Spotlight: HUVTSP Speakers
In addition to internships at innovative startups and daily classes, workshops, and case studies from Harvard faculty and entrepreneurs, TECH is proud to host world-class guest speakers to share their unique experiences and stories with the HUVTSP community. Below is a list of past, returning, and upcoming speakers for HUVTSP 2025. Please note that this list is ever-growing and subject to change based on speaker availability.
Paul is an award-winning teacher and creator of innovation and entrepreneurship programs, courses, resources, and tools. As an advisor, mentor and coach, he engages founders in a unique creative development process that helps shape new ideas into emerging companies. At Harvard, he is also the executive director of innovation education at the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering, the faculty director of the Harvard College Innovation Challenge and the Innovation Fellows Program, and he serves on the boards of the Harvard Innovation Lab, the Lemann Center for Creativity and Entrepreneurship in Harvard College, and on the Innovation Council of the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering.
Arhan is an entrepreneur with a background in Computer Science and Economics from Harvard University. A member of the Y Combinator W24 batch, Arhan is currently building Rove, the first-ever universal airline mile. His ventures have been backed by leading investors including YC, General Catalyst, Soma Capital, Pear, and more. At the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, Arhan is a Program Director, helping lead courses across the startup and technology landscape.
Caleb is a Program Director at TECH and an advising board member at Harvard Undergraduate Ventures, where he ran the Bottom Line podcast with notable guest speakers including Fortune 500 CEOs. Caleb also serves as a board member at Harvard Undergraduate Venture Capital Group and The Harvard Crimson, the university’s student-run newspaper.
Anaiy Somalwar is an entrepreneur and investor with background in EECS, Applied Math, and Business from UC Berkeley’s M.E.T. Program. He began his career working at VC-backed startups and research labs such as Berkeley AI Research, SiMa.ai, University of Washington, Respeecher, and Chess.com, where he published papers in over five IEEE conferences, reviewed for IEEE Access, and chaired the recent result track of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference. Most recently, Anaiy worked as venture capitalist at Pear VC and Foundation Capital, sourcing over $50M of deal value through startups such as Brutus AI (acquired), TeachShare, Advex AI, and Poppin and making personal investments in OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity. Anaiy also co-founded a startup with over $5M in revenue and joined the board of AI Entrepreneurs at Berkeley. Anaiy received distinctions as an Atlas Fellow, Masason Fellow, and National Master of Chess.
Cory is the founder of First Text and subsequently Z Fellows, an accelerator known for being the first investor in dozens of startups. Cory has invested in 20+ startups as the very first believer into first-time technical founders. Prior, he was the co-founder of After School, a teen social network with ~20m users acquihired by Ancestry. Cory is an honoree of Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Consumer Technology category and sits on the Board of Directors of international non-profit DoSomething.org. He interned at Founders Fund, Union Square Ventures, and TechStars and studied CS at UIUC.
Akash has been immersed in startups for over ten years as a founder, operator, and investor. Most recently, Akash was a Partner at The House Fund, investing in founders at the earliest stages. As a student at UC Berkeley, Akash co-founded Eventable and grew the business to profitability with over 30 million end-users. Akash led the company to an acquisition by Rockerbox, where he helped launch and grow a SaaS product for leading DTC brands. He was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and CNBC. Along the way, Akash has invested in startups and advised founders on go-to-market, product, and fundraising. He has worked with a broad range of entrepreneurs including Olympians, professors, and filmmakers.
Mr. Thomas Deng has over 29 years of experience in equity and investment strategy research, investment banking and equity capital market, asset management, and wealth management through his various roles in the financial service industry. Mr. Deng is best known as a leading China strategist for many years. He presently serves as a Chairman at Prudence Fund (HK) Investment Management. Before his current role, he held senior positions at various global financial institutions, including 7 years as a Managing Director, Chief China Strategist in Global Investment Research, and Head of China Equities Market in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, 5 years as a Managing Director, Chief China Strategist, and Chief Investment Officer at UBS Wealth Management, 2 years as Deputy CEO and Head of Investments at Invesco Great Wall Asset Management. He holds double Master’s degrees in Economics and Statistics from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in International Finance from Wuhan University. He also graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and has served as a Member of the Board Directors of the Harvard Business School Association of HK for over 12 years. He achieved his CFA designation in 2000.
Guy Ellis is a global leader known for turning challenges into opportunities. With over 50 board, advisory, and founder roles across private equity-backed companies, startups, high-growth businesses, and non-profits, he has consistently demonstrated his ability to inspire transformative growth, drive innovation, and deliver impactful outcomes. An alumnus of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Guy combines academic excellence with hands-on expertise in M&A, strategy, investments, and operational turnarounds. His leadership has guided P&Ls exceeding $200 million and deals worth over $1 billion. Guy is also the author of The Negotiation Code, set to launch in late spring 2025, which explores the groundbreaking intersection of emotional intelligence (EQ) and artificial intelligence (AI) in negotiation. This highly anticipated book provides actionable insights for achieving sustainable, mutually beneficial outcomes in today’s fast-paced world.
Lila is the CEO of audio manufacturing company Bose Corporation, overseeing all aspects of the company’s consumer electronics, automotive, and related businesses. Lila is also a member of the Bose Board of Directors. Prior to joining Bose in 2020, Lila was an executive vice president at Pitney Bowes Inc., where she led the company’s Commerce Services division. She also spent 15 years as a partner at McKinsey & Company, consulting for clients in the technology, media, and communications sectors. In addition, Lila is a member of the Board of Directors for home builder PulteGroup Inc., and the Alumni Board of Directors for the University of Miami. She also participates in the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and MIT Corporation Visiting Committee for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Amit Chaturvedy is the Managing Partner & Global Head of SE Ventures, where he oversees the €1B global venture investments platform. Amit drives the overall fund strategy and brings nearly 20 years of professional experience in venture capital, private equity, and corporate development. Previously, Amit was at Cisco Systems, where he was the Global Head of venture investing and corporate development for Cloud Computing, IoT, Data Center & Enterprise Networking. Before Cisco Systems, Amit was a Director at Summit Partners, where he led investments in US and Asia with a focus on industrial sectors. Amit started his career as an R&D Engineer at Cummins Engines, supporting connected vehicles and EV programs. Amit has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MSME from Purdue University, and his BTech in ME from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Saeed is a seasoned investor and executive with over 30 years of experience growing businesses in numerous industries, including real estate, bottled water, packaging, and technology investing. Following the early success of his various businesses, The Amidi Group initially purchased a building in Palo Alto and decided to rent the extra office spaces to startups. As the CEO and founder of Plug and Play, Saeed applies his passion for the tech industry daily by working with forward-thinking partners and the best global startups to facilitate positive change worldwide. Since Plug and Play’s launch in 2006, the company has worked with over 90,000 startups, made over 2,000 investments, and boasts over 30 unicorns including Dropbox, PayPal, Lending Club, N26, and Honey.
Shogo Hayakawa is the founder and CEO of CoeFont, an AI voice platform with over 3 million users and $6 million raised to date. He also developed AI Stylist, a popular hairstyle recommendation app with over 2 million downloads. Shogo serves as a Board Director at Kasumigaseki Capital, a publicly listed company with a market cap exceeding $1 billion, and is a member of the prestigious Masason Foundation, supported by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. In 2023, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his contributions to AI and voice technology.
Aaron Bai is a fintech operator who left UC Berkeley at 16 to build the consumer rails for stablecoin payments. Now he is the co-founder of Affiniti, headquartered in New York City. Over the past year, the company grew from $0 to $5.5 million in ARR and raised $79 million in equity and debt. Backed by Indicator Ventures, Emigrant Bank, Day One Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, Keystone National Group, and partnered with Mastercard, Affiniti focuses on bringing an “AI CFO” solution to the small and midsize businesses that form America’s economic backbone. Now 20, Aaron continues to lead Affiniti in its mission to modernize and empower these vital industries.
Dhruv Kulkarni is a serial entrepreneur and AI researcher with a background in computer science from UC Berkeley. He sold his first company, Brutus AI, after backing from Pear VC, and went on to become a Director at Forta Health following its acquisition. He is now the founder of Docubridge, a platform streamlining enterprise document workflows using AI. Dhruv has conducted AI/ML research at both UC Berkeley and Stanford, and currently serves as a Venture Partner at Tower Research Capital, advising early-stage startups across Silicon Valley.
Aryan Bhadouria is a founder, engineer, and education innovator with a background in computer science from UC Berkeley. He is the founder of TeacherToolAI by TeachShare, a platform backed by Pear VC and Reach Capital, which has been featured in TechCrunch and has empowered thousands of students and teachers globally. Aryan previously served as a Consultant at Blockchain at Berkeley and a Class Facilitator at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering. He is also a Z Fellow, recognized for his entrepreneurial potential and impact in the education space.
Avi Kapur is the co-founder and CEO of Extrian, an AI-powered cybersecurity platform for enterprises backed by Soma Capital, CRV, OVO Fund, and Polaris Partners. He was previously a Research Fellow at the Harvard Innovation Labs and served as Project Lead for Expo 2020 Dubai. Avi is also a Z Fellow, recognized for his innovation in cybersecurity.
Mike Mahlkow is a seasoned tech founder and angel investor, having backed over 40 companies to date. He is currently the founder of Fastgen.com and previously financed the education of thousands of students through joinblair.com. A graduate of Y Combinator for both ventures, Mike is a dedicated advocate of YC’s startup philosophy. Beyond his professional pursuits, he is an avid reader, video game enthusiast, and passionate sports fan.
As a serial entrepreneur, David has 15 years of experience building winning teams and successful companies. He exited twice, selling his US startups to conglomerates in Asia. David developed $800M+ business opportunities between Asia and America as an executive at some of the most influential EdTech companies in the world, including as CEO for Riiid Labs, Head of Asia for ACT.org, and Managing Director (of Asia) for K12.com. Now, he invests in companies as Managing Partner at Ethos Fund.
Mark Weber is a former documentary filmmaker turned applied AI researcher, lab-to-market productization leader, and early stage investor who finds his purpose in creatively connecting dots across disciplines. As a Director's Fellow at the MIT Media Lab, Mark supports member companies and the research community in bridging fundamental science to real world impact. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Harambe Alliance of African Entrepreneurs. Formerly at IBM Research, the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, Mark has led productization teams and has published research in graph deep learning, algorithmic fairness, and operations finance. He is the co-producer of the critically acclaimed film Poverty, Inc., which premiered on Netflix in 2016, won the $100K Templeton Freedom Award, and toured the international film festival circuit.
Tim is a seasoned business leader with an impressive track record of success across several leading global companies, including Amazon AWS, Microsoft, IBM, and Siemens. He has held executive roles in corporate investment, business innovation and development, as well as the startup ecosystem. As an investor and business leader at Plug and Play HQ and an advisor at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator, Tim brings a wealth of expertise, combining his executive experience in corporate investment and innovation with a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem. Recognized as an expert in cloud computing, Tim has contributed several patents in the field and serves as a consultant expert for the China Cloud Computing Industry Alliance.
Alvin is a General Partner at NYX Ventures, where he oversees a $50 million fund investing in transformative early and mid-stage startups, and as a previous General Partner at the $2Bn FutureX Capital US Fund—a crucial investor and supporter of ByteDance, supporting founders with funding opportunities and strategic guidance. Alvin’s experience as a founder of a two startups, where he scaled revenue to over $1 million in under 18 months and conducted IP sales with a US Government lab, underscores his ability to drive growth and innovation through emerging technologies and forward-thinking strategies.
David’s 15-year tech career included executive roles at startups across the SF Bay Area and Europe, during which time he hired, trained and developed dozens of young professionals. He has been coaching MBA applicants since 2012 with a special focus on developing the right career goals. In his corporate career, David has supervised more than 100 elite young professionals, preparing them to take on leadership roles early in their careers. David was also the first employee at Efficient Frontier, which was sold to Adobe for $400M.
Please contact tech@seas.harvard.edu with any questions.