Andy Dunn

Founder CEO (Pie Labs); Founder (Red Swan Ventures)

Andy Dunn is an entrepreneur, author, and investor. Dunn co-founded the menswear ecommerce brand Bonobos in 2007, and served as the company’s CEO for its first ten years, pioneering the digitally native brand movement. Bonobos was the first American brand launched to scale using e-commerce. The company’s inventory-free store model, called guideshops, redefined what an offline retail experience can be in the digital era. A decade after its founding, Bonobos was acquired for $310 million. In 2022, Dunn published a memoir. In it, he lifts the veil on the mental health demons he’d been privately battling as he built Bonobos. Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind chronicles his journey at the intersection of entrepreneurship and bipolar disorder. Published by Penguin Random House, the book was named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Forbes and was an Amazon Editor’s Choice in 2022. Dunn’s latest venture is called Pie. Currently in beta, the mantra of the company is “more social, less media.” As an angel investor and a founder of Red Swan, a seed stage venture capital fund, Dunn has backed over 100 startups, including Warby Parker, Coinbase and Hinge. Dunn chairs the board of Monica + Andy, an organic baby apparel brand, and serves on the board of RaisedBy.Us, a social giving not-for-profit. Dunn received his B.A. at Northwestern University and M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He lives between Chicago and Rio de Janeiro with his wife and their son. He is a Cubs fan.

Kevin Willer

Partner, Chicago Ventures

Kevin is a Partner and member of the Investment Committee at Chicago Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund where he is overseeing all aspects of Chicago Ventures including fund management, deal sourcing and investments, and working directly with portfolio companies. He joined the fund in June 2013. From 2011 to 2013, Kevin was the Founding CEO of 1871, one of the top ranked incubators in the world serving hundreds of startups building their early-stage businesses located at Chicago’s famed Merchandise Mart. Since Kevin helped launch 1871 in May 2012, the center has welcomed thousands of visitors to events and curated hundreds of workshops and office hours with mentors for entrepreneurs. During Kevin’s time as CEO, high-profile visitors included former British Prime Minister David Cameron, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, AOL Founder Steve Case, Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, and YouTube co-founder Steve Chen – shining a spotlight on Chicago’s growing startup community nationally and globally. During this time, Kevin was also a Venture Partner at Pritzker Group Venture Capital, overseeing their early-stage Seed Investments. Previously, Kevin co-founded the Google Chicago office in late 2000. In his over 10 years with Google, Kevin helped grow this office to more than 400 professionals and led relationships with some of Google’s largest marketing partners based in the Midwest. Before Google, Kevin held business development positions at CMGI, an early internet incubator, and USRobotics, the pioneer in modem technology. Kevin is actively involved in several civic and charitable organizations. He was named to Crain’s 2011 “40 Under 40” list as well as Crain’s 2012 Tech 50 list. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology and of Loyola University Chicago. He is a member of The Commercial Club of Chicago and Vice Chairman of the Technology Membership Committee of The Economic Club of Chicago. He currently serves on the boards of NorthShore University HealthSystem, the BigShoulders Fund, ChooseChicago, mHub, The Resurrection Project, the Future Founders Foundation, the CEC, the Chicago Fire Foundation, and the inaugural Development Council for USA Soccer. In 2011, he served on the steering committee for Mayor Emanuel’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs and currently is a member of the Mayor’s technology council, ChicagoNEXT. Previously, he was a Director of The Economic Club of Chicago and a Trustee of his alma mater, Loyola Academy. Kevin earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business (’10) where he previously served on the Executive Advisory Board for the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College (’96) and studied at the London School of Economics. Kevin, his wife Victoria, and their children, Jacqueline, Max and Lizzie, reside in Winnetka.

Nick Solaro

General Partner at Drive Capital

Nick Solaro is a General Partner at Drive Capital, the largest US venture capital firm between the coasts. Prior to joining Drive, Nick worked at Google where he helped lead the new Android team, from 2010 to 2014. Prior to joining Google, Nick was a co-founder of PetWave.com, an online veterinary health startup based in SAn Francisco, which he co-founded in 2007. Nick is a graduate of Columbia University and lives in Columbus with his wife and their two sons.

Jason Felger

Partner & Head of Platform, Drive Capital

Jason is a Partner and Head of Operating Platform at Jump Capital, where he partners with founders to provide them with an exceptional experience with Jump from the first conversation to exit. A seasoned executive with a proven track record of operational excellence and of driving growth, he was previously CEO of Food Genius, a data insights and analytics platform for the food service industry, which US Foods acquired under his leadership. In addition to his role at Jump, Jason serves as a Board Member with the Illinois Venture Capital Association, Acretrader, NowSecure, Ironscales, and LogicGate, among others. Jason holds a BS in Finance from DePaul University and an MBA from Chicago Booth.

Dana Sun

Senior Associate, OCA Ventures

"Dana Sun is a Digital Health Investor at OCA Ventures, where she focuses on health technology companies transforming how patients, providers, and payers experience and deliver care in today’s evolving ecosystem. Dana was a member of the deal team for OCA’s investments in OssoVR, eBlu Solutions, HealtheMed, Biotia, and Rhythm Sciences. Prior to joining OCA Ventures, Dana partnered with global teams across commercial and R&D functions to drive strategic decision-making while at Genentech. Dana also brings experience from her prior roles doing early stage healthcare investing at Towerview Ventures and incubating companies at ‘87 (part of Sterling Partners). She began her career as a management consultant at Accenture, where she primarily advised payer, provider, and pharma clients on business and technology strategy. Dana earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSE in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University."

Willemijn Schneyder

CEO & Founder, SwipeGuide

"Willemijn is the Proud Founder & CEO of SwipeGuide. She is an innovator, entrepreneur, technologist, curiosist, and positivist. She is bringing simplicity in a world where complexity is assumed. Willemijn is a profound believer in the transformative power that comes from democratizing knowledge with crowdsourced technologies. Leveling the playing field and creating access is the cornerstone of creating a more inclusive and sustainable society. Based on these principles, she co-founded SwipeGuide with Daan Assen in 2016 to revolutionize people's working lives in the tech-lagging manufacturing industry. Coming from a home of engineers, Willemijn strongly believes that success in manufacturing depends on frontline workers. “The empowerment of people and using the untapped potential that lies within them, backed by great technology, can massively accelerate the digital transformation for a more sustainable manufacturing industry.” SwipeGuide’s platform for frontline excellence crowdsources knowledge and expertise directly from the frontline worker and turns them into scalable standard operating procedures that everyone can use. Willemijn is an advocate for diversity, equality, and inclusion, with a focus on raising awareness of bias, improving equal employment opportunities, and improving equal access to better education. Willemijn built SwipeGuide on these principles. Her amazing crew of Swipees have been featured in global media including Forbes, Industry Week, Business Insider, and New Female Leaders. Quote: "Cut out the noise, trust your gut, own it, and just go."