Investing & Venture Capital

Venture capital is the fuel that powers America’s economy. With countless investment opportunities and start-up pitches, venture capitalists often have a set of criteria that they look for and evaluate before making an investment. At Gravity Speakers, our roster of venture capital experts can provide valuable insight into determining the key aspects to look out for when presented with a new opportunity. Contact us to book your next venture capital speaker and to learn more about risk judgment and how to navigate the venture capital space.

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Sheena Allen
Sheena
Allen
CEO & Founder of Capway (Youngest Female U.S. Digital Bank Owner), Entrepreneur, Author

Sheena Allen is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and creative architect. She is the founder of Capway, a neobank for those who do not fit into the traditional banking system, which gave Sheena the title of the youngest female in America to own and operate a digital bank. Sheena has been featured in various documentaries and publications, including Inc Magazine and Forbes.

Sheena Allen
Kwame Anku
Kwame
Anku
Visionary CEO of Black Star Fund

Kwame Anku is the CEO and Chairman of the Black Star Fund, an early-stage innovation fund. Kwame has worked extensively in business development and media marketing for over two decades, entering into the tech industry after being personally recruited by the late legendary rock star Prince to develop his mobile app, overseeing business and development teams on Africa, Asia, and the US.

Kwame Anku
Andrea Barrica
Andrea
Barrica
Co-Founder & CEO of O.school, Author

Andrea Barrica, author of Sex Tech Revolution, is CEO and Co-founder of O.school, a judgment-free multimedia platform to learn about sexuality and pleasure. Previously, Andrea co-founded accounting and tax platform, inDinero.com, where she led sales and operations. She also served as a venture partner and entrepreneur-in-residence at 500 Startups.

Andrea Barrica
Chris Barton
Chris
Barton
Founder and Creator of Shazam, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Tech Investor

Chris Barton is the Founder and Creator of Shazam. Chris’s creation of Shazam was nothing short of pure magic as it was far ahead of its time. Chris seeks to delight people by using technology to make seemingly impossible ideas come to life. In his speeches, Chris’s story and storytelling completely captivate audiences. He inspires people to make big things happen in their organizations – to create magic in defiance of the obstacles.

Chris Barton
Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano
Aubrey
Blanche-Sarellano
CEO of The Mathpath and VP of Equitable Operations at Culture Amp

Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano is The Mathpath (Math Nerd + Empath), VP of Equitable Operations at Culture Amp, and a startup investor, and advisor. She questions, reimagines, and redesigns the systems that surround us to ensure that all people access equitable opportunities.

Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano
Candice Matthews Brackeen
Candice Matthews
Brackeen
Founder & CEO, Lightship Foundation, Entrepreneurial Visionary, Advocate for Diversity in Tech and Innovation

Candice Matthews is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, where she finds and funds high growth, minority-led companies operating in underserved ecosystems throughout the Midwest. She also directs programming at Lightship Foundation, the inclusion-focused entrepreneur enrichment program guiding minority founders with instruction in product development, brand building, leveraging artificial intelligence for business and fundraising.

Candice Matthews Brackeen
Brian Brackeen
Brian
Brackeen
General Partner at Lightship Capital, Renowned Innovator and Advocate for Ethical Inclusive Tech

Brian Brackeen is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, the Cincinnati-based VC firm dedicated to backing underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Midwest. Brian lectures extensively around the world on entrepreneurship, code, the digital economy, AI and machine learning — and participates in mentorship programs for organizations like Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code and The School District of Miami.

Brian Brackeen
Chris Burry
Chris
Burry
Co-CEO of US Market Access & A3 Global Collider

Chris is a serial entrepreneur with global experience. Since 2010, he has focused on bringing the lessons of Silicon Valley to entrepreneurs around the world.  He is the co-founder of the US Market Access Center and the A3 Global Collider.  Through USMAC, Chris has trained and mentored more than 1,000 startups from 25+ countries.

Chris Burry
Cheryl Campos
Cheryl
Campos
Head of Venture Growth & Partnerships at Republic, Co-Founder of VCFamilia, Actress

Cheryl Campos is the Head of Venture Growth and Partnerships at Republic, an investment platform for founders to raise capital from both accredited and non-accredited investors. Cheryl is also co-founder of VCFamilia, the largest Latinx community in the venture, supporting over 300 VCs throughout their careers — from breaking into venture all the way to creating their own funds.

Cheryl Campos
Anne Cocquyt
Anne
Cocquyt
CEO and Founder of the GUILD, Serial Entrepreneur, Super Connector in Silicon Valley

Anne Cocquyt, CEO and Founder of the GUILD, is an inspirational speaker on entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership. She speaks on how to start businesses, prototyping, building successful partnerships, and how to attract and retain winning diverse teams. She moderates and joins panels on gender bias in AI, product management and technology trends, and teaches design-thinking workshops on building innovation ecosystems.

Anne Cocquyt
Melinda Briana Epler
Melinda Briana
Epler
Founder & CEO of Empovia, Author on Allyship

Melinda Briana Epler has over 25 years of experience developing business innovation and inclusion strategies for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global NGOs. As CEO of Empovia, Melinda works with the tech industry to solve diversity and inclusion together. Using her background in storytelling and large-scale culture change, she is a strategic advisor for tech companies, tech hubs, and governments around the world.

Melinda Briana Epler
Arlan Hamilton
Arlan
Hamilton
Founder Backstage Capital & Runner, Author, and Trailblazing Investor

Arlan Hamilton is a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a VC firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT.

Arlan Hamilton
Chante Harris
Chante
Harris
Founder and Managing Partner of Eunoia Group, Global Climate Strategist

Chante Harris is a climate tech strategist and Founder and Managing Partner of Eunoia Group. She is also Co-Founder of Women of Color Collective in Sustainability (WOC/CS), a champion of social and finance innovation, and ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency. Throughout her career, she has successfully scaled nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Chante is at the helm of driving climate innovation and advancing the energy transition across cities.

Chante Harris
Denise Love Hewett
Denise Love
Hewett
Host of Do The Work, Producer, DJ

Denise Love Hewett is the host of the podcast, Do the Work, which focuses on redefining leadership to be more holistic. This was birthed out of her time as a founder of Scriptd, an entertainment tech company working to dismantle the inefficient and exclusionary practices of Hollywood. She comes from the world of entertainment, fashion, and hospitality, starting her career as the Director of Sales and Marketing at famed nightclub The Box.

Denise Love Hewett
Dave Knox
Dave
Knox
Brand Marketer, Venture Investor, Startup Advisor

As a brand marketer, venture investor, and startup advisor, Dave Knox bridges the worlds of the Fortune 500 and entrepreneurship and is widely recognized as an industry thought leader.

Dave Knox
Josh Linkner
Josh
Linkner
2x NYT Bestselling Author, 5x Tech CEO, Innovator, Investor and Global Innovation Speaker

Josh Linkner, who started his career as a jazz guitarist, has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He is also a deeply experienced business leader, venture capitalist, top-rated keynote speaker, and author of four books which include the New York Times bestsellers: Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention.

Josh Linkner
Shegun Otulana
Shegun
Otulana
Founder & CEO of Harmony Ventures Labs, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Mentor, and Investor

Shegun Otulana is the Founder & CEO of Harmony Venture Labs (HVL), a venture studio launching a family of technology companies including Copysmith AI, where he also serves as CEO. He exited his last startup, TheraNest/Therapy Brands for $1.25b in 2021.  Shegun mentors, advises and shares entrepreneurial insights and empowers the next generation of builders. As a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, Shegun contributes to boards like Venture for America and Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

Shegun Otulana
Christie Pitts
Christie
Pitts
Early Stage Investor, Operator, Activist & Inventor

Christie Pitts is an investor, operator, and activist. Formerly VP of Operations at Mahmee and investor at Backstage Capital, she co-founded the VCs for Repro initiative, focused on the intersection of the economy and reproductive justice, and hosts the Moms at Work liveshow to build community, raise awareness, and advocate for better experiences for working moms.

Christie Pitts
Bill Reichert
Bill
Reichert
Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Author, Mentor

Bill Reichert is co-founder and Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, a well-known seed and early-stage venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Bill travels around the world giving presentations and workshops on innovation, entrepreneurship, venture capital, and technology trends.

Bill Reichert
Neil Sahota
Neil
Sahota
IBM Master Inventor, AI & Technology Expert, Author

Neil Sahota (萨冠军) is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations (UN) Advisor, Artificial Intelligence (AI) subject matter expert, Faculty at UC Irvine, and author of Own the A.I. Revolution. With 20+ years of business experience, he works with organizations to create next-generation products/solutions powered by emerging technology.

Neil Sahota
Rodney Sampson
Rodney
Sampson
CEO of Opportunity Hub, Inclusive Startup Ecosystem Builder, Venture Capitalist, Economist

Rodney Sampson, of Opportunity Hub, is heralded as the leading inclusive startup ecosystem builder and is passionate about reducing poverty and wealth gap by advancing the cause of innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and investment as a way of life for all, with an emphasis on socially disadvantaged and under-estimated and sponsored communities in America and beyond.

Rodney Sampson
Astrid Scholz
Astrid
Scholz
Serial Entrepreneur in Social Innovation & Systems Change

Dr. Astrid J. Scholz is a serial entrepreneur in social innovation and systems change. As a recovering nonprofit executive turned tech entrepreneur, Astrid is Co-Founder and CFO/COO of Armillaria, and Co-Founder of Zebras Unite. Astrid’s work focuses on democratizing innovation and capital to solve today’s wicked problems.

Astrid Scholz
Arian Simone
Arian
Simone
Co-Founder & CEO of Fearless Fund, Entrepreneur, Author

Arian Simone is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor, best-selling author, and international speaker. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Fearless Fund, the First Venture Capital Fund built for WOC by WOC. She has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the “100 Women of Impact".

Arian Simone
Lolita Taub
Lolita
Taub
Latina GP at Ganas Ventures, Community-Driven Investor

Lolita Taub is a GP at Ganas Ventures where she invests in pre-seed and seed community-driven companies in the US and Latin America. She is a woman of color with 13 years in tech, micro-influencer, an international keynote speaker, 2x TEDx speaker whose work in venture capital and tech has been recognized on Forbes, Inc.com, The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com among other publications.

Lolita Taub
Aniyia Williams
Aniyia
Williams
Creator, Inventor, Tech Changemaker

Aniyia Williams is a systempreneur, creator, inventor, tech changemaker, and investor. She is a principal on the Responsible Technology team at Omidyar Network, and works to help the tech world live up to its promise of changing lives for the better. She served as Executive Director of Black & Brown Founders, co-founder of Zebras Unite, and founded and led the fashion tech company, Tinsel.

Aniyia Williams
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