Bio: For the past 15 years, Cainon has worked with startups as an entrepreneur, advisor, and investor. Prior to Castor, Cainon helped co-found five companies: Viafy, Human Design Medical (merged with Breas Medical of General Electric [NYSE:GE]), Triangle Research Labs (acquired by Lonza [SIX:LONN]), Revive Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Concordia Healthcare [TOR:CRX]), and University Laundry (acquired by a national operator, then Proctor & Gamble’s Tide [NYSE: PG]). Previously, he was an investor at PBM, a $500M healthcare-focused VC firm. Cainon also worked at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Goldman Sachs, and NASA. He has an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and a BS from the University of Virginia in Systems and Information Engineering.
Notable Deals: Mythical, RapidSOS, Excision, FarmWise

Bio: Nancy Fechnay has been a part of the investment and startup world for nearly 15 years. She co-founded three tech companies, resulting in one exit and one seed stage “future of work” company (backed by AtomicoAngels and Outlier in Europe). Nancy worked for Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and GE Ventures before becoming a partner at Flight Ventures (largest syndicate in the world) in 2015. Nancy has invested alongside top-tier U.S. and EU-based firms, such as Greycroft, Google Ventures, A16Z, Bessemer, Balderton, and Octopus Ventures. She is currently a partner in Flight Ventures and a Senior Principal for Alumni Ventures’ Towerview Ventures fund. Nancy regularly speaks at events and advises companies on how to keep adapting and growing through fast-paced change. Past speaking engagements include SXSW, SLUSH, Google HQ, and Web Summit. Nancy has a B.S. in Engineering from UVA and an MBA and an MEM from Duke University. She enjoys kitesurfing and international travel.

Bio: Alim is a Senior Principal at Spike Ventures, AVG’s fund for Stanford alums. Before joining AVG, he worked at American Express Ventures and GE Ventures focused on enterprise, B2B, fintech and AI/ML investments. Prior to investing, Alim worked in tech at Google, where he generated revenue for advertisers and managed a $100M book of business. He also spent time at PayPal in product marketing and Instart Logic, a startup backed by a16z and KPCB, where he focused on business development and partnerships. He holds a BS in Business and Accounting from the University of Southern California where he graduated magna cum laude, an MS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Bio: Brian is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a range of industries. Before joining Chestnut Street Ventures, Brian was the Managing Director for New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of the State of New York. Prior to that, he was VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) and a Managing Director at the Peacock Fund, the venture capital arm of NBC Universal. Before joining the Peacock Fund, Brian worked at GE Capital and Bain & Co. Brian holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a BS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Southern California.
Notable Deals: Outlooksoft, The Rubicon Project, Adify, Unite Us

Bio: Anton has 20+ years of technology experience as a proven venture capital investor, entrepreneur, and operating executive in companies ranging in size from startup to Fortune 10. Most recently, he founded and led Vener8 Technologies, a technology commercialization company he started with GE. Previously, Anton led the Software and Internet Infrastructure Group at GE Equity, where he directly invested $72 million in 10 companies generating more than $500 million of realized gains. Anton has substantial international experience in Canada, China, Europe, and Israel, and has served on the board of directors of more than 20 private and public companies. Anton has a BSc Engineering from Queen’s University in Canada and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bio: Edward has 15+ years of investment experience in the U.S. and China, including a successful track record with investments such as Cruise Automation (acq. by GM), Life360 (IPO), Palantir (IPO), and Brave Software. In addition, Edward has served on the limited partner advisory committees at Cendana Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures, and he has deep operating experience at tech and cybersecurity companies. Most recently, he was Director of Investments at enterprise security company Qianxin, where he led $700 million in fundraising, ran multiple M&A deals, and managed a large investment portfolio. As Assistant GM for Qianxin, he also incubated their cybersecurity spinout fund Security Capital. At 360, he led International Investments and Strategic Development. He started his venture career as Vice President at DCM, a global early-stage VC firm managing $4 billion. He holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science from UCLA, where he is a Kauffman Fellow (class of ’15).

Bio: Michael has extensive operating experience within the technology industry, spanning early, growth, and IPO-stage ventures in the Video Gaming, Mobile AdTech, Software-as-a-Service, and New Media sectors. His versatile interests highlight integrated expertise across Operations, Sales, Finance, Marketing, and Product Development and Design. Notable accomplishments include building a US-China startup that was acquired by The9, orchestrating post-acquisition integration initiatives while at Fyber, and designing various award-winning New Media projects. Michael received his MBA in International Management and Entrepreneurship from UCLA Anderson, and dual majored in Art and Computer Science for his BA from Yale.