The Venture Capital Fastlane

David Wagner is the Founder and Managing Partner of Wildwood VC, a venture studio and investor at the intersection of the outdoor and wellness economies. Wildwood Ventures is backed by VF Corp and all of their classic brands. They partner with some of the biggest outdoor and wellness brands on the planet. David started his career in consulting and private equity prior to spending 17 years at VF Corp, as an EVP, focused on strategy, planning and ventures. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School and University of North Carolina.

Jason Palmer is an entrepreneur, impact investor and philanthropist running for President of The United States in 2024 as a Democratic candidate. He was born December 1, 1971, has served in executive and leadership positions at multiple organizations including Microsoft, Kaplan Education, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a leading impact investor, New Markets Venture Partners. He holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Virginia and earned his M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He is a proud resident of Baltimore, Maryland and a devoted father.

Mat Ellis - Mat has worked in a variety of technical and leadership roles over the past three decades in a variety of industries. He’s been a QA Engineer, Systems Architect, Program Director, VP of Technology, CTO and a Founder. The companies he worked for prior to becoming a well known startup founder include Frito-Lay, Pepsi and Goldman Sachs. He is originally from Brighton, England and resides in Portland, Oregon where he founded Cloudability in 2011. As the Founder and CEO of Cloudability, he led a remarkable team that revolutionized cloud computing, helping businesses optimize their cloud infrastructure. The company defined FinOps, raised more than $40M in Venture Capital, saved their customers loads of money and was sold to Vista Equity in 2019. At present time he is the Founder and CEO of Sixty AI, where he continues to pave the way for innovation in the technology sector.

Bob is a lifelong technologist, entrepreneur and philosopher. A renaissance man of sorts. He is also an investor and is known to many as the Founder and General Partner of Start-up Haven. Originating as a community for technology entrepreneurs to connect and offer peer support combined with a monthly low stakes game of cards eventually becoming a pre-seed Venture Capital Fund, Start-up Haven has over 2,300 members in 11 city chapters and has hosted more than 350 events since its inception in 2006. Bob has invested and advised a wide spectrum of companies, worked as a software solutions specialist for Starbucks long before being a barista was a cool job and he is an alumni of Cal State Sacramento and University of Washington.

Advancing Oregon Innovation with Skip Newberry, CEO of The Technology Association of Oregon.