Aaron McReynolds

Co-Founder & CEO at Alysio

With over a decade of experience in sales and sales management, Aaron is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Alysio, an AI native interface that stitches all of your GTM tools together as the revenue command layer. Aaron has a proven track record of leading and growing sales teams in various markets, such as enterprise, corporate, and international. He has also successfully sold and managed accounts for some of the leading software companies in the industry, such as Lacework, Okta, and Qualtrics. Aaron began his career at Goldman Sachs within the Asset Management Division. He is a Brigham Young University alumni.

Anne Marie McDonald

Managing Partner, Mam Capital

I’m Anne Marie, a double first name with a single focus: transforming ideas into thriving businesses. As a founder, co-founder, and executive leader, I drive growth and sustainability through strategic marketing, funding, and community building.

Ben Capell

Managing Director, Peterson Ventures

Ben is the Managing Director at Peterson Ventures. He has been with Peterson Ventures since inception, raising over $300 million in capital and overseeing investments in over 100 deals in his 10+ years of experience including leading the firms investments into 6 unicorns in the last 10 years including Allbirds (BIRD), Ethos Life, Lucid Software and Nomi Health among others. Prior to joining Peterson Ventures, Ben was the first employee hired at an enterprise tech startup based in Northern Virginia and spent several years at Charles River Associates, a leading global economic and business consulting firm headquartered in Boston. Ben received an MBA and a B.S. in Finance from Brigham Young University, where he was a Hawes Scholar.

Brandon Doyle

Founder, Wallaroo Media

Brandon Doyle is the founder of Wallaroo Media - a full service digital marketing and advertising agency that works with brands of all types, ranging from funded startups to Fortune 500 brands. Brandon is also chest-deep in AI and loves the tech world. He's married with four children and has a passion for travel, fitness, and sports.

Brian Beutler

Founder & CEO, Alianza

Brian Beutler is the founder and CEO of Alianza, the leading cloud communications platform for communications service providers. He is on a mission to transform the way humans around the world connect with each other. Under Beutler’s leadership, Utah-based Alianza has forged a strategic partnerships with AWS and Microsoft Azure to accelerate the cloudification of the global communications network. Prior to Alianza, Brian founded GetFon, which he sold to AT&T/Alestra in 2008. He is also a graduate of Brigham Young University and lives with his wife and six children in Utah, where he enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and snowboarding. An avid outdoorsman, he is a volunteer member of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team, a group of skilled mountain rescue, search, and medical volunteers that aids people caught in critical circumstances in the mountains, lakes and rivers of Utah County.

Cahlan Sharp

Cofounder, SchoolAI

Doer/Builder; harnessing AI to turn us into super learners w/ SchoolAI; formerly founder @ DevMountain; cofounder @ Prenda (YC S19)

Curtis Anderson

Founder & CEO, Nursa

​Curtis Anderson is the founder and CEO of Nursa, a real-time technology platform that connects healthcare providers with the lowest-cost, reliable nurses for per-diem staffing. A technologist at heart, Anderson created Nursa in 2019 with the belief that an innovative software solution could solve many of the staffing challenges faced by facilities and nurses alike. Drawing on his experience founding and scaling an IT strategy and support business, as well as a traditional healthcare staffing agency, Anderson has built Nursa into a disruptive industry force with a community of more than 300,000 nurses and caregivers and 2,400 facility partners nationwide. He was named a 2024 CEO of the Year by Utah Business and was a finalist for Ernst &Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® 2024 Mountain West Award, among other honors. Anderson is a graduate of Utah State University and lives in the Salt Lake City area with his wife and children.

Gilbert Lee

CMO and Co-founder, Torus

Gilbert Lee is the CMO at Torus Inc., a modern energy storage and management company. He and Nate Walkingshaw (CEO) cofounded Torus in 2021. Torus' mission is to empower communities to become their own sustainable energy provider. Torus is headquartered in South Salt Lake, Utah. Throughout his 25-year technology career, Gilbert has held product and design leadership roles across a variety of industries and organizations, including Pluralsight, Domo, O.C. Tanner, Northrup Grumman, Utah.gov, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is passionate about human-centered design, and enjoys sharing his knowledge on the subject with companies seeking to design better products and experiences.

Kat Kennedy

General Partner, Kickstart Fund

Kat Kennedy is a General Partner at Kickstart Fund. She is passionate about building—products, companies, and the startup ecosystem in the Mountain West. Before joining Kickstart as a General Partner, she was President and CXO of Degreed. Today, her fifteen years of operating experience gives her a unique perspective as an investor—one that allows her to not only spot talented entrepreneurs from all backgrounds but also to serve as a mentor, fostering innovation through every stage of the company’s growth.

Kory Stevens

Cofounder & President, Tuff Pops

The Stevens are a dynamic duo! A pair who together have overcome fear, embraced their humanity and found a way forward! They built and sold Taft shoes and are beginning their next business - Tuff Pops.

Kristy Muir

Investment Senior Associate, Pelion Venture Partners

​Kristy Muir is an Investor and Operator with expertise in Operations, Strategy, Revenue Turnaround, GTM, and M&A Ops. As a former founder, she played a significant role in shaping Utah's thriving ecosystem over the past 20 years. Kristy recently served on the executive team that led a multi-million dollar acquisition and merger for Instructure. As Vice President of Global Customer Experience, she managed and grew millions in revenue while leading teams of 70+ across five countries, and managing several roll-ups. Currently a Senior Associate at Pelion Venture Partners, Kristy brings experience as an operating advisor, board observer, and investor.

Kyle Reyes

Vice President of Institutional Advancement, CEO of UVU Foundation, Associate Professor of Education, Utah Valley University

Dr. Kyle A. Reyes is Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Utah Valley University and a tenured Associate Professor of Education. With nearly 22 years at UVU, he has led key initiatives in diversity, inclusion, and student success. He developed UVU’s Strategic Inclusion and Diversity Plan and has delivered over 800 presentations nationwide on equity, leadership, and cultural competence. Dr. Reyes also serves on national and state boards, including Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education. His book Lenses of Humanity was published in 2024. He has received multiple national awards for his leadership and impact.

Mallory Stevens

Founder & CEO, Tuff Pops

The Stevens are a dynamic duo! A pair who together have overcome fear, embraced their humanity and found a way forward! They built and sold Taft shoes and are beginning their next business - Tuff Pops.

Nate Walkingshaw

CEO and Founder, Torus

Nate Walkingshaw is CEO and founder of Torus. He also led teams at Pluralsight and was also founder of Paramed Systems (sold to Stryker). He currently serves on the board at 47G, Pura, amongst several volunteer positions.

Renato Villanueva

Founder & CEO, Get Parallel

Renato Villanueva is the CEO, co-founder of Parallel. He and the team are productizing what he did at Divvy. A tool to help business leaders make better financial decisions quicker.

Sean Holladay

Co-Founder, The Spacestation

Shawn Holladay is cofounder of the Spacestation. He works with brands and influencers to build great businesses. He has expertise in community building and multimedia. He has worked with brands like ollipop, MrBeast, magic spoon, and hundreds of brands you know and love.

Trent Mano

Cofounder & General Partner, Convoi Ventures

Trent is a co-founder and General Partner at Convoi Ventures, a pre-seed venture capital fund that focuses on the earliest stage of startups in Utah. Convoi's mission is to be the first to find and fund Utah's next breakout startups. Trent is also a co-founder of Utah Tech Week, Utah's largest festival for the startup community. It is a week long grassroots tech and startup festival that brought together 197 events and 15,000 total attendees in Utah. When not investing in startups and backing founders through Convoi and building community through Utah Tech Week, Trent can normally be found outdoors with his wife and 4 kids, or running in the Provo Canyon.

Tyler Jennings

Creator, Reference Group

Experienced leader in start-up, Inc 500 growth companies, and multi-national organizations. Focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences. My personal motto is "there is always a better way". Excited by new challenges and the opportunity to create products, platforms, and businesses. Passionate about helping Utah achieve it's potential.