Mark Straub CEO/CoFounder Smile Identity a leading provider of digital KYC and authentication services across Africa. Smile’s facial recognition SDK and ID validation APIs enables banks, telecoms and fintechs to confirm the true identity of any smartphone user with just a Smartselfie™. Previously, Mark led the Khosla Impact Fund, with investments in payments, solar, lending and ecommerce across Africa and India (Flutterwave, BBOXX, Branch, Kopo Kopo, Supermart.ng). Mark began his career in investment banking at Bank of America with later roles at DFJ in Menlo Park and Lok Capital in India. He is passionate about the power of technology and entrepreneurship to transform emerging markets.
Interviews
Rahul Raina CoFounder/CTO TRM #facebookcentralization
Rahul Raina CoFounder/CTO TRM Previously he was an Engineer at Amazon and OpenDoor, and a Management Consultant at McKinsey. Rahul received his BS in Computer Science (concentration in distributed systems) from University of Michigan and a BBA from Ross School of Business. In his spare time, he loves to dance, teach, and read.
Phil Jeudy Journalist #facebookcentralization
Phil Jeudy Journalist Phil started his career in finance and IT positions in subsidiaries of companies like Vinci or Electrolux, mainly in construction and retail (BtoB and BtoC), mostly in charge of organizational projects, then join SEGA to be responsible of Southern Europe territories for the mobile gaming business unit based in London. Since 2007, Phil has been developing lobbying activities for European companies interested to develop their activities with tech leaders in San Francisco Bay Area. Phil writes chronicles about the startup ecosystem onLe Journal de la Silicon Valley at L’Express.fr Phil co-organized non-conferences (Barcamps) in Paris focusing on Mobile, Video and Open Source. Phil introduced the first (and only so far) Ignite events in Paris. Phil is Advisor of several startups, including Fairwai.com, Nextuser.com, Bluefox.io.
Jeremy Almond CEO PayStand #facebookcentralization
Jeremy Almond CEO PayStand Paystand is a business to business focused digital payment company. Jeremy started his career as an engineer at nanotech startup Digital Instruments, later acquired by Veeco (Nadaq: VECO). At Veeco he led the enterprise architecture, helping shrink massive computers down to devices that now fit in our pockets. Since then Jeremy has worked as an operator and investor at a number of startups & established companies to drive improvements in digital commerce, ERP, and payments. He holds a computer engineering degree from the University of California and masters from the University of Massachusetts, where he did his thesis on how technology can help drive positive change in a broken financial system.