Vetted Mentors

“VP of HR with 5 years in a design/manufacturing organization, leading full-cycle recruiting and training across engineering, design, IT, production, and operations. Has driven major org initiatives including employee value mapping, org development tied to revenue targets, and transitions to new PEO/payroll, healthcare, and 401(k) providers, using a structured RASCI-based project approach. Experienced managing distributed contractors across Canada, Jamaica, and the Philippines with clear core/flex-hour policies to handle time zones.”

Maranatha Ilesanmi

Screened

Senior Frontend Engineer specializing in React and TypeScript

Kitchener, Canada11y exp

“Frontend engineer with deep experience modernizing KYC flows at Carta, including rebuilding country-specific KYC forms into a scalable configuration + validation-schema system that cut new-jurisdiction support from 2–3 months to ~2 weeks. Strong on quality and rollout practices (E2E/backend testing, early QA engagement, staged/A-B rollouts) and performance optimization for heavy React/TypeScript dashboards using Intersection Observers for lazy loading.”

MICHELLE WEATHERSBY

Screened

Executive Governance & Compliance Leader specializing in AI and multi-cloud security

TX & GA25y exp

“Operations and governance/risk consultant with experience across retail, beauty, construction, and consulting, drawing on prior work at MetLife, Fidelity, and BB&T. Known for replacing manual, spreadsheet-driven compliance/operations with centralized governance dashboards and scalable frameworks, and for mentoring early-stage founders using RACI, financial controls, and AI/automation to scale deliberately.”

Aidan Anderson

Screened

Director-level engineering leader specializing in AI, security, and FinTech SaaS

California, USA12y exp

“Engineer and bootstrap founder who has worked across roughly five venture-backed startups from pre-seed through Series E. He combines hands-on startup execution with strong judgment around product-market fit, founder fit, and customer validation, while independently building profitable, self-owned micro SaaS ventures on the side.”

“Product leader who has built across AI, compliance UX, and social impact, including shipping Cimanote’s LLM-powered Knowledge Engine end to end. They’ve also built a product org from scratch at Simpplr, helping shift the company from reactive feature delivery to strategy-led execution tied to a 6x ARR run, and bring a distinctive human-centered AI perspective shaped by teaching and mentoring in education.”

“Built and deployed a production LLM-based real-time stance detection system for social media, fine-tuning LLaMA 3.1 on A100s with DeepSpeed ZeRO/FSDP and iteratively refining data to handle sarcasm and context-dependent meaning. Also has Kubernetes operations experience (Kafka/Logstash/Elasticsearch observability pipeline) and delivered an OCR automation project during a Worley India internship that saved 20+ hours/week for on-site energy safety stakeholders.”

“Former CTO/CTPO with hands-on experience supporting co-founders through pre-seed to Series B fundraising, including investor technical due diligence and architecture deep-dives. In a logistics company, led a customer-interview-driven effort applying AI and workflow tools that cut customer busywork by ~30% in the first iteration, and has experience planning delivery with onshore/offshore teams (LATAM/India).”

DAVID READER

Screened ReferencesStrong rec.

Executive M&A and Tax Attorney specializing in middle-market transactions and operations

Tampa, FL43y exp

“Operations-focused advisor with experience building scalable structures in highly regulated and transaction-heavy environments. Restructured a multi-state cannabis startup into a parent/subsidiary model with a separate IP entity and implemented governance/compliance systems that supported multiple private placements. Also transformed an M&A advisory firm into a more scalable platform by standardizing the deal lifecycle, improving onboarding/compliance, and reducing deal cycle time.”

“Fractional HR/People Ops leader specializing in early-stage startups scaling rapidly without existing infrastructure. Has implemented ADP HRIS, standardized onboarding/recruiting/benefits/performance systems, and built multi-state compliance foundations—driving measurable outcomes like ~40% faster onboarding, time-to-hire reductions (56 to 34 days), and +12% retention while enabling founders to run processes independently.”

“Former CEO with direct venture fundraising experience and years inside VC-backed companies. Focused on an AppSec/software supply chain security opportunity built around acquiring an existing SCA/SSCS platform and accelerating growth through AI-driven remediation capabilities, additional acquisitions, and enterprise sales.”

“Entrepreneurially minded operator with ~20 years in corporate now building a new venture (business plan + MVP in progress) and focused on rapid traction to reach PMF. Previously identified and executed a major student-events opportunity in Milan, scaling from renting a hotel for 800 paying guests to an Olympic village for 5,000, handling logistics, outreach, and team coordination.”

Dan Sorensen

Screened

Executive CISO specializing in cybersecurity strategy, AI governance, and enterprise risk

Denver, CO10y exp

“Founder of Nexus Security Advisors, an early-stage cybersecurity consulting firm focused on supporting small and mid-sized businesses with practical security needs. Brings cybersecurity leadership plus AI governance and compliance focus, and has experience designing and delivering hands-on cyber threat intelligence training by validating needs with leadership and partnering to build a practical curriculum.”