Brad Palmer is Executive Chair of Palm Venture Studios and Palm Ventures, a family investment company he founded. He also serves on the Board of Project Drawdown, the most comprehensive plan proposed to reverse climate change using the 100 most substantive, existing market-based solutions. Mr. Palmer’s focus at Palm Ventures has been to invest in and start-up companies which have a positive and transformative impact on society. During his career, Mr. Palmer has acquired or started more than 50 companies in education, business software and services, energy, human resources, manufacturing, robotics, health care, wellness and affordable housing. In the education sector, Palm Ventures has acquired and started companies in inquiry-based STEM curriculum for K-12 public schools, education technology and career oriented colleges and universities. Palm Ventures newest initiative, which Mr. Palmer is leading, involves opening venture studios in 9 U.S. cities in economically disadvantaged communities and launching impact business from those studios which seek to solve some of societies most vexing problems while creating good paying jobs. Previously, Mr. Palmer was a Senior Associate with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., an investment firm where he worked for Jim Wolfensohn and Paul Volcker on strategy and acquisitions for Fortune 100 clients. Mr. Palmer began his career as an entrepreneur, starting a business in the Midwest as a college student which he sold successfully. In addition to Project Drawdown, Mr. Palmer currently serves or has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and charitable organizations including Save the Children (www.savechildren.org), Education Development Center (www.edc.org), the Kelley School of Business (www.kelley.iu.edu), the Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance (www.mdgha.org) and the Maritime Aquarium (www.maritimeaquarium.org). Mr. Palmer served for 18 years on the US Save the Children board and in 2009 was appointed to the founding board of Save the Children International (“SCI”) where as Chair of the Governance Committee he moved to London for 3 years and successfully negotiated the merger of 29 independent Save the Children national organizations into one operating entity based in Geneva and London. Mr. Palmer led the SCI board nominations committee that recruited the first CEO and senior management team of the newly formed SCI and he was actively engaged in the initial planning with the new management team, BCG and Egon Zehnder in the operational merger of the 29 country organizations that formed a +$2 billion annual organization operating in 120 countries. During his Board tenure, Mr. Palmer has visited and volunteered in Save the Children programs in about 25 countries including war zones. In 2017, Mr. Palmer reached his terms limits on the Save the Children board and rotated off.

Rob Pflieger is the Chief Investment Officer at Palm Ventures, where he leads the firm’s private and public equity investment strategies. Before joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Pflieger was the General Partner and Founder of Crystal Brook Capital Partners, a hedge fund focused on small-cap equities, launched in 2014. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Artha Capital Management, Inc., a long/short emerging markets hedge fund, where he oversaw investments in Latin America and South Africa. Prior to Artha, Mr. Pflieger was a Managing Director at Coeus Capital, a long/short U.S.-focused hedge fund, from 2006 to 2011. At Coeus, he led investments across multiple sectors, including technology, media, and telecom. From 1996 to 2006, he was a Partner at Generation Partners, a private equity firm providing growth and buyout capital to emerging companies. Mr. Pflieger holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan, and an M.B.A., with high distinction, from Harvard Business School.

Jason Woody is a Senior Managing Director at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm’s private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Woody was an Associate at Dubilier & Company, a private investment firm specializing in middle-market companies. He began his career as an Analyst in the Acquisition Finance Group at Chase Securities Inc. Mr. Woody holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Babson College. He currently serves on the boards of several private companies.

Joshua Frumberg is a CPA and serves as Palm’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Palm in 2021, he has worked in public accounting, at both investment banks and private equity funds. He earned his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and accounting degree from Binghamton University.

Joshua Horowitz is a Portfolio Manager, where he oversees hedge fund investments and constructive activist strategies. Previously, Mr. Horowitz served as Director of Research at Inverlochy Capital, an asset management firm. Prior to that, he worked with a boutique European investment bank in Berlin and London, and earlier in his career, spent several years at Berggruen Holdings in New York, where he sourced and executed private equity transactions and helped manage the firm’s public markets portfolio. Mr. Horowitz began his career at Crossway Partners LP, a value-oriented hedge fund. He holds a B.S. in Management, magna cum laude, from Binghamton University, and also studied at the Bath School of Management in the U.K. He completed the Business of Insurance program at St. John's University. Mr. Horowitz has served as a Director of The Lincoln General Insurance Company and 1347 Capital Corp (Nasdaq: TFSC), now known as Limbach Holdings (Nasdaq: LMB). He currently serves as a Director of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: PIH).

Matt Wiant is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Palm Ventures, bringing over 30 years of experience in consumer products and services across functions including R&D, engineering, marketing, business development, finance, and executive leadership. Since 2014, Matt has collaborated on multiple ventures with Palm Ventures, often stepping into interim C-level roles to guide businesses through critical growth phases until permanent leadership is in place. Prior to his work with Palm Ventures, Matt held senior leadership roles across a range of companies. He served as President and COO of Murray’s Cheese, CEO of The True Citrus Co., Chief Marketing Officer of Atkins Nutritionals, and SVP of New Ventures at Starwood Hotels. He also led North American marketing for Allied Domecq. Earlier in his career, Matt launched Dannon Spring Water—which later became Dasani, a $200M brand—and began his career at Kraft/General Foods as a Food Process Engineer. Matt holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, with high honors, from The Wharton School. He holds multiple patents in food processing and packaging design, and is HACCP-certified in food quality control systems.

Houston Clarke is an experienced investment professional who currently serves as Chief of Staff at Palm Ventures, where he supports the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio operations across transformative, mission-driven companies. Prior to joining Palm, Houston held investment roles at Indeed.com and PeerStreet, where he led market analysis, executed deals, and collaborated closely with startup leadership to shape business strategy and operational direction. He began his career as an investment banking analyst on the TMT team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, followed by a private equity associate role at Marlin Equity Partners, focusing on growth equity, corporate divestitures, and operational turnarounds. Houston holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Karen Johnson Orphanos is a Director at Palm Ventures where she manages administration, finance and provides transaction support. Prior to joining Palm Ventures Ms. Johnson was Director of Operations for Reach Financial, LLC where she managed the financial operations for a specialty finance company that provided working capital to small businesses. She also coordinated all operations for a venture fund with fifty limited partners. Previously, she held several media-related positions in the advertising industry, including ad sales for Family Circle Magazine, and Vice President, Group Supervisor of Print Services at Young & Rubicam. She holds board positions with several community non-profit organizations. Ms. Johnson has a BA in English and Economics from Bucknell University.

Barbara Tucker is an accomplished finance professional with over a decade of experience in accounting and financial leadership. She currently serves as Controller at Palm Ventures, where she has led financial operations since 2021. Prior to this, she held key roles at ICR, including Senior Accountant and Assistant Controller, and gained deep expertise across industries during her time at firms like Citrin Cooperman and and Marcum LLP.

Alex Ainsberg is an Investment Associate at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm's private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he was a Manager in Ernst & Young's Strategy & Transactions service line performing financial due diligence for private equity and corporate clients. Alex also completed rotations in EY’s Valuation, Modeling and Economics group and Assurance practice. Alex is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MS in Accounting and a BS in Accounting with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Binghamton University.

Luis Berdecia is an experienced accounting professional with a strong foundation in financial operations, budgeting, and full-cycle bookkeeping. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he worked as an Accounts Payable/Payroll Coordinator at Danbury Public Schools. Luis holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Daniela Plattner is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Venture Studios, which provides second-chance capital and strategic operational support to mission-driven, early-stage companies. She is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Palm's portfolio by connecting startups to resources needed to succeed. Daniela brings expertise in culture, innovation and team performance, guiding executives, management teams and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively to align vision and execution. Prior to co-founding Palm Venture Studios, Daniela spent a decade running a strategic facilitation firm, partnering with Fortune 500-level companies and venture-backed startups on innovation, team performance, and creative problem-solving. She began her career in management consulting at Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment, helping global corporations navigate complexity and transformation. Daniela holds undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on the psychology and application of creativity in business from Bard College and The European Graduate School.

Andy Ambrose is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early and growth-stage companies. Andy is based at Palm's hub in Austin, TX. Prior to joining the Palm team, he was co-founder of Liveoak Technologies, which was acquired by DocuSign in 2020.

John Fitch is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios focused on deal execution and operations across the portfolio. Prior to joining Palm, John was a software entrepreneur, angel investor, and an EIR/Venture Partner at Animal Ventures.

Peter Sloterdyk is the CEO of Huddle, a go-to-market enablement partner for early and mid-stage startups. He also leads Marketing & Communications across Palm. Peter has held a variety of global roles including Chief Marketing Officer of Grindr, Head of Original Series Marketing at Netflix, Global Chief Marketing & Technology Officer of the Australian homewares brand Koala, along with several agency leadership positions. Sloterdyk has also led a consulting and advisory practice working with clients across venture capital, private equity, entertainment studios and agencies, consumer technology, enterprise software, and more.

Stefan Pryor is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios. Before joining the Palm team, Pryor served as a state or city official in four northeastern jurisdictions. He is the former Commerce Secretary and Secretary of Housing Development for Rhode Island, President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Deputy Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and Commissioner of Education for Connecticut.

Jeff Blickman is a Director at Palm Venture Studios, where he is focused on business development, new venture design and platform. He is based at Palm Venture Studio’s Austin, TX hub. Prior to joining Palm, Jeff was the Founding Director of Alturas Ventures based in Boise, ID. With over 16 years of multifaceted experience spanning finance, software product management, strategy and operations, Jeff is passionate about supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs through emerging technology. He has helped launch and acquire multiple startups and businesses and, during his time in investment banking, raised over $1.2B in equity capital for 30+ clients. Previously, Jeff also served as the Director for Global Impact (Sustainability, Partnerships & Strategy) at the Carnival Corporation. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Howard Kaplan is a seasoned startup advisor, product strategist, and founder coach with over 20 years of experience supporting early-stage ventures. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Foundery, a platform built to guide “Day 0” founders through the emotional and strategic challenges of reaching product-market fit. Previously, Howard served as Director of Advising and Technology at the Harvard Innovation Labs, where he launched the first Harvard Alumni Startup Accelerator and personally coached over 80 ventures—including several high-growth companies now operating globally. Under his leadership, the i-lab tripled its reach, scaling to support more than 750 student and alumni startups annually. He has also held strategic and product leadership roles at SoWork (Sophya), Queralt, and Future Now, and brings a rare blend of operational rigor, founder empathy, and big-picture thinking to every venture he touches.

Peter Espersen has over 20 years of experience in innovation, start-ups, and investment. Most recently, he was a founding member of Capital One Ventures’ early-stage practice and led the Hines Venture Studio. Previously, Peter was the Co-Founder and CEO of eVote, a next-generation electronic voting company. Before that, he served as Head of Digital Innovation and Co-Creation at the LEGO Group, where he led the Digital Innovation team in developing unique products and experiences—including LEGO Ideas and the Mindstorms EV3. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Peter is an active angel investor, holding positions in over 20 early-stage companies. He has also worked at BetaWorks, a prominent startup studio based in New York. Peter is an adjunct professor at Copenhagen University, the ESCP Business School in London and Paris, and Fordham University in New York City. He is recognized for his thought leadership in co-creation and business modeling. His work has been featured in publications such as Wired, The New York Times, Fortune, and TechCrunch. He has published in the Journal of Business Research and contributed to the Research Handbook on Brand Co-Creation.

Matthew Phillips is a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early-stage and special situation investments. Prior to joining PVS, he led business development initiatives at Leasecake, a venture-backed SaaS company, and was an analyst at Darling Consulting Group, advising banks on risk management and strategic planning. He began his career at State Street, where he supported structured credit portfolios in the firm’s Global Services group. Matthew holds a BA in International Business from Saint Anselm College and an MBA, summa cum laude, from Suffolk University.

Sean O’Brien is a venture capital professional and early-stage operator with a diverse background across finance, startups, and strategy. He is currently a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he supports investments in early-stage startups in need of turnaround capital and strategic redirection. Before joining Palm, Sean was on the founding team of Viva Equity Fund, where he led strategic banking partnerships. He previously served as a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Mode Banking and held founding roles at startups like AdSum, which he built from concept to MVP with a focus on agricultural market transparency.

Brad Palmer is Executive Chair of Palm Venture Studios and Palm Ventures, a family investment company he founded. He also serves on the Board of Project Drawdown, the most comprehensive plan proposed to reverse climate change using the 100 most substantive, existing market-based solutions. Mr. Palmer’s focus at Palm Ventures has been to invest in and start-up companies which have a positive and transformative impact on society. During his career, Mr. Palmer has acquired or started more than 50 companies in education, business software and services, energy, human resources, manufacturing, robotics, health care, wellness and affordable housing. In the education sector, Palm Ventures has acquired and started companies in inquiry-based STEM curriculum for K-12 public schools, education technology and career oriented colleges and universities. Palm Ventures newest initiative, which Mr. Palmer is leading, involves opening venture studios in 9 U.S. cities in economically disadvantaged communities and launching impact business from those studios which seek to solve some of societies most vexing problems while creating good paying jobs. Previously, Mr. Palmer was a Senior Associate with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., an investment firm where he worked for Jim Wolfensohn and Paul Volcker on strategy and acquisitions for Fortune 100 clients. Mr. Palmer began his career as an entrepreneur, starting a business in the Midwest as a college student which he sold successfully. In addition to Project Drawdown, Mr. Palmer currently serves or has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and charitable organizations including Save the Children (www.savechildren.org), Education Development Center (www.edc.org), the Kelley School of Business (www.kelley.iu.edu), the Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance (www.mdgha.org) and the Maritime Aquarium (www.maritimeaquarium.org). Mr. Palmer served for 18 years on the US Save the Children board and in 2009 was appointed to the founding board of Save the Children International (“SCI”) where as Chair of the Governance Committee he moved to London for 3 years and successfully negotiated the merger of 29 independent Save the Children national organizations into one operating entity based in Geneva and London. Mr. Palmer led the SCI board nominations committee that recruited the first CEO and senior management team of the newly formed SCI and he was actively engaged in the initial planning with the new management team, BCG and Egon Zehnder in the operational merger of the 29 country organizations that formed a +$2 billion annual organization operating in 120 countries. During his Board tenure, Mr. Palmer has visited and volunteered in Save the Children programs in about 25 countries including war zones. In 2017, Mr. Palmer reached his terms limits on the Save the Children board and rotated off.

Rob Pflieger is the Chief Investment Officer at Palm Ventures, where he leads the firm’s private and public equity investment strategies. Before joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Pflieger was the General Partner and Founder of Crystal Brook Capital Partners, a hedge fund focused on small-cap equities, launched in 2014. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Artha Capital Management, Inc., a long/short emerging markets hedge fund, where he oversaw investments in Latin America and South Africa. Prior to Artha, Mr. Pflieger was a Managing Director at Coeus Capital, a long/short U.S.-focused hedge fund, from 2006 to 2011. At Coeus, he led investments across multiple sectors, including technology, media, and telecom. From 1996 to 2006, he was a Partner at Generation Partners, a private equity firm providing growth and buyout capital to emerging companies. Mr. Pflieger holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan, and an M.B.A., with high distinction, from Harvard Business School.

Jason Woody is a Senior Managing Director at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm’s private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Woody was an Associate at Dubilier & Company, a private investment firm specializing in middle-market companies. He began his career as an Analyst in the Acquisition Finance Group at Chase Securities Inc. Mr. Woody holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Babson College. He currently serves on the boards of several private companies.

Joshua Frumberg is a CPA and serves as Palm’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Palm in 2021, he has worked in public accounting, at both investment banks and private equity funds. He earned his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and accounting degree from Binghamton University.

Joshua Horowitz is a Portfolio Manager, where he oversees hedge fund investments and constructive activist strategies. Previously, Mr. Horowitz served as Director of Research at Inverlochy Capital, an asset management firm. Prior to that, he worked with a boutique European investment bank in Berlin and London, and earlier in his career, spent several years at Berggruen Holdings in New York, where he sourced and executed private equity transactions and helped manage the firm’s public markets portfolio. Mr. Horowitz began his career at Crossway Partners LP, a value-oriented hedge fund. He holds a B.S. in Management, magna cum laude, from Binghamton University, and also studied at the Bath School of Management in the U.K. He completed the Business of Insurance program at St. John's University. Mr. Horowitz has served as a Director of The Lincoln General Insurance Company and 1347 Capital Corp (Nasdaq: TFSC), now known as Limbach Holdings (Nasdaq: LMB). He currently serves as a Director of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: PIH).

Matt Wiant is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Palm Ventures, bringing over 30 years of experience in consumer products and services across functions including R&D, engineering, marketing, business development, finance, and executive leadership. Since 2014, Matt has collaborated on multiple ventures with Palm Ventures, often stepping into interim C-level roles to guide businesses through critical growth phases until permanent leadership is in place. Prior to his work with Palm Ventures, Matt held senior leadership roles across a range of companies. He served as President and COO of Murray’s Cheese, CEO of The True Citrus Co., Chief Marketing Officer of Atkins Nutritionals, and SVP of New Ventures at Starwood Hotels. He also led North American marketing for Allied Domecq. Earlier in his career, Matt launched Dannon Spring Water—which later became Dasani, a $200M brand—and began his career at Kraft/General Foods as a Food Process Engineer. Matt holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, with high honors, from The Wharton School. He holds multiple patents in food processing and packaging design, and is HACCP-certified in food quality control systems.

Houston Clarke is an experienced investment professional who currently serves as Chief of Staff at Palm Ventures, where he supports the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio operations across transformative, mission-driven companies. Prior to joining Palm, Houston held investment roles at Indeed.com and PeerStreet, where he led market analysis, executed deals, and collaborated closely with startup leadership to shape business strategy and operational direction. He began his career as an investment banking analyst on the TMT team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, followed by a private equity associate role at Marlin Equity Partners, focusing on growth equity, corporate divestitures, and operational turnarounds. Houston holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Karen Johnson Orphanos is a Director at Palm Ventures where she manages administration, finance and provides transaction support. Prior to joining Palm Ventures Ms. Johnson was Director of Operations for Reach Financial, LLC where she managed the financial operations for a specialty finance company that provided working capital to small businesses. She also coordinated all operations for a venture fund with fifty limited partners. Previously, she held several media-related positions in the advertising industry, including ad sales for Family Circle Magazine, and Vice President, Group Supervisor of Print Services at Young & Rubicam. She holds board positions with several community non-profit organizations. Ms. Johnson has a BA in English and Economics from Bucknell University.

Barbara Tucker is an accomplished finance professional with over a decade of experience in accounting and financial leadership. She currently serves as Controller at Palm Ventures, where she has led financial operations since 2021. Prior to this, she held key roles at ICR, including Senior Accountant and Assistant Controller, and gained deep expertise across industries during her time at firms like Citrin Cooperman and and Marcum LLP.

Alex Ainsberg is an Investment Associate at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm's private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he was a Manager in Ernst & Young's Strategy & Transactions service line performing financial due diligence for private equity and corporate clients. Alex also completed rotations in EY’s Valuation, Modeling and Economics group and Assurance practice. Alex is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MS in Accounting and a BS in Accounting with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Binghamton University.

Luis Berdecia is an experienced accounting professional with a strong foundation in financial operations, budgeting, and full-cycle bookkeeping. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he worked as an Accounts Payable/Payroll Coordinator at Danbury Public Schools. Luis holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Daniela Plattner is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Venture Studios, which provides second-chance capital and strategic operational support to mission-driven, early-stage companies. She is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Palm's portfolio by connecting startups to resources needed to succeed. Daniela brings expertise in culture, innovation and team performance, guiding executives, management teams and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively to align vision and execution. Prior to co-founding Palm Venture Studios, Daniela spent a decade running a strategic facilitation firm, partnering with Fortune 500-level companies and venture-backed startups on innovation, team performance, and creative problem-solving. She began her career in management consulting at Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment, helping global corporations navigate complexity and transformation. Daniela holds undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on the psychology and application of creativity in business from Bard College and The European Graduate School.

Andy Ambrose is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early and growth-stage companies. Andy is based at Palm's hub in Austin, TX. Prior to joining the Palm team, he was co-founder of Liveoak Technologies, which was acquired by DocuSign in 2020.

John Fitch is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios focused on deal execution and operations across the portfolio. Prior to joining Palm, John was a software entrepreneur, angel investor, and an EIR/Venture Partner at Animal Ventures.

Peter Sloterdyk is the CEO of Huddle, a go-to-market enablement partner for early and mid-stage startups. He also leads Marketing & Communications across Palm. Peter has held a variety of global roles including Chief Marketing Officer of Grindr, Head of Original Series Marketing at Netflix, Global Chief Marketing & Technology Officer of the Australian homewares brand Koala, along with several agency leadership positions. Sloterdyk has also led a consulting and advisory practice working with clients across venture capital, private equity, entertainment studios and agencies, consumer technology, enterprise software, and more.

Stefan Pryor is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios. Before joining the Palm team, Pryor served as a state or city official in four northeastern jurisdictions. He is the former Commerce Secretary and Secretary of Housing Development for Rhode Island, President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Deputy Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and Commissioner of Education for Connecticut.

Jeff Blickman is a Director at Palm Venture Studios, where he is focused on business development, new venture design and platform. He is based at Palm Venture Studio’s Austin, TX hub. Prior to joining Palm, Jeff was the Founding Director of Alturas Ventures based in Boise, ID. With over 16 years of multifaceted experience spanning finance, software product management, strategy and operations, Jeff is passionate about supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs through emerging technology. He has helped launch and acquire multiple startups and businesses and, during his time in investment banking, raised over $1.2B in equity capital for 30+ clients. Previously, Jeff also served as the Director for Global Impact (Sustainability, Partnerships & Strategy) at the Carnival Corporation. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Howard Kaplan is a seasoned startup advisor, product strategist, and founder coach with over 20 years of experience supporting early-stage ventures. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Foundery, a platform built to guide “Day 0” founders through the emotional and strategic challenges of reaching product-market fit. Previously, Howard served as Director of Advising and Technology at the Harvard Innovation Labs, where he launched the first Harvard Alumni Startup Accelerator and personally coached over 80 ventures—including several high-growth companies now operating globally. Under his leadership, the i-lab tripled its reach, scaling to support more than 750 student and alumni startups annually. He has also held strategic and product leadership roles at SoWork (Sophya), Queralt, and Future Now, and brings a rare blend of operational rigor, founder empathy, and big-picture thinking to every venture he touches.

Peter Espersen has over 20 years of experience in innovation, start-ups, and investment. Most recently, he was a founding member of Capital One Ventures’ early-stage practice and led the Hines Venture Studio. Previously, Peter was the Co-Founder and CEO of eVote, a next-generation electronic voting company. Before that, he served as Head of Digital Innovation and Co-Creation at the LEGO Group, where he led the Digital Innovation team in developing unique products and experiences—including LEGO Ideas and the Mindstorms EV3. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Peter is an active angel investor, holding positions in over 20 early-stage companies. He has also worked at BetaWorks, a prominent startup studio based in New York. Peter is an adjunct professor at Copenhagen University, the ESCP Business School in London and Paris, and Fordham University in New York City. He is recognized for his thought leadership in co-creation and business modeling. His work has been featured in publications such as Wired, The New York Times, Fortune, and TechCrunch. He has published in the Journal of Business Research and contributed to the Research Handbook on Brand Co-Creation.

Matthew Phillips is a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early-stage and special situation investments. Prior to joining PVS, he led business development initiatives at Leasecake, a venture-backed SaaS company, and was an analyst at Darling Consulting Group, advising banks on risk management and strategic planning. He began his career at State Street, where he supported structured credit portfolios in the firm’s Global Services group. Matthew holds a BA in International Business from Saint Anselm College and an MBA, summa cum laude, from Suffolk University.

Sean O’Brien is a venture capital professional and early-stage operator with a diverse background across finance, startups, and strategy. He is currently a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he supports investments in early-stage startups in need of turnaround capital and strategic redirection. Before joining Palm, Sean was on the founding team of Viva Equity Fund, where he led strategic banking partnerships. He previously served as a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Mode Banking and held founding roles at startups like AdSum, which he built from concept to MVP with a focus on agricultural market transparency.

Brad Palmer is Executive Chair of Palm Venture Studios and Palm Ventures, a family investment company he founded. He also serves on the Board of Project Drawdown, the most comprehensive plan proposed to reverse climate change using the 100 most substantive, existing market-based solutions. Mr. Palmer’s focus at Palm Ventures has been to invest in and start-up companies which have a positive and transformative impact on society. During his career, Mr. Palmer has acquired or started more than 50 companies in education, business software and services, energy, human resources, manufacturing, robotics, health care, wellness and affordable housing. In the education sector, Palm Ventures has acquired and started companies in inquiry-based STEM curriculum for K-12 public schools, education technology and career oriented colleges and universities. Palm Ventures newest initiative, which Mr. Palmer is leading, involves opening venture studios in 9 U.S. cities in economically disadvantaged communities and launching impact business from those studios which seek to solve some of societies most vexing problems while creating good paying jobs. Previously, Mr. Palmer was a Senior Associate with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., an investment firm where he worked for Jim Wolfensohn and Paul Volcker on strategy and acquisitions for Fortune 100 clients. Mr. Palmer began his career as an entrepreneur, starting a business in the Midwest as a college student which he sold successfully. In addition to Project Drawdown, Mr. Palmer currently serves or has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and charitable organizations including Save the Children (www.savechildren.org), Education Development Center (www.edc.org), the Kelley School of Business (www.kelley.iu.edu), the Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance (www.mdgha.org) and the Maritime Aquarium (www.maritimeaquarium.org). Mr. Palmer served for 18 years on the US Save the Children board and in 2009 was appointed to the founding board of Save the Children International (“SCI”) where as Chair of the Governance Committee he moved to London for 3 years and successfully negotiated the merger of 29 independent Save the Children national organizations into one operating entity based in Geneva and London. Mr. Palmer led the SCI board nominations committee that recruited the first CEO and senior management team of the newly formed SCI and he was actively engaged in the initial planning with the new management team, BCG and Egon Zehnder in the operational merger of the 29 country organizations that formed a +$2 billion annual organization operating in 120 countries. During his Board tenure, Mr. Palmer has visited and volunteered in Save the Children programs in about 25 countries including war zones. In 2017, Mr. Palmer reached his terms limits on the Save the Children board and rotated off.

Rob Pflieger is the Chief Investment Officer at Palm Ventures, where he leads the firm’s private and public equity investment strategies. Before joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Pflieger was the General Partner and Founder of Crystal Brook Capital Partners, a hedge fund focused on small-cap equities, launched in 2014. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Artha Capital Management, Inc., a long/short emerging markets hedge fund, where he oversaw investments in Latin America and South Africa. Prior to Artha, Mr. Pflieger was a Managing Director at Coeus Capital, a long/short U.S.-focused hedge fund, from 2006 to 2011. At Coeus, he led investments across multiple sectors, including technology, media, and telecom. From 1996 to 2006, he was a Partner at Generation Partners, a private equity firm providing growth and buyout capital to emerging companies. Mr. Pflieger holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan, and an M.B.A., with high distinction, from Harvard Business School.

Jason Woody is a Senior Managing Director at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm’s private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Woody was an Associate at Dubilier & Company, a private investment firm specializing in middle-market companies. He began his career as an Analyst in the Acquisition Finance Group at Chase Securities Inc. Mr. Woody holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Babson College. He currently serves on the boards of several private companies.

Joshua Frumberg is a CPA and serves as Palm’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Palm in 2021, he has worked in public accounting, at both investment banks and private equity funds. He earned his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and accounting degree from Binghamton University.

Joshua Horowitz is a Portfolio Manager, where he oversees hedge fund investments and constructive activist strategies. Previously, Mr. Horowitz served as Director of Research at Inverlochy Capital, an asset management firm. Prior to that, he worked with a boutique European investment bank in Berlin and London, and earlier in his career, spent several years at Berggruen Holdings in New York, where he sourced and executed private equity transactions and helped manage the firm’s public markets portfolio. Mr. Horowitz began his career at Crossway Partners LP, a value-oriented hedge fund. He holds a B.S. in Management, magna cum laude, from Binghamton University, and also studied at the Bath School of Management in the U.K. He completed the Business of Insurance program at St. John's University. Mr. Horowitz has served as a Director of The Lincoln General Insurance Company and 1347 Capital Corp (Nasdaq: TFSC), now known as Limbach Holdings (Nasdaq: LMB). He currently serves as a Director of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: PIH).

Matt Wiant is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Palm Ventures, bringing over 30 years of experience in consumer products and services across functions including R&D, engineering, marketing, business development, finance, and executive leadership. Since 2014, Matt has collaborated on multiple ventures with Palm Ventures, often stepping into interim C-level roles to guide businesses through critical growth phases until permanent leadership is in place. Prior to his work with Palm Ventures, Matt held senior leadership roles across a range of companies. He served as President and COO of Murray’s Cheese, CEO of The True Citrus Co., Chief Marketing Officer of Atkins Nutritionals, and SVP of New Ventures at Starwood Hotels. He also led North American marketing for Allied Domecq. Earlier in his career, Matt launched Dannon Spring Water—which later became Dasani, a $200M brand—and began his career at Kraft/General Foods as a Food Process Engineer. Matt holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, with high honors, from The Wharton School. He holds multiple patents in food processing and packaging design, and is HACCP-certified in food quality control systems.

Houston Clarke is an experienced investment professional who currently serves as Chief of Staff at Palm Ventures, where he supports the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio operations across transformative, mission-driven companies. Prior to joining Palm, Houston held investment roles at Indeed.com and PeerStreet, where he led market analysis, executed deals, and collaborated closely with startup leadership to shape business strategy and operational direction. He began his career as an investment banking analyst on the TMT team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, followed by a private equity associate role at Marlin Equity Partners, focusing on growth equity, corporate divestitures, and operational turnarounds. Houston holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Karen Johnson Orphanos is a Director at Palm Ventures where she manages administration, finance and provides transaction support. Prior to joining Palm Ventures Ms. Johnson was Director of Operations for Reach Financial, LLC where she managed the financial operations for a specialty finance company that provided working capital to small businesses. She also coordinated all operations for a venture fund with fifty limited partners. Previously, she held several media-related positions in the advertising industry, including ad sales for Family Circle Magazine, and Vice President, Group Supervisor of Print Services at Young & Rubicam. She holds board positions with several community non-profit organizations. Ms. Johnson has a BA in English and Economics from Bucknell University.

Barbara Tucker is an accomplished finance professional with over a decade of experience in accounting and financial leadership. She currently serves as Controller at Palm Ventures, where she has led financial operations since 2021. Prior to this, she held key roles at ICR, including Senior Accountant and Assistant Controller, and gained deep expertise across industries during her time at firms like Citrin Cooperman and and Marcum LLP.

Alex Ainsberg is an Investment Associate at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm's private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he was a Manager in Ernst & Young's Strategy & Transactions service line performing financial due diligence for private equity and corporate clients. Alex also completed rotations in EY’s Valuation, Modeling and Economics group and Assurance practice. Alex is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MS in Accounting and a BS in Accounting with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Binghamton University.

Luis Berdecia is an experienced accounting professional with a strong foundation in financial operations, budgeting, and full-cycle bookkeeping. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he worked as an Accounts Payable/Payroll Coordinator at Danbury Public Schools. Luis holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Daniela Plattner is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Venture Studios, which provides second-chance capital and strategic operational support to mission-driven, early-stage companies. She is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Palm's portfolio by connecting startups to resources needed to succeed. Daniela brings expertise in culture, innovation and team performance, guiding executives, management teams and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively to align vision and execution. Prior to co-founding Palm Venture Studios, Daniela spent a decade running a strategic facilitation firm, partnering with Fortune 500-level companies and venture-backed startups on innovation, team performance, and creative problem-solving. She began her career in management consulting at Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment, helping global corporations navigate complexity and transformation. Daniela holds undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on the psychology and application of creativity in business from Bard College and The European Graduate School.

Andy Ambrose is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early and growth-stage companies. Andy is based at Palm's hub in Austin, TX. Prior to joining the Palm team, he was co-founder of Liveoak Technologies, which was acquired by DocuSign in 2020.

John Fitch is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios focused on deal execution and operations across the portfolio. Prior to joining Palm, John was a software entrepreneur, angel investor, and an EIR/Venture Partner at Animal Ventures.

Peter Sloterdyk is the CEO of Huddle, a go-to-market enablement partner for early and mid-stage startups. He also leads Marketing & Communications across Palm. Peter has held a variety of global roles including Chief Marketing Officer of Grindr, Head of Original Series Marketing at Netflix, Global Chief Marketing & Technology Officer of the Australian homewares brand Koala, along with several agency leadership positions. Sloterdyk has also led a consulting and advisory practice working with clients across venture capital, private equity, entertainment studios and agencies, consumer technology, enterprise software, and more.

Stefan Pryor is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios. Before joining the Palm team, Pryor served as a state or city official in four northeastern jurisdictions. He is the former Commerce Secretary and Secretary of Housing Development for Rhode Island, President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Deputy Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and Commissioner of Education for Connecticut.

Jeff Blickman is a Director at Palm Venture Studios, where he is focused on business development, new venture design and platform. He is based at Palm Venture Studio’s Austin, TX hub. Prior to joining Palm, Jeff was the Founding Director of Alturas Ventures based in Boise, ID. With over 16 years of multifaceted experience spanning finance, software product management, strategy and operations, Jeff is passionate about supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs through emerging technology. He has helped launch and acquire multiple startups and businesses and, during his time in investment banking, raised over $1.2B in equity capital for 30+ clients. Previously, Jeff also served as the Director for Global Impact (Sustainability, Partnerships & Strategy) at the Carnival Corporation. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Howard Kaplan is a seasoned startup advisor, product strategist, and founder coach with over 20 years of experience supporting early-stage ventures. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Foundery, a platform built to guide “Day 0” founders through the emotional and strategic challenges of reaching product-market fit. Previously, Howard served as Director of Advising and Technology at the Harvard Innovation Labs, where he launched the first Harvard Alumni Startup Accelerator and personally coached over 80 ventures—including several high-growth companies now operating globally. Under his leadership, the i-lab tripled its reach, scaling to support more than 750 student and alumni startups annually. He has also held strategic and product leadership roles at SoWork (Sophya), Queralt, and Future Now, and brings a rare blend of operational rigor, founder empathy, and big-picture thinking to every venture he touches.

Peter Espersen has over 20 years of experience in innovation, start-ups, and investment. Most recently, he was a founding member of Capital One Ventures’ early-stage practice and led the Hines Venture Studio. Previously, Peter was the Co-Founder and CEO of eVote, a next-generation electronic voting company. Before that, he served as Head of Digital Innovation and Co-Creation at the LEGO Group, where he led the Digital Innovation team in developing unique products and experiences—including LEGO Ideas and the Mindstorms EV3. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Peter is an active angel investor, holding positions in over 20 early-stage companies. He has also worked at BetaWorks, a prominent startup studio based in New York. Peter is an adjunct professor at Copenhagen University, the ESCP Business School in London and Paris, and Fordham University in New York City. He is recognized for his thought leadership in co-creation and business modeling. His work has been featured in publications such as Wired, The New York Times, Fortune, and TechCrunch. He has published in the Journal of Business Research and contributed to the Research Handbook on Brand Co-Creation.

Matthew Phillips is a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early-stage and special situation investments. Prior to joining PVS, he led business development initiatives at Leasecake, a venture-backed SaaS company, and was an analyst at Darling Consulting Group, advising banks on risk management and strategic planning. He began his career at State Street, where he supported structured credit portfolios in the firm’s Global Services group. Matthew holds a BA in International Business from Saint Anselm College and an MBA, summa cum laude, from Suffolk University.

Sean O’Brien is a venture capital professional and early-stage operator with a diverse background across finance, startups, and strategy. He is currently a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he supports investments in early-stage startups in need of turnaround capital and strategic redirection. Before joining Palm, Sean was on the founding team of Viva Equity Fund, where he led strategic banking partnerships. He previously served as a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Mode Banking and held founding roles at startups like AdSum, which he built from concept to MVP with a focus on agricultural market transparency.

Brad Palmer is Executive Chair of Palm Venture Studios and Palm Ventures, a family investment company he founded. He also serves on the Board of Project Drawdown, the most comprehensive plan proposed to reverse climate change using the 100 most substantive, existing market-based solutions. Mr. Palmer’s focus at Palm Ventures has been to invest in and start-up companies which have a positive and transformative impact on society. During his career, Mr. Palmer has acquired or started more than 50 companies in education, business software and services, energy, human resources, manufacturing, robotics, health care, wellness and affordable housing. In the education sector, Palm Ventures has acquired and started companies in inquiry-based STEM curriculum for K-12 public schools, education technology and career oriented colleges and universities. Palm Ventures newest initiative, which Mr. Palmer is leading, involves opening venture studios in 9 U.S. cities in economically disadvantaged communities and launching impact business from those studios which seek to solve some of societies most vexing problems while creating good paying jobs. Previously, Mr. Palmer was a Senior Associate with James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., an investment firm where he worked for Jim Wolfensohn and Paul Volcker on strategy and acquisitions for Fortune 100 clients. Mr. Palmer began his career as an entrepreneur, starting a business in the Midwest as a college student which he sold successfully. In addition to Project Drawdown, Mr. Palmer currently serves or has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and charitable organizations including Save the Children (www.savechildren.org), Education Development Center (www.edc.org), the Kelley School of Business (www.kelley.iu.edu), the Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance (www.mdgha.org) and the Maritime Aquarium (www.maritimeaquarium.org). Mr. Palmer served for 18 years on the US Save the Children board and in 2009 was appointed to the founding board of Save the Children International (“SCI”) where as Chair of the Governance Committee he moved to London for 3 years and successfully negotiated the merger of 29 independent Save the Children national organizations into one operating entity based in Geneva and London. Mr. Palmer led the SCI board nominations committee that recruited the first CEO and senior management team of the newly formed SCI and he was actively engaged in the initial planning with the new management team, BCG and Egon Zehnder in the operational merger of the 29 country organizations that formed a +$2 billion annual organization operating in 120 countries. During his Board tenure, Mr. Palmer has visited and volunteered in Save the Children programs in about 25 countries including war zones. In 2017, Mr. Palmer reached his terms limits on the Save the Children board and rotated off.

Rob Pflieger is the Chief Investment Officer at Palm Ventures, where he leads the firm’s private and public equity investment strategies. Before joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Pflieger was the General Partner and Founder of Crystal Brook Capital Partners, a hedge fund focused on small-cap equities, launched in 2014. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Artha Capital Management, Inc., a long/short emerging markets hedge fund, where he oversaw investments in Latin America and South Africa. Prior to Artha, Mr. Pflieger was a Managing Director at Coeus Capital, a long/short U.S.-focused hedge fund, from 2006 to 2011. At Coeus, he led investments across multiple sectors, including technology, media, and telecom. From 1996 to 2006, he was a Partner at Generation Partners, a private equity firm providing growth and buyout capital to emerging companies. Mr. Pflieger holds a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan, and an M.B.A., with high distinction, from Harvard Business School.

Jason Woody is a Senior Managing Director at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm’s private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, Mr. Woody was an Associate at Dubilier & Company, a private investment firm specializing in middle-market companies. He began his career as an Analyst in the Acquisition Finance Group at Chase Securities Inc. Mr. Woody holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Babson College. He currently serves on the boards of several private companies.

Joshua Frumberg is a CPA and serves as Palm’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Palm in 2021, he has worked in public accounting, at both investment banks and private equity funds. He earned his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and accounting degree from Binghamton University.

Joshua Horowitz is a Portfolio Manager, where he oversees hedge fund investments and constructive activist strategies. Previously, Mr. Horowitz served as Director of Research at Inverlochy Capital, an asset management firm. Prior to that, he worked with a boutique European investment bank in Berlin and London, and earlier in his career, spent several years at Berggruen Holdings in New York, where he sourced and executed private equity transactions and helped manage the firm’s public markets portfolio. Mr. Horowitz began his career at Crossway Partners LP, a value-oriented hedge fund. He holds a B.S. in Management, magna cum laude, from Binghamton University, and also studied at the Bath School of Management in the U.K. He completed the Business of Insurance program at St. John's University. Mr. Horowitz has served as a Director of The Lincoln General Insurance Company and 1347 Capital Corp (Nasdaq: TFSC), now known as Limbach Holdings (Nasdaq: LMB). He currently serves as a Director of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: PIH).

Matt Wiant is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Palm Ventures, bringing over 30 years of experience in consumer products and services across functions including R&D, engineering, marketing, business development, finance, and executive leadership. Since 2014, Matt has collaborated on multiple ventures with Palm Ventures, often stepping into interim C-level roles to guide businesses through critical growth phases until permanent leadership is in place. Prior to his work with Palm Ventures, Matt held senior leadership roles across a range of companies. He served as President and COO of Murray’s Cheese, CEO of The True Citrus Co., Chief Marketing Officer of Atkins Nutritionals, and SVP of New Ventures at Starwood Hotels. He also led North American marketing for Allied Domecq. Earlier in his career, Matt launched Dannon Spring Water—which later became Dasani, a $200M brand—and began his career at Kraft/General Foods as a Food Process Engineer. Matt holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, with high honors, from The Wharton School. He holds multiple patents in food processing and packaging design, and is HACCP-certified in food quality control systems.

Houston Clarke is an experienced investment professional who currently serves as Chief of Staff at Palm Ventures, where he supports the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio operations across transformative, mission-driven companies. Prior to joining Palm, Houston held investment roles at Indeed.com and PeerStreet, where he led market analysis, executed deals, and collaborated closely with startup leadership to shape business strategy and operational direction. He began his career as an investment banking analyst on the TMT team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, followed by a private equity associate role at Marlin Equity Partners, focusing on growth equity, corporate divestitures, and operational turnarounds. Houston holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Karen Johnson Orphanos is a Director at Palm Ventures where she manages administration, finance and provides transaction support. Prior to joining Palm Ventures Ms. Johnson was Director of Operations for Reach Financial, LLC where she managed the financial operations for a specialty finance company that provided working capital to small businesses. She also coordinated all operations for a venture fund with fifty limited partners. Previously, she held several media-related positions in the advertising industry, including ad sales for Family Circle Magazine, and Vice President, Group Supervisor of Print Services at Young & Rubicam. She holds board positions with several community non-profit organizations. Ms. Johnson has a BA in English and Economics from Bucknell University.

Barbara Tucker is an accomplished finance professional with over a decade of experience in accounting and financial leadership. She currently serves as Controller at Palm Ventures, where she has led financial operations since 2021. Prior to this, she held key roles at ICR, including Senior Accountant and Assistant Controller, and gained deep expertise across industries during her time at firms like Citrin Cooperman and and Marcum LLP.

Alex Ainsberg is an Investment Associate at Palm Ventures, where he focuses on the firm's private equity investments. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he was a Manager in Ernst & Young's Strategy & Transactions service line performing financial due diligence for private equity and corporate clients. Alex also completed rotations in EY’s Valuation, Modeling and Economics group and Assurance practice. Alex is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MS in Accounting and a BS in Accounting with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Binghamton University.

Luis Berdecia is an experienced accounting professional with a strong foundation in financial operations, budgeting, and full-cycle bookkeeping. Prior to joining Palm Ventures, he worked as an Accounts Payable/Payroll Coordinator at Danbury Public Schools. Luis holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Daniela Plattner is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Venture Studios, which provides second-chance capital and strategic operational support to mission-driven, early-stage companies. She is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Palm's portfolio by connecting startups to resources needed to succeed. Daniela brings expertise in culture, innovation and team performance, guiding executives, management teams and stakeholders to collaborate more effectively to align vision and execution. Prior to co-founding Palm Venture Studios, Daniela spent a decade running a strategic facilitation firm, partnering with Fortune 500-level companies and venture-backed startups on innovation, team performance, and creative problem-solving. She began her career in management consulting at Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment, helping global corporations navigate complexity and transformation. Daniela holds undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on the psychology and application of creativity in business from Bard College and The European Graduate School.

Andy Ambrose is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early and growth-stage companies. Andy is based at Palm's hub in Austin, TX. Prior to joining the Palm team, he was co-founder of Liveoak Technologies, which was acquired by DocuSign in 2020.

John Fitch is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios focused on deal execution and operations across the portfolio. Prior to joining Palm, John was a software entrepreneur, angel investor, and an EIR/Venture Partner at Animal Ventures.

Peter Sloterdyk is the CEO of Huddle, a go-to-market enablement partner for early and mid-stage startups. He also leads Marketing & Communications across Palm. Peter has held a variety of global roles including Chief Marketing Officer of Grindr, Head of Original Series Marketing at Netflix, Global Chief Marketing & Technology Officer of the Australian homewares brand Koala, along with several agency leadership positions. Sloterdyk has also led a consulting and advisory practice working with clients across venture capital, private equity, entertainment studios and agencies, consumer technology, enterprise software, and more.

Stefan Pryor is a Partner at Palm Venture Studios. Before joining the Palm team, Pryor served as a state or city official in four northeastern jurisdictions. He is the former Commerce Secretary and Secretary of Housing Development for Rhode Island, President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Deputy Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and Commissioner of Education for Connecticut.

Jeff Blickman is a Director at Palm Venture Studios, where he is focused on business development, new venture design and platform. He is based at Palm Venture Studio’s Austin, TX hub. Prior to joining Palm, Jeff was the Founding Director of Alturas Ventures based in Boise, ID. With over 16 years of multifaceted experience spanning finance, software product management, strategy and operations, Jeff is passionate about supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs through emerging technology. He has helped launch and acquire multiple startups and businesses and, during his time in investment banking, raised over $1.2B in equity capital for 30+ clients. Previously, Jeff also served as the Director for Global Impact (Sustainability, Partnerships & Strategy) at the Carnival Corporation. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Howard Kaplan is a seasoned startup advisor, product strategist, and founder coach with over 20 years of experience supporting early-stage ventures. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Foundery, a platform built to guide “Day 0” founders through the emotional and strategic challenges of reaching product-market fit. Previously, Howard served as Director of Advising and Technology at the Harvard Innovation Labs, where he launched the first Harvard Alumni Startup Accelerator and personally coached over 80 ventures—including several high-growth companies now operating globally. Under his leadership, the i-lab tripled its reach, scaling to support more than 750 student and alumni startups annually. He has also held strategic and product leadership roles at SoWork (Sophya), Queralt, and Future Now, and brings a rare blend of operational rigor, founder empathy, and big-picture thinking to every venture he touches.

Peter Espersen has over 20 years of experience in innovation, start-ups, and investment. Most recently, he was a founding member of Capital One Ventures’ early-stage practice and led the Hines Venture Studio. Previously, Peter was the Co-Founder and CEO of eVote, a next-generation electronic voting company. Before that, he served as Head of Digital Innovation and Co-Creation at the LEGO Group, where he led the Digital Innovation team in developing unique products and experiences—including LEGO Ideas and the Mindstorms EV3. In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Peter is an active angel investor, holding positions in over 20 early-stage companies. He has also worked at BetaWorks, a prominent startup studio based in New York. Peter is an adjunct professor at Copenhagen University, the ESCP Business School in London and Paris, and Fordham University in New York City. He is recognized for his thought leadership in co-creation and business modeling. His work has been featured in publications such as Wired, The New York Times, Fortune, and TechCrunch. He has published in the Journal of Business Research and contributed to the Research Handbook on Brand Co-Creation.

Matthew Phillips is a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he focuses on early-stage and special situation investments. Prior to joining PVS, he led business development initiatives at Leasecake, a venture-backed SaaS company, and was an analyst at Darling Consulting Group, advising banks on risk management and strategic planning. He began his career at State Street, where he supported structured credit portfolios in the firm’s Global Services group. Matthew holds a BA in International Business from Saint Anselm College and an MBA, summa cum laude, from Suffolk University.

Sean O’Brien is a venture capital professional and early-stage operator with a diverse background across finance, startups, and strategy. He is currently a Senior Associate at Palm Venture Studios, where he supports investments in early-stage startups in need of turnaround capital and strategic redirection. Before joining Palm, Sean was on the founding team of Viva Equity Fund, where he led strategic banking partnerships. He previously served as a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Mode Banking and held founding roles at startups like AdSum, which he built from concept to MVP with a focus on agricultural market transparency.