Minerva Seed Fund

Team

Kirsten Sachwitz, Managing Director
Kirsten Sachwitz is a seasoned entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a particular passion for early stage technology companies. Ms. Sachwitz has worked with four venture capital funds in the U.S. and Europe and has been involved with 60 start-up companies. She has been on the Board of Directors of five companies, and she has co-founded two. Ms. Sachwitz graduated from the General Motors Institute in Mechanical Engineering and holds an M.B.A and Masters of Engineering from Duke University.

Tim Hayes, Investment Committee
Mr. Hayes is the President and founder of the Virginia Community Development Loan Fund (VCDLF). Since its inception VCDLF has been a national leader in community development lending. VCDLF has distinguished itself with awards from the United States Small Business Administration, United States Treasury, Capital One, and American Express. Tim is a graduate of Virginia State University with a BA in accounting and graduated with honors. Subsequent to graduation his work tenures were with PricewaterhouseCoopers for 3 years on the audit staff and 5 years with Dominion Resources in financial reporting and real estate development.

Dr. Roger Stough, Advisory Board
Dr. Stough is Northern Virginia Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Associate Director, The Institute of Public Policy for George Mason University. He has a distinguished academic career publishing over 100 articles and 5 books. In addition he has been a strong entrepreneur raising over $6 million in external funded projects. Stough received his PhD from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rodney Lusk, Advisory Board
Mr. Lusk is currently working at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority as the capital attraction manager. He has previously served Fairfax County Government for approximately 13 years working on behalf of the Board of Supervisors, as an administrative aide for land use and zoning and in the office of Supervisor Gerald Connolly. Lusk's professional affiliations include the Northern Virginia Technology Council, Fairfax County Park Authority, the George Mason University Century Club and as a member of the Leadership Fairfax, Inc. Board of Directors.

Tony Cord, Advisory Board
Mr. Cord is a business development and M&A executive with entrepreneurial spirit who has helped build and manage businesses in various industries for 20 years, including American Express' historic consolidation of the tax and accounting profession. He holds an MBA degree from Southern Illinois University and performed undergraduate studies at Davidson College and the University of Maryland. Tony was an honors graduate and noted athlete at DeMatha High School. An Oracle Certified Small Business Consultant and graduate business pr
ofessor at the University of Phoenix, he was featured in the Bell Atlantic/US Small Business Administration SUCCESS Small Business Video Library Series, and was the expert speaker on Business Planning and Cash Flow Planning at SUCCESS Symposia throughout the U.S. Tony is the author of The Advisory Board Guide for Small Businesses.

Dan Goodman, Advisory Board
Dan Goodman is a serial entrepreneur with over thirty years of experience in founding and running product, service and consulting businesses. Dan serves as CEO of Zernike USA, the US arm of a Dutch multi-national science park and seed fund management firm. Formerly the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Maryland's Office of Technology Commercialization and co-founder of the State of Maryland's public/private technology commercialization engine BrainChild Maryland, he is currently an Advisor to the New Markets Growth Fund, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, the Chesapeake Innovation Center, and the U.S. China Science Park, as well as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Minerva Labs. Dan holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and has studied Technology Transfer at the National Institutes of Health’s Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences.