Conference, Microsoft, Harvard business school, Kellogg, Columbia, Babson, Boston College, U Chicago and for hundreds of other entrepreneurial groups around the country. She is the author of the book Love at First Sit, and frequently writes for various tech publications in the Chicago area.

Erik Bird

Co-Founder of Eat Fit Go, Serial Entrepreneur & Wellness Expert

Erik iwas a pitcher for the Huskers baseball team and after he graduated in 2009, he pursed a career as a fitness professional.  Eric moved up the ladder quickly and became the youngest manager of the largest Lifetime Fitness gym in the country in Chicago.  Erik left there to co-found Eat Fit Go, a healthy prepared food concept.

After a wild ride in with a fast growing company, Erik sold his share in the company and returned to his roots in the wellness industry as a fitness professional with a team of trainers who work for him.  As a trainer and a speaker, Erik is passionate about wellness and entrepreneurship and has a highly relateable and inspirational message for young entrepreneurs.

Jess Ekstrom

Founder of Headbands of Hope, Author, Speaker

Jessica Ekstrom founded Headbands of Hope when she was a senior in college in 2012. She created the company to bring joy back to kids who have lost their hair and help fund childhood cancer research. Her first brush with success was selling all of her toys on eBay when she was twelve. Since then, Jess and her company have been featured on Today and Good Morning America and in Seventeen, Vanity Fair, Forbes, and People. More importantly, they have donated hundreds of thousands of headbands reaching every children’s hospital in the United States and in fifteen countries.

Jess is also a professional speaker and founder of Mic Drop Workshop, an online course with the mission of empowering more women to share their message as a speaker. Jess and her husband, Jake, travel around the country in their Airstream with their dog, Ollie.

In her new book, Chasing the Bright Side, Jess shares that “… we are born with something more important than skills. We’re born with optimism—the initial seed for success. Optimism fuels the belief that you can be the one to create the good the world needs. But you’ve got to hone it. And practice it. And determine to live from it.”

Andrew Kozlovski

Founder and CEO of Brainz Power / Keynote Speaker

Andrew founded Brainz Power in 2015 when he witnessed firsthand the prescribed focus medication epidemic on all US college campuses as a freshman at USC.  There were no natural alternatives, so he set out to create one.

Before graduating in 2018, Andrew had already landed features in Forbes, Business Insider and named on of the to 20 entrepreneurs in their 20’s for the impact that Brainz Power has had on the college market.

Maggie Kane

Founder and Executive Director of A Place at the Table

At 23 years old and fresh off a degree in International Relations and Italian from N.C. State, Maggie had planned to move to Italy.  While volunteering and working at local nonprofits she realized that .“Raleigh was a happening place to be… for people with money. It felt divided, and I knew that food was our tool to fix it.”  Based on her experiences, Kane founded A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can café.

Maggie Kane is the Founder and Executive Director of A Place at the Table, the first pay-what-you-can cafe in downtown Raleigh. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 2013 and began working for a nonprofit with people experiencing homelessness. By befriending many people living on the margins, she knew something needed to be done. Maggie has a heart to serve, a desire to always be inclusive, and a passion for loving people. Through her work with people on the streets, she realized the power of community, the importance of dignity, and the beauty in bringing people together over incredible food. February 2015, A Place at the Table was birthed and Maggie never looked back, opening in January of 2018 serving thousands of people in Raleigh with a dignified, healthy, and affordable meal. However, more importantly, a meal that feeds more than just the stomach– it feeds your hearts, souls, and minds. Outside of the cafe, you will catch her running marathons and eating peanut butter! But…you will mainly find her at the cafe right now loving on people all day.

Gerry O’Brion

VP of Marketing for Coors Light, Quiznos and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

Gerry O’Brion is a marketing keynote speaker and author who translates big brand strategies into knowledge that any business can use to win in the marketplace. Gerry’s presentations drive growth with companies of all sizes from small businesses to billion dollar brands. Gerry built his career growing big brands and distills that experience into creating strategies and real ideas that are actionable immediately.

After earning his MBA at the University of Michigan, he worked with Procter & Gamble on brands such as Crisco, Tide, Mr. Clean, and Spic & Span. Next, at Coors Brewing Company he managed Coors Light, a $2 billion business. He was then VP of Marketing for the $1.5 billion Quiznos restaurant chain. Gerry was most recently VP of Marketing for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, a $1 billon brand.

Gerry works to first understand your unique goals and challenges, and then to deliver a presentation that delivers maximum impact for every dollar you invest.

Emily Pritchard

Co-Founder and Visionary of The Social Lights

Emily Pritchard is Co-Founder and Visionary of The Social Lights, a social business consultancy located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She’s an innovator with a passion for people, and she always finds a way to make an impact. With the big picture in mind, Emily keeps a pulse on what’s new in the industry and never fails to find creative ways to get the job done.

A graduate of the University of St. Thomas, Emily holds degrees in Business Communication, Entrepreneurship, and Family Business. In 2018, she was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Heartland Program.

Emily is dedicated to sharing her time and expertise with others. As a mentor for Techstars, a global seed accelerator, and the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas, she remains actively involved in the startup community.

Outside of work, she enjoys running, yoga, cooking, and travel. Emily is on a mission to explore (and surf) all seven continents and has four under her belt already: North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Josh Rasmussen

Co-Founder, Monday Motorbikes

I have over a decade in consumer and B2B sales in multiple industries. My experience managing sales teams, creating efficient sales methodologies and implementing business development strategies has allowed me to grow strong relationships across the globe.

Throughout my career I have worked in the automotive industry as well as the legal & travel technology industries leading and developing team members throughout the country.

As the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Monday Motorbikes, I am driven by personal passion, an excitement to solve difficult problems associated complex hardware and teach/learn from those around me. I strive to enhance my current leadership capabilities, expand our group of intelligent & driven team members as well as grow our internationally recognized brand.

Mary Clare Sweet

Founder of Lotus House of Yoga

I intend to raise the vibration of the world with joy, peace, and love.My yoga journey began with my mom in the heartland and has grown from a tiny seed into the family that is Lotus House. 5 Lotus House locations, 95 employees, and over 10,000 active students create an incredibly strong group of people ready to live their truth.

We extend our Lotus House culture into a travel company, music festival, wellness coaching, and a globally renown training school. Teaching yoga is my passion and loving people is my purpose. In every class you will experience a transformation that changes your life on and off the mat. I am motivated by the resilience of the human spirit and the grace of mother nature. We are connected by universal consciousness and the capacity to follow our dreams.

David Simnick

CEO & Co-Founder of SoapBox Soaps

David Simnick is the CEO and co-founder of SoapBox Soaps, an all-natural personal-care company that donates a bar of soap or a month’s supply of clean water to those in need around the world for every item sold. SoapBox’s mission is to empower consumers to make a change through everyday, quality purchases, and in just its first five years alone, SoapBox has sold almost $5 million worth of products.

He had the idea for Soapbox when he was working as a subcontractor for the United States Agency for International Development and then began making soap on the side.

Soapbox had their first big break selling with WholeFoods, and currently sells their personal care products in major retailers across the US (Walgreens, Target, Rite Aid, Meyer, Kroger, and Walmart to name a few). They have been featured on the Today Show, MSNBC, Entrepreneur magazine, and Forbes.

Carmin Black

Founder of Half United

An internship with TOMS Shoes. A bag of discarded bullet casings. A $200 startup investment. A vision for helping children in need. The HALF UNITED story could begin at any number of starting points. But ask brother-sister founders—Christian and Carmin Black—where it really starts, and it always goes back to their parents and an upbringing that nurtured a passion for people, design, charity, and entrepreneurship.

With a mother who owned restaurants and designed merchandising concepts for major fashion brands and a father who ministered in churches around the globe, the seemingly opposite worlds of fashion and philanthropy converged in their home, serving as a constant inspiration to the siblings. So in Wilmington, NC, in 2009, when Carmin left a promising job in journalism and Christian wrapped up high school, they began working together to create a brand that combined these two loves. Fashion and Giving—two halves that united can make a difference. The vision of HALF UNITED was born.

Sunny Su

Founder of ParadigmID.com

Award-winning executive design consultant (ux/cx & product/brand strategy, venture design & corporate innovation) whose work has brought success and scale to both the earliest ventures and largest of enterprises. Offering innovative and strategic product design solutions, his design direction & strategy is trusted by entrepreneurs, startups of all stages, and corporate brands alike: Neurun, Malkuta, Loop, Hyperion, Faith-in-Humanity, SAS, Bosch, Coca-Cola, LG, IBM, Lowe’s, Deutsche Bank, Eastman Chemical, and DARPA, to name a few.

Recognized for over 28 industry awards and honors ranging from Baylor New Venture, Product Innovation Lab, Poole Innovation Expo, and Andrews Accelerator, to the IDSA Merit Award, BCorp Champion, Betabox/TI, Verizon Innovation, Think & Do, and many more. His breadth of work has also been published in Data Viz Conference 2017, The Catalyst, 3D Print, 3Ders, DesignLife Magazine, Exit Event, Triangle Discovery Forum, among others.

Haley Hoffman Smith

Keynote Speaker & Author

Haley Hoffman Smith is a keynote speaker and the author of Her Big Idea, a book on ideation and women’s empowerment which debuted as a Top 3 Bestseller. She has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and the Washington Examiner. A recent Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, she wrote her honors thesis on how women develop their sense of self agency in entrepreneurship and venture capital. She is the founder of the Her Big Idea Fund in partnership with Brown’s

Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, which awards grants to women who apply with BIG ideas.

At Brown, she was the President of Women’s Entrepreneurship and started the first-ever women’s entrepreneurship incubator. She is the Director of Community for Next Gen Summit, an entrepreneurship community of 3,000+ members, and sincerely enjoys consulting with other entrepreneurs. She is a contributor for Thrive Global and Entrepreneur. 

Haley speaks on topics such as women’s empowerment, innovation, and personal branding regularly across companies and college campuses – most recently, at Microsoft, Harvard, SoGal Ventures, Columbia, and Yale.

Keith Fix

Founder of RetailAware, Blabfeed, and many others

As a serial entrepreneur, startup technologist, and marketing executive, Keith has been part of customer management teams for global Fortune 500 companies Abercrombie & Fitch, DirecTV, and led technology marketing initiatives with clients such as Target, SAC Federal Credit Union and others worldwide.

While still an undergrad at UNO, Keith won the Maverick Business Plan contest and raised six-figures in funding to start blabfeed, an award-winning digital signage integrator that handles hardware, software, design, installation and support of digital menu boards, way finding displays, and kiosks for a diverse portfolio of clients.

After a successful exit, Keith is now launching RetailAware, a technology firm that optimizes merchandising by leveraging real time in-store data to drive retail sales. Keith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, Management, Entrepreneurship & Innovation from the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Casanova Brooks

Conference Emcee, Award Winning Real Estate Agent, Investor, Speaker, & CEO

Casanova Brooks is an award-winning real estate agent, investor, speaker and relationship builder. After achieving high-level success in the real estate industry as well as various marketing and sales roles, Casanova has figured out the steps to truly build meaningful relationships and make his dreams become a reality.

Nurturing the ideology – It Starts With Your Mindset – Casanova Brooks held up strong when he hit rock bottom. He learned it the tough way in his early days when he was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer at the age of 15. Years later, he faced another devastating turning point in his life. Within a one week span, Casanova lost his mom, his home, and his job. Without nothing left but love and support from his wife and family, Casanova vowed to pick himself up and started internally focusing on a growth mindset. He went all in, with his back against the wall he kept fighting, and when his hard work finally was met with a great opportunity, the tables were turned. Not only clearing 6 figures as a real estate agent in his first year, on his first real estate investment endeavor, he has continued to build a successful portfolio.

Jeff Hoffman

Priceline.com; Ubid.com

Jeff Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, published author, Hollywood film producer, and a producer of a Grammy winning jazz album. In his career, he has been the founder of multiple startups, he has been the CEO of both public and private companies, and he has served as a senior executive in many capacities. Jeff has been part of a number of well-known companies, including Priceline.com. uBid.com, CTI, ColorJar, and more.

Today Jeff serves on the boards of companies in the US, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. He supports entrepreneurs and small businesses on a worldwide basis, serving on the boards of The Unreasonable Group, the global board of directors of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (supporting entrepreneurship in over 170 countries), the US State Department’s GIST program (Global Innovation through Science and Technology, working in 49 emerging nations), the APEC Startup Initiative (the Asia Pacific Economic Council’s 21-member nation association), and many others. He supports the White House, the State Department, the United Nations, and similar organizations internationally on economic growth initiatives and entrepreneurship programs.

Miki Agrawal

Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder / Chief Inventor of THINX

Miki Agrawal (www.mikiagrawal.com) is a serial social entrepreneur.  She was the recipient of The Tribeca Film Festival’s “Disruptive Innovation Award”, she was named “2017 Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum”, “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” by the World Technology Summit, she was one of INC Magazine’s “Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs of 2016”, Forbes’ “Top 20 Millennials on a Mission”, and made the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine in 2016. 

She is the founder of the acclaimed farm-to-table, alternative pizza concept called WILD (www.eatdrinkwild.com) with 3 locations in New York City, one in Guatemala and more on the way. 

She co-founded THINX (www.shethinx.com), a high-tech, period-proof underwear brand and led the company as CEO to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017, helping tens of millions of women period better. She also co-founded Icon, a high-tech pee-proof underwear brand that helps women manage light bladder leakage.

She most recently founded TUSHY (www.hellotushy.com), a company that is revolutionizing the American toilet category with a modern, affordable, designer bidet attachment that both upgrades human health & hygiene as well as the environment from wasteful toilet paper consumption. She and her team are also helping fight the global sanitation crisis by bringing clean latrines to underserved communities in India through their partnership with Samagra. 

Harper Collins published her first book entitled “DO COOL SH*T” on entrepreneurship and lifestyle design and Hay House is publishing her second book “Disrupt-Her” coming out in the fall of 2018. 

Miki is an identical twin, half-Japanese, half-Indian French Canadian, former professional soccer player, graduate of Cornell University and proud new mama of Hiro Happy. 

Peter Shankman

Founder of ShankMinds Breakthrough

Peter is the founder of ShankMinds: Breakthrough, an online community of business professionals from around the world who come together to give and get advice, increase their business, and improve their lives.

Additionally, Peter is also the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Social Media, Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. His blog, which he launched in 1995 at https://www.shankman.com, both comments on and generates news and conversation.

Peter’s Customer Service and Social Media clients have included American Express, Sprint, SAP, The US Department of Defense, Royal Bank of Canada, Snapple Beverage Group, Saudi Aramco, Foley Hoag LLP, NASA, Haworth, Sheraton, Walt Disney World, Abercrombie and Kent, The Ad Council, Discovery Networks, New Frontier Media, Napster, Juno, Dream Catcher Destinations Club, Harrah’s Hotels, and many, many others.

Rick Knudtson

Co-founder of and Chief Marketing Office of Flywheel

Rick Knudtson is a designer, self-taught digital marketer and serial entrepreneur. He is currently co-founder and CMO at Flywheel  in Omaha.  Over the last five years, Rick has helped Flywheel grow into an international brand with a team of 100+ Flywheelers, thousands of customers across the globe and multiple award-winning products. 

 Rick has a passion for sales and marketing strategy, simple business models and building highly functioning teams. As an entrepreneur, he has a long list of not-so-successful projects. Each experience has shaped his perspective on what it takes to build high-growth, world-class organizations. 

 Outside of Flywheel, Rick writes about sales and marketing strategy on his blog More Up, Less Right, spends time with his family and continues to explore new things in his hometown Omaha. 

Cassandra Farrington

Co-Founder and CEO of Marijuana Business Daily

Cassandra heads up the cannabis industry’s leading daily news website, Marijuana Business Daily and its family of content resources for the B2B cannabis marketplace, including two national conferences.

A former VP at Citi, Cassandra considers herself a fugitive from Corporate America. She and co-founder, Anne Holland, saw a nascent industry that lacked reliable, unbiased news coverage, was underserved with regard to opportunities for professionals to forge connections between the professionals building an industry, and needed a repository for industry-wide business data.

Cassandra earned her MBA from the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business.

Marijuana Business Daily was named to the Inc 500 in 2016, having experienced 1288% growth over a three-year period, and the Inc 5000 in 2017, at #528.

Their trade show, The Marijuana Business Conference & Expo (MJBizCon) was named the fastest growing trade show in the U.S. by Trade Show Executive Magazine in 2015. In 2016, both the Spring and the Fall Marijuana Business Conference & Expo received high placements in the The Fastest 50 as well. [The 2017 MjBizCon is hoping to achieve top rankings again as they move to a bigger space in the Las Vegas convention center.]

Cassandra was recognized as one of Top Women in Media 2016 by Folio: Top Women in Media Awards for her entrepreneurship.

Dana Derricks

Author & Copywriter

Ray Land

Founded Fabulous Coach Lines 

Kelsey Duffy

Versakini.com

Roy Scott

Healthy Hip Hop, (Sharktank contestant with a twist!)

Brent Comstock

Founder, BCom Solutions, Principal at Change Ventures

Brent Comstock is an entrepreneur, rural economic developer, venture capitalist and keynote speaker. Brent’s passion for rural communities, technology and down-ballot campaigns and causeshave fueled his professional journey.  Brent founded BCom Solutions at the age of 12 and the development of the Rural Impact Hub–a place for rural community organizations to partner together and collaborate on ways to support and strengthen rural America. More recently Brent serves as principal of the venture capital fund, Change Ventures, that invests in early stage Baltic-region start-ups.