Toma Bedolla
Co-Founder
Toma’s experiences are as broad as his life has allowed, moving from one adventure to the next. He has served as Chief Technology Officer for Jason’s Deli, studied physics at the Colorado School of Mines, climbed unnamed peaks in the Kunlun mountain range north of Tibet, played collegiate baseball and caddied full time on the PGA Tour. Toma strives to live his life to the fullest and to make the most of the opportunities as they have presented themselves. He aims to help others do the same and realize the potential that is in all of us.
Toma is currently exploring cross-pollinating entrepreneurship; he is the pioneering spirit behind the HowTru? project, an effort that will measure the accuracy of information on the Web. He also serves as the CEO for Approbatics, an international development firm that focuses on small-to-mid sized businesses and startups as a low cost software development alternative. Toma’s role at House of Genius is to continue to grow the entrepreneurial community service and develop strategies to integrate our Houses with their local communities. Occasionally you’ll find him on Twitter @Toma_Bedolla or +Toma Bedolla on Google+.
Tim Williams
Co-Founder
Tim’s entire life has been a dedicated path of entrepreneurship via risk taking, problem solving and relationship building. His fearless mentality has anointed him a successful entrepreneur and provided a world of experience sooner than most. By age 22, he successfully founded four companies in industrial cleaning, printing, and technology. It wouldn’t be possible without having surrounded himself with the best of the best, failing, and learning from his experiences. Tim’s path is and always will be; a work-in-progress. His role at House of Genius is to create and direct the vision, facilitate international growth, and maintain the brand.
In addition to his efforts of co-founding and operating House of Genius, he most recently founded Baumhaur Group – a design group in Boulder, Colorado – which lets him experience many companies vicariously and contribute to other entrepreneurs and their projects. Tim is a firm believer of purpose driven entrepreneurship, open intelligence, and relationships first. These are the values he infuses into House of Genius. You can follow Tim on Twitter @timwilliamz.
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Collin Adair
Co-FounderCollin is of a mechanical background; ripping apart things and rebuilding them. Aways finding new ways to build or manipulate something for a purpose in which it wasn’t intended. His role at House of Genius is to create all aspects of product, to make sure everyone can see, touch, or feel the value House of Genius brings. In the past – Collin has been an entrepreneur, mechanic, consultant and jack-of-all-trades. He brings an engineer’s angle to doing business. It’s unique, often doesn’t make sense – but it works. And it works well. Collin also enjoys speeding in his Subaru WRX, project cars, snowboarding, traveling and welding.
Christina Trapolino
Social Media Director – Austin, TX.
Christina has been working to build and nurture digital communities for almost ten years. Co-founding her first startup as a teenager aroused a lifelong passion for entrepreneurial endeavours, and being a digital native has made Christina acutely aware of what it means to connect with others online.
Before reaching her twenties, Christina was the principal leader of a digital community boasting over 100,000 active members. At 25, she became an early adopter on Google+ and grew a large following quickly, which earned her several highlights in publications like The Huffington Post and Gizmodo. This attention helped secure her current gig as the social media strategist and online brand manager for a national restaurant chain.
Her deep commitment to ethical and efficient digital branding strategies has made Christina an integral member of several advisory boards. She is an open networker and can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Eva Yao
Boulder, Co.
Eva is Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado-Boulder. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in accounting in her home country of China, Eva moved to Seattle to pursue her doctoral degree in Business Administration at the University of Washington. While enjoying the lush surroundings of the Pacific Northwest, she became fascinated with the “war stories” local entrepreneurs and investors told at various university events. Trained in organizational behavior and entrepreneurship, Eva studies the sociological and psychological aspects of the venture creation process. She has published 10 articles in various top and niche management and entrepreneurship journals and given over 30 research presentations in international conferences. Her recent projects examine entrepreneurs’ networking strategies and venture capital investment in the clean energy sector. Eva teaches entrepreneurship and research methods at CU-Boulder and is an affiliated faculty of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship.
Alongside her research and teaching in entrepreneurship, Eva is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and keen on building entrepreneurial ecosystems locally and globally, which led her to become part of House of Genius. She believes in the creative genius that can be unleashed by enthusiasm and curiosity among a group of people with diverse backgrounds.
Eva enjoys international traveling, long-distance running, and Brazilian music. She is an active member of the Boulder Samba School.
Regional Geniuses
Jeremy Snyder
Singapore
Jeremy is a global nomad and big picture thinker. Jeremy started working with startups and innovative companies in 1998. He has worked in locations from Silicon Valley to Stuttgart to Singapore. Jeremy’s current startup is The Sharing Engine, a tool to help people launch online marketplaces. Before The Sharing Engine, Jeremy worked at Amazon Web Services, a House of Genius sponsor organization.
Jeremy has lived in 4 countries, speaks several languages, once went 3 days without seeing another human and another time got kicked off a train in central Sweden.
You can find Jeremy on LinkedIn or Twitter @halffinn.
Kevin Verde
Austin, TX.
Passionate about technology, travel, and food in equal measures, Kevin is the CIO of the 235-location fast-casual chain, Jason’s deli. At Jason’s, Kevin is leading a team that is pioneering the use of cloud technology in the hospitality and retail space.
Before Jason’s, Kevin was enjoying tapas and sangria in Spain while he was the Director of IT at St. Louis University’s Madrid campus. Additionally, he taught software engineering with a focus on open-source technology.
After attending a Boulder House of Genius session, Kevin started the first expansion ‘House’ in Austin, Texas which has been cheerfully welcomed by the Austin entrepreneurial community. You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kverde.
Jacqui Dietrich
Denver, Co.
Her attraction to entrepreneurship began in the mid-nineties when she heard a seasoned advisor caution an aspiring business owner on her idea, “Someone like you could never make it in business.” Now Jacqui dedicates her days to proving him wrong by supporting emerging entrepreneurs facing whatever the odds. Her work at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Deming Center for Entrepreneurship focuses on advancing productive collisions— spontaneous encounters between people that when blended with the right resources result in tremendous outcomes.
Before discovering the Deming Center, Jacqui pursued a spirited search for knowledge in how new venture creation works. She earned five year’s worth of sweat equity in “Wild Idea,” a buffalo meat business that launched before its time. She also worked as an economic development fellow in the U.S. Senate, developed corporate business histories, delivered SBA assistance to small business owners, flirted with the outdoor industry, and eventually earned an MBA in Entrepreneurship from CU-Boulder.
She serves on the Board of Directors for Naturally Boulder working to promote Colorado’s natural products industry. She recently jumped at the chance to make more productive collisions possible as the host of the Denver House of Genius. She lives in Denver with her husband, Clint, and their two sons, ages 11 and 13.
Bing Chou
Boulder, Co.
Bing is Managing Director at Quick Left, a custom web and mobile development firm located in downtown Boulder, CO.
Prior to Quick Left, Bing committed career suicide in a variety of ways: by taking 7 months to hike the 2,100+ mile Appalachian Trail, getting his MBA at Babson College, selling cars for a living, launching and failing with a bricks and mortar business, working at a non-profit small business consultancy, and joining an online education startup.
After joining a session as a contributor, Bing stumbled into opportunities to present, moderate, and organize for House of Genius Boulder. You can find Bing on Twitter @virtuallybing.
David Hornick
Santa Monica, CA.
David has been hacking software since the early 90s. By the late 90s he started his first web business. He is currently the founder of Fluid Thinking, a company specializing in architecting strategies and solutions for web based technologies. With over a decade of experience, he has grown the company to service a diverse base of clients from consumer products to financial management. He has most recently been recognized for revitalizing legacy systems by breathing new life into them through the use of responsive UX and modern environments.
As a driven entrepreneur, David continues to work with partners to strategize, architect, and develop solutions which challenge traditional enterprise methodologies. His goal is to transform industries through creative disruption, cultivating High-Impact Entrepreneurship opportunities.
David is passionate about participating in life. He believes in the continued growth of one’s experiences while seeking balance in all aspects of life. David’s sense of balance includes mountain biking and the adventurous company of his wife, daughter and dog.
Robert Kwasny
Albuquerque, NM
Robert, first born of Entrepreneurial European Immigrants, started multiple businesses at age nine… cutting lawns, two paper routes, miles apart, mandated his first invention, a wagon attached to a self propelled lawn mower so he could drive his first “vehicle” to and from work each day.
US Air Force Communications Electronics technical background, so naturally he sold boats for a living — until launching four of the first Retail Computer Stores in 1976, long before IBM PC, Apple or even the mouse — consistently earning “top three” national awards.
17 businesses, several becoming #1 in their vertical niche, one spectacular failure and three retirements, one sailing the Atlantic, one creating multiple inventions, another to travel Internationally with his 360 degree video system, filming everything in every direction, all the time.
His interests center around sailing, electronics, software development, optics, video and magic. His last company, grew 1,100% in 2011 alone, while focusing on the chore of helping families reestablish themselves, recovering from this tough economy.
He is a Charter Member of Angel and Equity Investment Network and mentors CEO’s and budding entrepreneurs with his “secret to national success” by coaching them to “just show up”.