Nicole got her entrepreneurial start in the 4th grade, orchestrating cousins into theatrical plays and charging neighbors admission. From there, she founded 3 startups which is the source of her passion for helping grow startups. Since then, she's spent nearly 20 years working with and funding early-stage web software companies. Most recently, Nicole was the first employee at Techstars through nearly 14 years of blood and sweat, eventually rising to become it's Chief Investment Strategy Officer. Nicole was a key catalyst in growing the organization from 2 people to a global powerhouse with >50 programs worldwide, events in over 500+ cities, and a market cap of over $77B with nearly $1B assets under management. She's an expert in growing global organizations, leadership, human performance, building startup ecosystems, working with early-stage startups, venture capital, and more. She sits on boards, has invested in over 100 companies, was named one of the "Coolest People in New York Tech" by Business Insider, Marie Claire named her one of the "NewGuard", and Entrepreneur Magazine called her "One of the 7 most powerful women to watch". Currently, Nicole sits on the Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Denver Branch, One Way Ventures, Greater Colorado Venture Fund, and the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. She previously served on the Board of Directors for Pana through its acquisition by Coupa Software, SimpleEnergy through its acquisition by AES, Nextbite, and Greathorn.Nicole graduated with her Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology from the University of Florida, likes to do at least one philanthropic thing annually, and shares the wonderment of parenthood with the love of her life, Mark. In her free time, you’ll find Nicole speaking at large events, on her bike, on a trail, or on the slopes, hanging with her big fat greek family, traveling to some exotic destination, or generally making a fool of herself to entertain others (like boxing!).Specialties: internet technologies, startups, founding teams, scaling, seed stage investing, corporate innovation, operations, public speaking and community relations, growth strategies, fundraising, venture capital, pitch for capital, maximizing performance of entrepreneurs