The Veale Institute of Entrepreneurship has launched its pilot Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR) program to support students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in developing entrepreneurial ventures.
By leveraging years of experience in fields including mergers and acquisitions, legal and intellectual property, digital media and health care operations, the 12 EiRs provide mentoring, support entrepreneurial learning and assist with venture development at the idea, concept or venture stages.
Other ways to connect with EiRs include attending their office hours or future seminars, workshops, conferences, classes, or events on- or off-campus that they speak at or organize, or requesting them as an advisor for an independent study.
This year’s EiRs are listed below.
Gavi Begtrup, CEO of Eccrine Systems Inc.
Begtrup is a serial entrepreneur and CEO with a physics and materials science background, who specializes in technology commercialization, start-ups and policy. He has also served as the policy advisor for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and worked with the Department of Defense, NASA, NSF, DOE and other federal agencies.
Amit Mulgaonkar, former senior principal at Mithril Capital Management LLC.
Mulgaonkar is a bioengineer, turned robotics and neuroscience researcher, turned medical innovator, turned growth-stage venture investor. His broad career background makes him highly knowledgeable in ultrasound, space, robotics, bioengineering and therapeutics.
Arjun Krishnan, a health care operating and business development executive
Krishnan specializes in health care, operations and business development. He has held various roles, including health care investor and consultant and both vice president of finance and vice president of commercialization and integration at BTG Interventional Pulmonology.
Albert Green, founder and CEO of AMG Consulting Group
In addition to being an EiR and translational officer, Green holds more than 25 patents in display technologies and advanced materials. He is working to assess the commercialization potential of current CWRU research activities, focusing specifically on engineering, physics and materials science.
Sam Gerace (MGT ‘04), CEO of Convey
A five-time technology CEO with more than 30 years of experience leading software as a service and software companies, Gerace knows how to build high-performing teams and combine leadership, management, finance, and mergers and acquisitions to deliver superior investment returns. Talk to him about value proposition, business models and customer discovery.
Susan Luria (MGT ‘93), partner at Vineland Prospect LLC.
A senior operating and business development executive, Luria has been a partner at Vineland, a private investment fund specializing in the health care sector, for almost six years. She specializes in early stage venture formation and team and resource development.
Zach Fleitman, CFO of Vox Mobile
Over the past eight years, Fleitman has helped two healthtech companies go from pre-product launch through national distribution and Series C raises. His current work at a managed services company and career in health care and health technology make him a great mentor for individuals interested in health care, early-to-midstage startups or switching career paths.
Allison Girvin, CEO of The American Independent and SAGES professor
Girvin is an expert in digital marketing and broadcasting. Her years of experience working for NBCUniversal Media and Bloomberg have given her a unique set of skills in an industry that is continuously changing.
Matt McBride (MGT ‘15), partner at Wave Strategy LLC.
As vice president of strategic partnerships at BioEnterprise and director of inventor services at Cleveland Clinic, McBride oversaw the continued development of promising health care innovation in the growing biomedical sector in Northeast Ohio. His specialties include health care innovation, early-stage technology, IP strategy formulation and product development.
Starlyn Priest (LAW ‘18), founder and senior corporate strategy business consultant at Kestada Strategy Consultants LLC.
Through a past role at IP Venture Clinic at the School of Law, Priest has consulted for both start-up ventures and large corporations in industries like tech, consumer goods, manufacturing, financial services, health care and telecommunications. Her cross-industry experience in business and law makes her an ideal contact for legal and intellectual property guidance.
Neil Friery, founder and CEO of Catapult Consulting Services LLC.
With a diverse background spanning medical devices, specialty chemicals, professional services and not-for-profit, Friery founded Catapult earlier this year. His experience as senior vice president/general manager of the surgical division at Zimmer Biomet makes him an expert in marketing and sales strategies for medical devices and orthopedics, mergers and acquisitions, business models and valuation and corporate finance, budgeting and forecasting.
Neema Mayhugh, president and principal of Wave Strategy
Neema previously served as chief operating officer of Mobile Hyperbaric Centers, a company providing hyperbaric medical services for leading hospital centers. In addition, Neema has held several commercialization positions with Cleveland Clinic, where she helped establish start-up companies, co-founded and led the Ophthalmic Imaging Center at the Cole Eye Institute, and managed an extensive intellectual property portfolio. Neema also served as manager of global market analytics for the Worldwide Ophthalmology Team at Pfizer and as a consultant with Easton Associates. Her experience makes her an ideal contact for start-up formation and licensing, intellectual property, portfolio prioritization, clinical trial management and execution, and management of commercialization projects.