The Hungry Talks Startup Inclusivity Series, in partnership with Wework's SheLeads Initiative, brings together a roundtable of local leaders and innovators on how we can cultivate a more inclusive startup ecosystem, focusing on critical themes related to startup launch, investment and growth.
Join us for an exciting and substantive evening of food, networking, and engaging talks from entrepreneurs, investors and changemakers. Â
Matt Bailey is the Director, Ecosystem Development for the University of California, Irvine (UCI). The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has created Applied Innovation in an effort to stimulate the OC entrepreneurial eco-system, and proactively move the vast amount of Intellectual Property (IP) generated by researchers at UCI out to the business community. He is also an Adjunct Professor on Entrepreneurship for the UCI Paul Merage School of Business and a member and investor of Tech Coast Angels.
Melinda is the Executive Director and Co-Founder for PeopleSpace incubator and coworking from Irvine, California. She has over 18 years of executive and entrepreneurial experience and her work now allows her to facilitate collaboration and innovation between developers and business entrepreneurs from around the world.
Melinda believes in the power of joining forces to enrich each other's lives. Aside from her main responsibilities, Melinda is also a Startup Weekend Facilitator and NASA Space Apps Lead. She specializes in Statistics Driven Product Analysis, Business Strategy, Growth, Community and Social impact.
As the VP of Capital Formation for TMX Group, Delilah works with US companies to consider listing and financing in the Canadian capital markets. As the founder of Stiletto Dash (a consulting firm), she works with early-stage companies on their business and funding strategy and on getting investor-ready.
Delilah is also the Executive Director and Co-Founder of We Are Enough, a non-profit that educates women on why and how to invest in women-owned businesses and/or with a gender lens.
Delilah is very active in the LA entrepreneur community, including as a frequent speaker, mentor for the Stubbs Alderton Markiles LLP Preccelerator Program, and pitch coach for organizations such as the Women Founders Network. She is the former Co-Chair of Women in LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association), and was the L.A. Lead for SheEO's 2016 Radical Generosity program, an innovative new model funding model that calls upon women to commit $1,000 each into a perpetual fund to invest in women-led ventures.
About TSX Venture Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange: TSX Venture Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange are committed to providing a sophisticated, diversified marketplace that connects issuers of all size and sectors 
to the growth capital they need. Together, our equities exchanges help entrepreneurs to achieve their business goals and reach their true potential. From small to early-stage companies looking to gain access to public venture capital and a strong foothold in the public market, to larger, established companies looking to take their business to the next level through a listing on TSX, our two-tiered capital formation ecosystem offers traditional and non-traditional financing and liquidity solutions that can be as unique as the businesses it serves.
Jeff Chavez is a seasoned Chief Executive who has led multiple companies through a myriad of complex periods including: start-up, rapid growth, success, failure, resurgence, and acquisition. He also currently serves as a Managing Partner of Authentic Development, a corporate transformation firm that teaches leadership, entrepreneurship, and productivity to organizations throughout the world.
Kagen drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth. When he’s not talking with customers, you can often find him grinding away on the latest UI/UX designs, or jumping in with the team to help write code. His entrepreneurial desire started when he was very young. At the age of twelve, Kagen built his first successful start-up, acquiring 30 customers. His keen focus on operational efficiency and product design then led to engagements in mobile app design and development for various start-ups in Housing, Social Media, Healthcare, and Finance.
Kagen’s passion for big data and analytics began at a young age. At eighteen, he began day trading, and became interested in financial markets and investing technology. Through years of trading, he learned the importance of investing, as well as emotional difficulties that come along with it. His interest in solving the world’s biggest problems, coupled with his background in coding the stack front-to-back, and his obsession with AI, led him to start Maxsys AI.
Kagen’s end goal with Maxsys AI, is to give people a way to create financial freedom for the long-term, and give them hope for the future.
Dr. Brandon Bernstein is a musician, educator, entrepreneur and social activist. He's a published author and a TED speaker. Bernstein was a professor at USC, University of Louisville, Pasadena City College, Musicians Institute, Cypress College, and Chaffey College where he lectured undergraduate and graduate students since 2003. In 2013, his debut CD, But Beautiful, reached #7 on the jazz radio charts nationally.
In 2015, Bernstein founded the social enterprise Music Lifeboat, following his passion to make high quality education more accessible. Bernstein recently accepted a position as a founding faculty member and Board member at TREE Academy in LA where he will teach Music, Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking. Bernstein is the director of jazz for the non-profit Street Symphony, Advisory Board Member for the non-profit Harmony Project of America and on the Education Committee for The Midnight Mission.
Chris Daden is the CEO of GigaParse, a global technology development company. As Technical Advisor of The Hungry Lab, Chris seeks to help early stage startups greatly improve their chance of success by guiding them through the development process in alignment with the overall strategic roadmap.Â
As the first place winner for the best overall application at the prestigious Microsoft Unleased Hackathon and HackForLA events, Chris has demonstrated his unique ability to match leading edge technology with market needs in a highly competitive environment. Before joining NcompassTrac, Chris worked at Speridian Technology, and Somnium Innovations Group as a lead developer and was one of the stakeholders in ThisThat.it, an application that allows shoppers to engage their friends in important life decisions and purchases.
Lindsey is a change agent, global marketer and entrepreneur. Since 2011 Lindsey has been on a journey to improve her health and has seen first hand the transformational power of understanding one's DNA.
She is creating ME2.0 to be the destination for health and well being...fueled by personalization and driven by goals. ME2.0 will be the first company to truly unleash the transformational power of DNA to its owners…each individual. From personalized supplement recommendations to food and activity plans, ME2.0 helps individuals meet his or her goals whether it be to improve sleep, athletic performance or lose weight.
http://me2pt0.com/
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B is a former investment banker, strategist and futurist at the intersection of finance, startups and social impact across 30 countries. She specializes in designing and building economic ecosystems and collaborative value chains. She has been named a top finalist in the 2018 Women of Influence Awards and was named a 2014 IFAMA Global Young Leader. She is a TEDx speaker, appeared in Inc. Magazine and presents and moderates frequently at conferences around the world. B has a passion for economic empowerment of the next generation of problem solvers, and serves as a mentor for the Blockchain for Social Impact Global Hackathon and Incubator and belongs to the Women in Blockchain forum.
B sits on the board of several startups. She is an alumna of the MIT Global Supply Chain & Logistics Excellence (SCALE) program. She is a PADI certified Rescue Diver and likes to spend her time out of the office scuba diving and raising awareness for ocean conservation. When B grows up, she wants to be a stand-up comedian.
She currently combines her comedy with science in a provocative, irreverent and no-holds-barred seminar series for lay audiences to inform and inspire action on some of the most pressing global challenges.
WeWork is an American company that provides shared workspaces, technology startup subculture communities, and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 2010, it is headquartered in New York City. WeWork has a current valuation of roughly US$20 billion and manages 10 million square feet of office space.
 Our mission is to provide the advisory, resources and incubating environment for the next generation of problem solvers to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. We are creating a global Venture Engine (TM) with a collaborative, scalable ecosystem to provide entrepreneurs around the world an accessible, adaptable and affordable pathway from idea through investment.
