Great Entrepreneurs is pleased to announce The Top 50 Software Entrepreneurs of 2024. The software industry is at the forefront of transforming how businesses and individuals interact with technology. From developing groundbreaking cybersecurity platforms to AI-powered tools that automate workflows, these innovators are tackling critical challenges across industries like cloud infrastructure, data security, and workforce development.
These entrepreneurs are behind the innovations that are transforming industries and directly impacting both organizations and individuals. Whether it’s providing businesses with the tools to navigate security risks, enabling smarter decision-making through data, or streamlining everyday processes, these leaders are shaping the future of work and technology with practical solutions that address the needs of today’s businesses and consumers.
Among this year’s awardees, Ivan Zhao, Founder of Notion, has redefined productivity with a platform that combines note-taking, task management, and databases into one seamless tool. May Habib, Co-Founder and CEO of Writer, is advancing generative AI in the enterprise space, with the company recently securing $200 million in Series C funding at a $1.9 billion valuation. Tim Zheng, Founder and CEO of Apollo.io, has transformed sales engagement by combining a massive contact database with powerful automation tools to help businesses connect with their ideal buyers in real-time.
This year’s awardees were selected through a methodical nomination process and careful consideration of each candidate’s career track record and industry contributions. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 Software Entrepreneurs of 2024.
1. Ivan Zhao
Founder, Notion
Ivan Zhao is the Founder of Notion. Notion is a versatile productivity and collaboration tool that combines note-taking, task management, and database features into a single platform. It allows users to create customizable workspaces for various purposes, including personal organization, project management, and collaborative work. Notion offers templates for various tasks, such as CRM systems, personal finance tracking, and content management, making it adaptable for individuals and teams. Zhao brings 13 years of experience to his role and first got his start in 2011 at Inkling.
2. Tim Zheng
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apollo.io
Tim Zheng is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apollo.io, a platform that combines a buyer database of over 270 million contacts with sales engagement and automation tools. Trusted by over 160,000 companies, including Autodesk, Rippling, Deel, Jasper.ai, Divvy, and Heap, Apollo serves more than one million users globally. By helping sales professionals identify ideal buyers and automate outreach, Apollo supports go-to-market teams in optimizing their sales processes.
Zheng brings 13 years of experience to his current role. His professional journey began at MIT where he studied computer science with a vision to build product-led solutions solving complex problems. In 2011, he founded his first company, BrainGenie.
3. May Habib
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Writer
May Habib is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Writer, a generative AI platform that helps enterprises deploy customized AI applications and workflows. Writer’s suite of tools is designed to support enterprise-grade accuracy, security, and efficiency, offering solutions that improve productivity, compliance, and growth.
Under Habib's leadership, Writer leverages its family of large language models (LLMs) and a graph-based RAG framework to enhance the capabilities of AI applications, with customizable guardrails to meet industry-specific needs.
Previously, Habib was a Co-Founder at Qordoba and before that a global shaper at the World Economic Forum. Earlier in her career she worked with Lehman Brothers as an analyst. Habib earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University.
4. Jyoti Bansal
Co-Founder & CEO, Harness
Jyoti Bansal is a multi-unicorn founder, technology entrepreneur, and dedicated mentor and investor in the tech space. He is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Harness, a platform to automate software delivery processes valued at $3.7 billion as of 2022.
In addition to leading Harness, Bansal is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of technology companies through mentorship and investment. He founded BIG Labs, a startup accelerator aimed at solving extraordinarily difficult technology problems, and later co-founded VC firm Unusual Ventures. The firm currently has more than $1 billion under management. Bansal received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and holds more than 25 U.S. patents.
5. Solomon Hykes
Co-Founder, Docker
Solomon Hykes is the Co-Founder of Docker, a platform that enables millions of developers to efficiently and collaboratively build, share, and run applications. Docker provides a streamlined, reliable, and secure workflow for integrated application development, helping accelerate the delivery of apps from code to the cloud. With a large marketplace of trusted content and integrations with leading tools, Docker supports teams in creating modern applications quickly.
Hykes brings 25 years of experience to his current role. Before joining Docker, he was a solutions engineer at SmartJog and before that a trusted infrastructure engineer at CEIS. Earlier in his career he worked with Fairgame as a system administrator. Hykes graduated from the European Institute of Technology with a master’s degree and an undergraduate degree in information technology.
6. Randall Ward
Co-Founder & CEO, Appfire Technologies
As Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Appfire, Randall Ward is dedicated to helping teams worldwide tackle their most significant challenges by breaking down silos, enhancing productivity, modernizing technology stacks, and adding value to existing platforms. Appfire is a software provider that enhances and connects leading platforms to streamline workflows across all stages, from planning and product ideation to development and project delivery.
Leading a global enterprise software company, Ward focuses on equipping and connecting teams to enable seamless workflows. He believes that making a positive impact is key to business success and serves as a member of the Pledge 1% Global Visionary Council. Through his leadership, he aims to transform teamwork and make Appfire an essential tool for every team’s workflow. Ward graduated from MIT Sloan School of Management.
7. Adam Harris
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Cloudbeds
Adam Harris is the Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of Cloudbeds, where he leads a global team of over 750 professionals dedicated to developing innovative solutions for the hospitality industry. With more than 15 years of experience in finance, marketing, and technology, Harris has a proven track record of launching and scaling successful businesses that connect, empower, and serve customers across 157 countries.
Previously, Harris was a Co-Founder at TicketSocket and before that a Principal at Calacles. Earlier in his career he worked with A.G. Edwards as a financial analyst. Harris earned an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
8. Tope Awotona
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Calendly
Tope Awotona is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Calendly, a scheduling platform that enables individuals, teams, and organizations globally to automate meetings—helping companies close deals, hire candidates, build relationships, and grow their business faster. Founded in 2013 with the goal of simplifying scheduling and eliminating back-and-forth emails, the platform has grown to over 20 million users under Awotona’s strategic leadership.
Prior to Calendly, Awotona spent the majority of his career in enterprise software sales, working for companies such as IBM, Perceptive Software, and Dell Technologies, in addition to launching a series of startups. Awotona holds a degree in management information systems from the University of Georgia.
9. Edith Harbaugh
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, LaunchDarkly
Edith Harbaugh is Co-Founder and Executive Chair of LaunchDarkly, a leading feature management platform. LaunchDarkly serves over a thousand global customers, including IBM, Atlassian, and Intuit. Harbaugh has more than 15 years of experience in engineering, product, and marketing with both consumer and enterprise startups, including TripIt and Concur.
Previously, Harbaugh was a Product Director at TripIt and before that a Senior Product Manager at PlantSense. Earlier in her career she worked with Epicentric as a senior software analyst and designer. She is also the co-host of a podcast on software trends and holds two patents in deployment. Harbaugh earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Harvey Mudd College.
10. A.J. Altman
Founder, Hover
A.J. Altman is the Founder of Hover, a company he established in 2011. Hover provides a digital platform that simplifies home improvement and construction projects by offering a mobile app for measuring, designing, and estimating in one place. The platform improves transparency for homeowners and increases workflow efficiencies for contractors.
Before founding Hover, Altman served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps and worked as an engineer at Intel Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
11. Alessio Alionco
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Pipefy
Alessio Alionco is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pipefy, a business process automation platform that enhances team productivity and efficiency by centralizing data and standardizing processes across departments such as IT, finance, HR, and customer operations. Through its no-code process automation and AI framework, Pipefy helps businesses achieve operational efficiency and maximize productivity across all teams.
Alionco brings 17 years of experience to his current role and first got his start in 2007 as a CEO at JR Consultoria - UFPR, before eventually rising to Founder and CEO at acessozero, his most recent position prior to joining Pipefy. Alionco graduated from the Universidade Federal do Paraná with an undergraduate degree in business administration.
12. Arik Liberzon
Founder & CTO, Pentera
Arik Liberzon is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Pentera, a leader in automated security validation that helps companies proactively test their cybersecurity controls against emerging cyberattacks. Pentera identifies true risk across the entire attack surface and provides guidance on remediation to reduce exposure effectively.
A seasoned cybersecurity expert, Liberzon previously held a significant role in a Cyber Warfare unit, where he performed penetration tests on national mission-critical systems and strategic asset networks. After gaining expertise in penetration testing, Red-teaming, and software engineering, he co-founded Pentera in 2015 with Arik Faingold, applying his knowledge to develop software solutions.
Liberzon holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Technion Institute of Technology, an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and a PhD in finance from Ben-Gurion University.
13. Pat Kinsel
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & President, Proof
Pat Kinsel is the Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and President of Proof, an identity-assured transaction management platform developed by the same market leaders who brought notarization online with Notarize. Proof offers trust in the digital world by verifying identities and securing transactions to protect businesses and their customers.
Previously, Kinsel was a Partner at Polaris Partners. Before that, he was a Co-Founder and CEO of Spindle until it was acquired by Twitter in 2013. Previously, he was at Microsoft incubating new concepts and bringing them to market. Kinsel serves on the board of Lob and was the lead investor in Drizly. He is also a member of TechStars Boston, Harvard’s Innovation Lab and SparkLabs Korea. Kinsel graduated from Boston University.
14. Abhishek Humbad
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Goodera
Abhishek Humbad is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Goodera, a company that provides hosted volunteering experiences for organizations. Goodera’s services are designed to be accessible, engaging, and impactful, with clients including leading companies such as IBM, Airbnb, ServiceNow, Visa, and Target. The company serves over 400 customers, with 60 of them being Fortune 500 companies.
Abhishek has spent more than a decade building enterprises focused on social and environmental impact. Previously, Humbad was a Founder at NextGen. Earlier in his career he worked with Wall Street Club, BITS-Pilani as a Founder and President. Humbad earned an undergraduate degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani.
15. Alok Kulkarni
Co-Founder & Chairman, Cyara
Alok Kulkarni is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Cyara, a company that enables enterprises and solution providers to deliver seamless customer interactions across a wide range of communication channels, including voice, web, chatbot, video, and WebRTC. Kulkarni has 30 years of experience. He began his career in 1994.
Before joining Cyara, Kulkarni was a SE director in APAC at Genesys and before that a software development engineer at NEC. Earlier in his career he worked with Lincolne Scott as a consulting engineer. Kulkarni graduated from Melbourne Business School with an MBA in technology and entrepreneurship and from Monash University with an undergraduate degree in electrical and computer systems engineering.
16. Chuck Canton
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Sourcepass
Chuck Canton is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sourcepass, a company focused on transforming how businesses consume IT. Sourcepass empowers businesses to take control of their digital landscape, enabling them to drive transformation. Canton founded Sourcepass with the vision to disrupt the traditional IT services and security space, providing businesses of all sizes with a technology experience that elevates their operations.
Canton has over a decade of experience at hyper-growth technology companies. His former roles include Global Vice President of Customer Success and Operations at Vonage and President of Financial Services and Operations at Compass, a rapidly growing tech-enabled real estate company.
Canton continues to drive Sourcepass towards new heights of success, making technology services more accessible and affordable to businesses across the globe.Canton is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, and he attended the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.
17. Guillaume Maron
Co-Founder & VP Engineering, Dashlane
Guillaume Maron is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Engineering at Dashlane, a web and mobile app that simplifies password management for individuals and businesses. Dashlane helps organizations protect company and employee data while enabling easy login to necessary accounts.
Guillaume is focused on building a sustainable company based on strong human values and continuous improvement of management practices. Passionate about innovation and problem-solving, he collaborates with the engineering team to advance Dashlane’s core technologies. He holds a master's degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris.
18. Ivan Smolnikov
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Smartcat
Ivan Smolnikov is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Smartcat, an all-in-one platform connecting businesses and translators into a continuous translation delivery loop. By combining a collaborative workflow solution and a network of translation professionals, Smartcat drives the language industry to its full technological potential, benefiting both customers and vendors.
Smolnikov first got his start in 2001 as a scientist at the Fiber Optics Research Center at the General Physics Institute Russian Academy of Sciences before eventually rising to CEO and Co-Founder at ABBYY LS, his most recent position prior to joining Smartcat. Smolnikov graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology with a master’s degree in physics, fiber optics, and mathematics.
19. Tony Summerville
Founder & Executive Chairman, Fleetio
Tony Summerville is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Fleetio, a web-based fleet management system that helps businesses get more from their moving assets. Users can log maintenance and service history online, measure fuel economy and schedule automatic reminders for their vehicles in one platform.
Summerville brings 20 years of experience to his current role. Before joining Fleetio, he was a product manager at Daxko. Earlier in his career he worked with Regions Financial Corporation as a software engineer. Summerville graduated from Auburn University with an undergraduate degree in management information systems.
20. Alok Chanani
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, BuildOps
Alok Chanani is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BuildOps, an all-in-one management software designed specifically for modern commercial specialty contractors. Tailored for trade contractors, BuildOps integrates service and project management into a unified SaaS platform. Founded in 2018, BuildOps is a privately held, veteran-owned company supported by major institutional investors.
Chanani brings 12 years of experience to his current role and first got his start in 2012 as a CEO at USA Commercial. Chanani graduated from The Wharton School with an MBA in real estate and from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in economics.
21. Jeremy Smith
Co-Founder & CSO, SOLO
Jeremy Smith is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of SOLO, a back-office solution designed for contractors and sales organizations in the home improvement industry. SOLO offers a range of services, including dynamic proposals, document management, CAD design, and engineering as-a-service. The company partners with a variety of organizations to provide complementary technologies, solutions, and services that help accelerate business growth.
Smith is an experienced Chief Financial Officer with a background in the renewables and environment industry. He has expertise in scaling businesses from inception to nine figures, as well as in accounting, general ledger management, GAAP, forecasting, budgeting, and cash flow management. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on accountancy from the College of Business Administration at California State University, San Marcos.
22. Adam Pettit
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Kandji
Adam Pettit is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kandji, a platform designed to secure and manage Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices. Kandji helps IT teams save time with features like one-click compliance templates and over 150 pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. The platform simplifies Apple device management for businesses, ensuring security, compliance, and productivity. Kandji focuses on providing a user-friendly experience through continuous innovation and customer-centric solutions.
Pettit brings 19 years of experience to his current role and first got his start in 2005 as a President at AMP Consulting, before eventually rising to Founder and CEO at Interlaced, his most recent position prior to joining Kandji. Pettit graduated from the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business with an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship and economics.
23. Anant Bhardwaj
Founder & CEO, Instabase
Anant Bhardwaj is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Instabase, an AI-powered content activation platform that enables organizations to unlock value from all their data, including unstructured content, at scale. By combining low-code development with advanced AI, Instabase allows enterprises to automate complex workflows, supplies users with conversational AI agents, and drives insights through enterprise search.
While a Ph.D. student at MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab, Bhardwaj had an innovative idea to change how enterprises thought about their distributed systems. Today, the Instabase platform helps enterprises unlock the full potential of their unstructured data spread across a vast landscape of operational systems and data stores. Bhardwaj founded and has led the company since its inception nearly one decade ago, scaling the business to hundreds of employees on multiple continents, with more than $130M raised from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, NEA, Index Ventures, and Spark Capital through the company’s last round.
Bhardwaj graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a PhD in computer science, from Stanford University with a master's degree in computer science, and from Savitribai Phule Pune University with an undergraduate degree in computer science.
24. Jennifer Spradling
Co-Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer, FreeWill
Jennifer Spradling is the Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at FreeWill, a social-good enterprise that provides free online tools to help Americans with estate planning and charitable giving. The platform partners with over 1,500 nonprofits to offer a comprehensive suite of estate planning tools at no cost to consumers, helping them address common estate planning needs and make tax-advantaged charitable donations.
Before FreeWill, Jenny worked at McKinsey and Bain Capital, where she helped launch the firm's first impact investment fund. She is also a Co-Founder of Paribus, which was later acquired by Capital One. Spradling graduated from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business with an MBA and from Harvard University with an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics.
25. Laura Behrens Wu
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Shippo
Laura Behrens Wu is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shippo, a company that provides shipping solutions for e-commerce businesses. Shippo operates at the intersection of technology and physical logistics, streamlining the shipping process for online retailers.
In addition to her role at Shippo, Wu is a seed-stage angel investor in companies such as Optimism, Metronome, Haus, Alt, Arcade, Sword Health, HumanFirst, Canix, and Fabric, among others, as well as in several startups.
Wu first got her start in 2011 as a business analyst at Harvard College Consulting Group, her most recent position prior to joining Shippo. Wu graduated from the University of St. Gallen with an MBA and an undergraduate degree.
26. Matt Kunkel
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, LogicGate
Matt Kunkel is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of LogicGate, a global SaaS company that helps customers manage and scale their cyber risk, third-party risk, compliance controls, enterprise risk, and operational resilience programs.
Prior to LogicGate, Kunkel spent over a decade in the management consulting space building technology solutions to operationalize regulatory, risk, and compliance programs for Fortune 250 companies. Kunkel graduated from the DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business with an MBA and from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with an undergraduate degree in finance and economics consulting.
27. Lukas Quanstrom
Co-Founder & CEO, Ontic
Lukas Quanstrom is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Ontic Technologies, where he leads the company in transforming how organizations identify, assess, and manage physical security threats. Ontic’s software helps corporate and government security professionals proactively manage risks, mitigate threats, and strengthen businesses. At Ontic, Quanstrom oversees a team of technologists and security experts who develop software solutions used by Fortune 500 companies and emerging enterprises to protect employees, customers, and assets, ensuring business continuity and minimizing financial impact.
Before founding Ontic, Quanstrom was an early employee at Sprinklr, where he ultimately served as Global Vice President of Client Success. In this role, he built and led the entire customer-facing team, ensuring the strategic alignment of business objectives with the adoption and use of Sprinklr technology. A strategist by trade, his earlier career focused on helping Fortune 500 businesses embrace and leverage emerging technologies. Quanstrom holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Olivet Nazarene University and an MBA in integrated marketing from DePaul University.
28. Andrew Leto
Co-Founder & CEO, Emerge
Andrew Leto is the Co-Founder and CEO of Emerge, a technology provider known for its Freight Procurement Platform. Emerge offers solutions that enhance the procurement process for spot and contract freight by providing current benchmarking data, real-time connectivity, and data-driven insights, enabling shippers and carriers to make more strategic decisions. Backed by a marketplace of over 45,000 quality carriers and its Premier Carrier Program, Emerge helps shippers expand their network.
Leto brings 28 years of experience to his current role and is a veteran of both the logistics and technology markets. He has a strong reputation for building and leading successful logistics companies, beginning with GlobalTranz in 2003. The company quickly became a leading truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) broker in the U.S., with over a billion dollars in sales. He also founded 10-4 Systems, a truckload and visibility platform sold to Trimble in 2016.
29. Sam Li
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Thoropass
Sam Li is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thoropass, a company that specializes in compliance solutions. Thoropass simplifies the compliance process through intuitive software and hands-on services, integrating seamlessly into existing workflows to ensure preparedness for audits. The company aims to make compliance straightforward and efficient, with a vision of creating a world where compliance is not an obstacle to progress.
Before founding Thoropass, Li was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Bain Capital Ventures. He also co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer at Zinc Platform, a YC-backed insurtech startup. He studied computer science at the University of Virginia and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
30. Paroon Chadha
Co-Founder & Exec Board Chair, OnBoard
Paroon Chadha is the Co-Founder and Executive Board Chair of OnBoard, a platform that supports board and city council meetings for the public, private, nonprofit, and government sectors. He founded the parent company in 2003 at Purdue University. OnBoard serves over 5,000 customers across North America, EMEA, and APAC.
Chadha serves on boards at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lafayette, Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, and PeaceTech Lab. Chadha frequently speaks and writes about board governance and entrepreneurship. Chadha graduated from Purdue University with an MBA in management and from Punjab Engineering College with an undergraduate degree in engineering.
31. Mayank Singh Bawa
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, WorkSpan
Mayank Singh Bawa is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WorkSpan. WorkSpan empowers companies to turbocharge and scale their co-sell revenue growth. Partnership and sales teams use WorkSpan’s secure SaaS solution to collaborate with partners on deals, exchange co-sell referrals from inside their CRM, manage shared pipelines, and track performance on a live dashboard.
Bawa has always believed in the importance of data, analytics and applications in helping people make better decisions. Prior to founding WorkSpan, he founded Aster Data Systems, acquired by Teradata in 2011, where he served as Co-President of Teradata Aster division. Bawa holds a PhD in computer science from Stanford University and bachelor’s degree from IIT Bombay.
32. Zev Eigen
Founder & Chief Data Scientist, Syndio
Zev Eigen is the Founder and Chief Data Scientist of Syndio, a company that provides global pay transparency solutions to help organizations achieve pay equity, streamline reporting, and make informed pay decisions at scale.
With over a decade of experience in cutting-edge HR technology, Eigen combines expertise in labor economics, employment law, data science, predictive modeling, and economic sociological research. He has authored numerous scholarly articles and books and is a recognized expert in his fields, frequently speaking on HR tech, data science, and law.
Before founding Syndio, Eigen founded Cherry Tree Data Science, which enabled employers to safely and reliably hire people with criminal records. Eigen graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a PhD in economics and sociology, from Cornell Law School with a JD in law, and from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in industrial and labor relations.
33. Craig Flynn
Founder & CTO, Impartner
Craig Flynn is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Impartner, a leading provider of channel management technologies, including Partner Relationship Management (PRM) and Partner Marketing Automation solutions. Flynn founded Impartner in 1996, focusing on SaaS and cloud-based applications, and built a loyal customer base.
Since the company’s majority recapitalization in 2015, Flynn has served as CTO, overseeing both engineering and IT. Flynn holds a master's degree in education from UCLA and undergraduate degrees in Spanish, English, and French Literature, as well as architecture and literature from the Université Paris-Sorbonne.
34. Scott Beck
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Gloo
Scott Beck is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gloo, a technology platform based in Boulder, Colorado. Gloo connects ministry leaders to resources, people, data, insights, and funding, with the goal of helping organizations and their communities thrive. As a technology innovator, Beck has led Gloo in supporting the faith ecosystem by providing tools that enable ministry leaders to strengthen their organizations and impact.
Beck brings 38 years of experience to his current role and first got his start in 1986 as a Vice Chairman and COO at Blockbuster. From there, he went on to Boston Market, before eventually rising to CEO at Waldos Dolar Mart, his most recent position prior to joining Gloo. Beck graduated from Southern Methodist University with an undergraduate degree in business administration.
35. Deb Muller
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, HR Acuity
Deborah Muller is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HR Acuity, a technology platform specifically built for employee relations and investigations management. Muller brings more than 25 years of human resources and workplace investigation experience to the company.
Prior to founding HR Acuity, Muller held executive HR positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Honeywell and Citibank, and also served as an independent workplace investigator. Muller graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a master’s degree in instructional systems development and from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in industrial and labor relations.
36. Ian Tien
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Mattermost
Ian Tien is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Mattermost, a collaboration platform designed for mission-critical work. Mattermost serves a range of industries, including national security, government, critical infrastructure, and enterprises such as the U.S. Department of Defense, global tech companies, utilities, banks, and other essential services.
Tien previously founded SpinPunch, an online video game company. Prior to that, Tien was VP of Product at Flickme, a movie streaming startup backed by Sequoia Capital, Warner Brothers, and Sony Pictures. He also ran product management for Microsoft SkyDrive (now OneDrive) and Hotmail (now Outlook.com) and led engineering teams for Microsoft Office.
Tien holds over a dozen patents in analytic applications and is an alumnus of the University of Waterloo and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
37. Kishore Gopalakrishna
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, StarTree
Kishore Gopalakrishna is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of StarTree, a cloud-based software company that enables business customers to derive advanced insights from real-time and historical data. StarTree was founded by the core software engineering team and inventors of Apache Pinot, which currently powers hundreds of user-facing applications at companies across industries, including LinkedIn, Uber, Target, 7Eleven, Etsy, Walmart, WePay, Factual, Weibo, and more.
Gopalakrishna brings 22 years of experience to his current role. Before joining StarTree, Gopalakrishna was a founding engineer at Stealth Mode Startup Company and before that a senior staff engineer at LinkedIn. Earlier in his career he worked with Oracle as an application developer. Gopalakrishna graduated from National Institute of Technology Karnataka with an undergraduate degree in electrical and electronics engineering.
38. Gleb Polyakov
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Nylas
Gleb Polyakov is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nylas, a company focused on helping developers unlock the potential of communications data to drive innovation and growth. Nylas was founded with the vision of making it easier for developers to build software that enhances communication and connection. The company’s mission is to provide businesses with easy access to communications data, enabling them to use it quickly for innovation, customer engagement, and digital transformation at scale.
Previously, Demaree was a Founder and CEO at ZPM Espresso and before that a crowdfunding director at Parallax Creative. Earlier in his career he worked with B&G International as an operations consultant. Demaree earned an undergraduate degree in physics from Georgia Institute of Technology.
39. Elizabeth Zalman
Co-Founder, StrongDM
Elizabeth Zalman is the Co-Founder of StrongDM, a company that helps organizations manage and secure access to critical infrastructure by using a zero-trust approach. The platform provides users with controlled access to databases, servers, and applications, while also giving administrators clear visibility and audit trails.
Zalman brings 21 years of experience to her current role. Before joining StrongDM, she was a Founder at Cuff & Tweed and before that a manager of analytics at Dotomi, later acquired by Conversant. Earlier in her career she worked with Nomi as a VP of Insights and Client Services. Zalman graduated from McGill University with an undergraduate degree in economics and Jewish studies and from Marlboro College with an undergraduate degree in economics.
40. Maria Davidson
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Kojo
Maria Davidson is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kojo, a leading materials procurement platform for trade and self-perform general contractors. By connecting office teams, field crews, the warehouse, and vendors on one all-inclusive procurement platform, contractors control their procurement process from takeoff to closeout, saving on material costs, reducing waste, and increasing productivity.
Previously, Davidson was a Co-Founder at Real Capital Innovation, later acquired by Addepar, and before that an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs. Earlier in her career she served as President of The Oxford Union. Davidson earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from the University of Oxford.
41. Taylor Jones
Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer, MessageGears
Taylor Jones is the Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of MessageGears, a customer engagement platform designed for enterprise brands that market to millions of customers. MessageGears connects directly to modern data warehouses, enabling real-time, personalized interactions across all channels. This approach allows businesses to adapt to evolving customer needs and expectations, without the need for mapping, moving, or storing data within the platform.
Jones brings 18 years of experience to his current role and first got his start in 2006 as a software and knowledge engineer at Applied Systems Intelligence, before eventually rising to software engineer at Premiere Global Services, his most recent position prior to joining MessageGears. Jones graduated from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in computer science.
42. Yoav Kutner
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, OroCommerce
Yoav Kutner is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OroCommerce, a B2B-focused commerce platform that enables complex sales processes for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors. OroCommerce is a complete solution that includes CRM and marketplace solutions with online storefronts optimized for the needs of B2B sellers, including RFQ (request for quote) and CPQ (configure price quote).
Kutner is a proven product visionary in the business application market. Prior to founding Oro, Kutner was the CTO and Co-Founder of Magento, where he led product and technology development for all Magento offerings from inception until after its acquisition by eBay in 2011. Kutner holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
43. Tom Beaty
Founder, Chairman of the Board, SpendHQ
Tom Beaty is the Chairman of the Board of SpendHQ, a software development company specializing in enterprise spend intelligence and procurement performance management solutions. Beaty founded the consulting firm Insight Sourcing in 2002. Over the years, he and his team built four procurement-related businesses, including Insight Sourcing and Insight Energy, which were both sold to Accenture in 2024. Insight GPO was sold in 2019 to a private equity-backed strategic buyer.
Beaty graduated from Emory University Goizueta Business School with an MBA and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree.
44. Varun Badhwar
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Endor Labs
Varun Badhwar is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Endor Labs. Endor Labs focuses on improving application security, particularly in managing open-source software dependencies. The company assists developers in adopting safe open source Software to accelerate development while spending less time addressing security concerns. Its Dependency Lifecycle Management Platform addresses the security challenges in software supply chains, specifically targeting the unmanaged sprawl of open-source software within enterprises.
Badhwar brings 17 years of experience to his current role. Before joining Endor Labs, Badhwar was a SVP and GM in Prisma Cloud at Palo Alto Networks and before that a Founder and CEO at RedLock. Earlier in his career he worked with Salesforce as a senior manager. Badhwar graduated from the University of Southern California with an undergraduate degree in computer science.
45. Grant Demaree
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Onebrief
Grant Demaree is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Onebrief, a cloud-based platform designed for military workflows and collaboration that enables rapid operational planning and expedited command decisions. The platform includes a collaborative map functionality that accelerates military planning using operational graphics for better visualization. Developed by a team of veteran planners, Onebrief aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of military decision-making processes.
Demaree brings 5 years of experience to her current role. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with an undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering and international relations.
46. Jessica Beck
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Alfred
Jessica Beck is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alfred, a technology-powered operating platform that manages rental properties and enhances the living experience for residents. Alfred serves over 300,000 residents across 357 communities in 52 markets in North America.
Under Beck's leadership, Alfred integrates real estate, hospitality, and technology to improve the way people live together, fostering diverse experiences and perspectives to drive change within the residential real estate sector.
Before Alfred, Beck worked with McKinsey & Company as a business analyst. She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in economics from Williams College.
47. Tigran Sloyan
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, CodeSignal
Tigran is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CodeSignal, where he is responsible for driving the company’s overall strategic direction and results. He co-founded CodeSignal in 2015 to help organizations and individuals discover and develop the skills necessary for the future. CodeSignal is a platform that helps businesses address skills gaps through AI-powered hiring and learning solutions, while also supporting individuals in cultivating the skills needed to advance their careers.
Previously, Sloyan was a Founder at gobeyondresumes.org and before that a partner technology manager at Google. Earlier in his career he worked with Oracle as an applications engineer. Sloyan earned an undergraduate degree in computer science and mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
48. Trisha Kothari
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Unit21
Trisha Kothari is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Unit21, a company she founded in 2018. Unit21 provides solutions designed to help combat fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activities by offering tools that go beyond risk identification to proactively mitigate threats.
Unit21 focuses on supporting fraud fighters and anti-money laundering (AML) professionals globally, with the goal of restoring the financial ecosystem to a path of opportunity. Previously, Kothari was a Product Manager at Affirm. She earned an undergraduate degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania.
49. Deidre Paknad
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Workboard
Deidre Paknad is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WorkBoard, a company that provides enterprise strategy execution software designed to help organizations align and drive strategic priorities. She has founded and led three tech startups, acquired companies, and held executive roles at IBM, offering her a unique perspective on leveraging both speed and scale for business growth.
Prior to WorkBoard, Paknad was the CEO of PSS Systems, which was acquired by IBM in 2010, and the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Certus Software. She also served as the Founder, President, and CEO of CoVia Technologies (formerly Glyphica). Paknad holds an undergraduate degree in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
50. Apoorva Verma
Co-Founder & COO, Rattle
Apoorva Verma is the Co-Founder and COO of Rattle, a company focused on redefining how revenue teams engage with their go-to-market systems. Rattle’s process automation platform enhances efficiency, transparency, and growth across revenue funnels, providing real-time alerts and actionable insights that improve collaboration, alignment, and forecast accuracy. With 10 years of experience, Verma previously worked as a consultant, playing a key role in refining go-to-market strategies at ZS and BCG.
Verma first got her start in 2013 as a senior analyst at ZS. From there, she went on to Boston Consulting Group, before eventually rising to senior associate at Factspan, her most recent position prior to joining Rattle. Verma graduated from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with an MBA in management and from the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology with an undergraduate degree in electrical, electronics, and communications engineering.
