Wes Davis, Chairman of the Board, Independent

Since 2010, Wes has been providing advisory services to emerging companies, leveraging his 30 years of experience leading technology companies.  Prior to that, he was CEO of Sionex, a start-up that developed a trace chemical detector and CEO of Radiant Images, an early stage company with an advanced microdisplay technology.  While CEO of MicroTouch, the worldwide leader in touchscreens, and Lasertron, the leader in pump laser for the telecommunications market, Wes initiated the sale of both companies generating $275 million in shareholder value.  Earlier in his career, he was the President of Autographix and General Scanning and was a partner with a strategy consulting firm, Braxton Associates.  Wes holds a BSE in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard.

Daniel Button, PhD, President & CEO, Innova Dynamics

Dr. Dan Button is the President and CEO of Innova Dynamics. This is his 3rd nanotechnology company focused on the launch of enabling optical components for the display and touch industry. Dan has 30 years of experience building new businesses in the consumer electronics, printed electronics, and clean tech industries. This has been underpinned by bringing to market new materials-based technologies and establishing new industry standards that have enabled the LCD industry, step changes in LCD TV color, paper-like displays, and under-the-hood electronics. He has done this both in first–tier Fortune 500 companies – DuPont, Corning, Rohm and Haas [Dow] - as well as in numerous start-ups from MIT and most recently U Penn – E Ink (sold to PVI, now E Ink Holdings), Boston MicroSystems (sold to an undisclosed public company), QD Vision (now launching Color IQ™ technology into Triluminos® LCD TVs with SONY). Dan has played an instrumental role in launching businesses and companies that first define and then dominate their markets with respect to share and profitability. To finance his early stage companies, he has helped raise $100 million spanning venture capital, strategic investments and government funding. Dan has a BS in Engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from MIT in Materials Science and Engineering. He currently serves as a member of MIT’s Visiting Committee for its Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Arjun Srinivas, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Arjun brings a background spanning finance, materials, and entrepreneurship.  Arjun became one of the early members of Livingston Securities, the first nanotechnology focused investment bank, where he advised a top 3 pharmaceutical company on nanotechnology-enabled medical solutions. He later spent time in Private Equity at Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, where he was involved in acquisitions, sourcing and valuing deals, and advising portfolio companies. In 2007 Arjun co-founded Innova Dynamics based on his senior thesis work at the University of Pennsylvania with Alex Mittal. After spinning Innova Dynamics out of the UPenn, he and the founding team proceeded to secure nearly $30,000 in awards at the 2008 Wharton Business Plan Competition (2008), ~$350,000 in seed financing (2008), and $4,000,000 in Series A funding (2010). Serving as President and Chief Operating Officer through 2012, Arjun continued to develop the technology platform, secure key hires, and establish Innova’s core business. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology with a BS in Economics in Management from the Wharton School and a BS in Engineering in Materials Science Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In 2010, Arjun was recognized by Business Week as one of “Americas Best Young Entrepreneurs” (along with his co-founders). He holds numerous patents issued and pending both nationally and internationally.

Alex Mittal, Founder and CEO, FundersClub

Prior to starting FundersClub, Mr. Mittal was the founding CEO of Innova Dynamics, a VC-backed touchscreen hardware company, leading the company from university laboratory to commercialization, securing design-in collaborations with today's major consumer electronics companies. Previously, he was the founding CTO of Crederity, a VC-backed identity and credential verification enterprise software company, and co-founded and led Penn Engineers without Borders, a non-profit that has provided running water to thousands of people worldwide. Mr. Mittal currently serves on the Board of Directors of three companies, holds degrees in economics and engineering from Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania, and is an alumni of Y Combinator. He was recently named an advisor to First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund, and is a columnist for Inc. Additionally, Mr. Mittal has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in Tech, in BusinessWeek as one of America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, and in Silicon Valley’s 40 under 40. Prior to his time as an entrepreneur, Mr. Mittal was active in science research, presenting at the 2002 Nobel Prize Ceremonies, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory named an asteroid after him for his work.

Pulakesh Mukherjee, PhD, Principal, BASF Venture Capital 

Pulakesh Mukherjee joined BASF Venture Capital in 2009 and is based in Silicon Valley, California, USA. He began his career in 2002 in Polymer Research at BASF in Germany where he was responsible for development and scaling up of novel water based polymers. After his stint in research he joined the Intermediates Division and was delegated to India where he was Head of New Business Development of the Intermediates Division as well as responsible for marketing and sales of specialty chemicals for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Pulakesh has international expertise in research & development, marketing, sales and business development.  He received his PhD from Stanford University, USA and has published in peer-reviewed journals and has co-authored more than 20 patents. Pulakesh represents BASF in the Board of Allylix, Solidia Technologies and Arcadia BioSciences as either director or observer.  He also serves as advisory at NREL VC Advisory Board and Stanford Energy Club.

Haider Akmal, MD, Porfolio Manager, Vaal LLC

Dr. Haider Akmal is Portfolio Manager at Vaal, LLC, where he is responsible for asset allocation, manager selection and monitoring, and direct investments in public/private equities. Prior to joining Vaal, LLC in 2013, Dr. Akmal was a Principal at Rho Ventures focusing on alternative energy and healthcare investments. Prior to joining Rho in 2008, he worked at McKinsey & Company where he focused on corporate strategy and business development efforts, as well as buyout transactions for private equity clients. He trained at Yale School of Medicine and received his MD degree from UCLA. He was a University of California President's Research Fellow and was inducted into the Yale Society of Distinguished Teachers.







Michael Aronson, Managing Director, Mentortech Ventures

Mr. Aronson co-founded MentorTech and has had a more than 30 year career working with technology companies.  He has significant expertise in company formation around business school concepts, software development, capital raising, strategic alliances and joint ventures, financial reporting and tax issues, executive compensation, employment matters and copyright law.  He represents MentorTech on the Board of The Neat Company, Ticketleap, Soft Tissue Regeneration , SeniorHomes.com, Innova Dynamics, EyeIC, DietTV and NeuroDiagnostic Devices. He serves as a Board Observer at Bioconnect, Gentis, Kembrel and Medivo and served at Wanderfly prior to their acquisition.