We are proud to bring in a diverse range of professionals from various industries to share their stories, experiences, and insights with our members.
Our guest speakers offer valuable perspective on the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship and provide valuable guidance for our members as they explore their own career paths. Through interactive presentations and Q&A sessions, our speakers offer a unique opportunity for members to connect with industry experts and learn from their successes and failures. We are grateful to have such talented and inspiring individuals as part of our community and are excited to continue to bring in new speakers to share their knowledge with our members. Keep an eye on this page for updates on upcoming speakers and events!

Carri Hyde
Carri Hyde
2022-23 Session
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, NVRDUL Management LLC provides one-on-one entertainment management services to already successful actors, athletes, authors, musicians and celebrities, working with each artist to manage all aspects of their career, including personal brand development and management, corporate sponsorships, speaking engagements, print and electronic publishing, booking, IP management, including copyright and trademark licensing, website development, social media, merchandising, apparel production, transportation, equipment, legal, accounting and investment services.
CEO, Carri Hyde got her start in the music industry decades ago, and specifically created NVRDUL Management to take care of the artists' needs first, from an artist's point of view. By counseling and advising already successful talent on all matters related to their public-facing careers and private lives, NVRDUL brings extensive "Best-of-the-Best" resources to each artist, for all facets of their lives.

Chris Campbell
Chris Campbell
2022-23 Session
RocketClick Interview
INTERVIEWS WITH BRILLIANT PEOPLE: WUFOO CO-FOUNDER CHRIS CAMPBELL

Paul Caplan
Paul Caplan
2022-23 Session
DailyMail: Paul Caplan on building fastest growing chain of outdoor stores
Paul Caplan, owner of UK outdoor retail store Go Outdoors, talks about the ups and downs that he has been through whilst building his business.

Rajesh Anandan
Rajesh Anandan
2022-23 Session
Rajesh Anandan is an impact entrepreneur and growth architect. He is the co-founder & CEO of Ultranauts Inc, a quality engineering firm powered by cognitively diverse teams that has been named a FastCompany World Changing Idea, Interbrand Breakthrough Brand and MIT SOLVE Challenge Winner. He is also the founder of Unicef Ventures and creator of Unicef Kid Power, a wearable-for-good named one of TIME’s 25 Best Inventions. Rajesh began his career at Microsoft as a program manager, then joined Bain & Company where he focused on business incubation and growth strategy.
For the past two decades, he has worked in the impact sector, including launching and running Unicef Ventures. Rajesh has a BSc and MEng in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT with concentrations in Artificial Intelligence, Systems Dynamics and Economics.

Molly Barton
Molly Barton
(2021-22 Session)
Variety: Serial Box Renames Itself Realm, Launches Free Podcast Strategy (EXCLUSIVE)
https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/serial-box-rebrand-realm-free-podcasts-1234943075/

John Hawkins
John Hawkins
(2021-22 Session)
John is an astute private equity investor with thirty years experience building businesses across vertical markets such as healthcare, digital media, e-commerce, IT infrastructure and security.
John Hawkins has served on the Board of Directors of 23 companies, including: Captivate – a digital place based media company; ZirMed – a healthcare services company focused on revenue cycle management; Leaf Group (formerly Demand Media) (NYSE: LEAF) – a leading online media and marketplaces company; Donuts – a domain registry, where he is a board observer; HotJobs – a pioneer in online recruiting; Agility Recovery – a leading disaster recovery provider; High End Systems – a premier manufacturer of intelligent lighting; ShopWiki – an advanced comparison shopping search engine; among others.

Jesse Draper
Jesse Draper
Halogen Ventures (2021-22 Session)
Jesse Draper joined Halogen Ventures as General Partner in 2016. Jesse Draper is founding partner of Halogen Ventures as well as creator and host of 2015 Emmy nominated television series,“The Valley Girl Show”.
Draper is a 4th generation venture capitalist focused on early stage investing in female founded consumer technology. Her portfolio includes Laurel & Wolf, Carbon38, Naya Health, HopSkipDrive, The Flex Company & Sugarfina. Through her show she’s helped pioneer the way in digital media and has an initiative to interview 50% women in technology.
Previously a Nickelodeon star, Draper has used her comedic talents to bring an approachable feel to the technology world, has produced and distributed over 300 interviews with some of the greatest minds in technology and beyond (including; Ted Turner, Mark Cuban, Sheryl Sandberg, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Jessica Alba, MC Hammer and Eric Schmidt) and was listed by Marie Claire magazine as one of the ‘50 Most Connected Women in America’. USA Today called the show “Must see startup TV”.
Draper is a contributor to Marie Claire, SV Magazine, Mashable, Forbes.com, and is a regular investor and tech personality on shows including ‘The Katie Couric Show’, Fox’s ‘Good Day LA’, CNBC’s ‘Who Wants to Be the Next Millionaire Inventor?’ & Freeform’sStartup U. She proudly sits on the board of directors of Werk, the advisory board of Bizworld and is on the Chairman’s board of SurfAir.
Draper supports the Parkinson’s Institute and is very involved with growing UCLA’s female entrepreneurship community. She is a new mom, a graduate of UCLA and a Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Schuyler Hansen
Schuyler Hansen
(2021-22 Session)
Schuyler (Sky) Hansen was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Houston where his father started his dental practice in 1969. He attended college at Trinity University in San Antonio before obtaining his M.B.A. in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin and starting his working life back in Dallas, Texas where he was born.
After reaching Director of Merger and Acquisition Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998, Sky became the Chief Accounting Officer of AMFM, Inc., a large public media company operating radio, television, and outdoor advertising properties. At AMFM, he helped dispose of the television and outdoor advertising divisions and re-focus the company as a pure-play radio broadcasting company prior to its sale to Clear Channel Broadcasting. Subsequent to the sale, Sky departed for Nepal to hike and climb in the Himalaya Mountains.
Upon his return, he headed West to Colorado for 3 ½ years as Chief Accounting Officer of a radio and outdoor media consolidator before ultimately settling in Los Angeles in 2005 as the Chief Financial Officer of Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, 2929 Productions, and Rysher Entertainment, a group of vertically integrated entertainment and media assets owned by Mark Cuban & Todd Wagner.
Films produced or distributed by 2929 and Magnolia include Academy nominated Good Night, and Good Luck; Enron, the Smartest Guys in the Room; and RBG. Sky remains in Los Angeles as Managing Director of the media properties co-owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner as well as the Todd Wagner Family Office Investments which is comprised of multiple companies in the technology, media, real estate and life science industries. In addition, Sky serves as President of the Todd Wagner Foundation, a charitable foundation primarily focused on supporting at-risk youth.

Ben Erwin
Ben Erwin
(2021-22 Session)
Ben Erwin is the president of Charitybuzz -- a leading auction site for cause -- and the CRO of Charitybuzz's parent company Charity Network. One of the first Charitybuzz employees, Erwin has fostered the company’s growth from a small startup to joining Charity Network, raising $350 million for cause.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/ben-erwin



Todd Wagner
Todd Wagner
Inaugural Speaker (2021-22 Session)
Todd Wagner is founder and CEO of Charity Network, a company that harnesses the power of celebrity, technology and media to raise awareness and funds for causes around the world. With a mission to help charities transition from analog to digital, Charity Network has raised more than $350 million dollars to date through its digital platforms – Charitybuzz and Prizeo.
Both platforms are leaders in their fields -- Charitybuzz in online charity auctions and Prizeo in online sweepstakes and experiences. Together they reach a broad and diverse group of donors from millennials to baby boomers.
In both business and philanthropy, the transition from analog to digital has been a long-time theme of Wagner’s career. In 1995, he introduced streaming media to the world when he launched Broadcast.com with business partner Mark Cuban. Broadcast.com was one of the first platforms to stream live sporting events, corporate events and radio stations over the Internet. As CEO, Wagner helped take the company public in 1998, where it set an opening-day record with shares climbing 249% from an offering price of $18 to a closing price of $62.75. In 1999, Wagner and Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion.
In the early 2000’s, Wagner fused his passion for entertainment with his business portfolio to build the Wagner/Cuban Companies: a vertically integrated portfolio of companies spanning content creation, distribution and exhibition through 2929 Entertainment, 2929 Productions, Magnolia Pictures, Landmark Theatres and AXS TV. As CEO of 2929 Entertainment, Wagner pioneered the practice of releasing films simultaneously in theaters, on digital platforms and DVD. He has provided artistic vision and business acumen critical to such important films as the Oscar®-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, as well as Akeelah and the Bee, We Own the Night and The Road.
Wagner’s business interests include a stake in the Dallas Mavericks. He also serves on the boards of directors for both the American Film Institute and the Tribeca Film Institute. After successfully challenging traditional content release patterns at Landmark Theatres and helping pioneer high definition television through AXS TV, Wagner/Cuban eventually sold both businesses. However, Wagner continues to feed his passion for bringing compelling stories to life through 2929 Productions and Magnolia Pictures.
In addition to his business endeavors, Wagner has made a substantial commitment of his time, energy and resources to give back through the Todd Wagner Foundation. Since 2000, the Foundation has implemented Wagner’s vision of venture philanthropy and invested tens of millions of dollars in cutting-edge programs that empower underserved communities and at-risk youth. This includes significant support for such notable charities as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, KIPP (the Knowledge is Power Program), After-School All-Stars, and the First Tee.
In recognition of his business and philanthropic efforts, Wagner has received numerous honors including Town & Country magazine’s 50 Philanthropists of the Year (2017), induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame (2012), the After-School All-Stars Inspire Award (2010); Special Care and Career Services Milton P. Levy Volunteerism Award (2008); Dallas CASA’s “Champion of Kids” (2005); Kappa Sigma’s National Man of the Year (2003); and Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2002) by Dallas’ Center for Nonprofit Management.
He is a native of Gary, Indiana and received a B.S. from Indiana University, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia.