Amy Francetic, Managing Director, Invention Bridge

Amy Francetic has over 18 years of operational and executive management experience in the high technology sector with specialties in cleantech and information technology. Prior to founding Invention Bridge, Ms. Francetic work as an investment professional for MVC Capital, a publicly-trade private equity firm (NYSE:MVC), in their Chicago office. Before joining MVC, she commercialized R&D as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. Before that she produced the prestigious wireless product launch event, DEMOmobile, for IDG Publishing for two years with high-tech industry expert Chris Shipley. Ms. Francetic served on the Board of Directors of Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU), a wireless games publisher, whose founder she advised during fundraising. Earlier in her career Ms. Francetic was Co-Founder and CEO of Zowie Intertainment, a high-tech toy company funded by Vulcan Ventures which spun-out of Interval Research. She sold Zowie to Lego Systems, the Danish toymaker, in 2000. Zowie employed RF sensing tags, a custom ASIC, and software to enable a natural interface for the PC for children. She began her career producing software for Electronic Arts and Hasbro Interactive. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science from Stanford University where she ran Varsity Track.  amy@inventionbridge.com

Alex Tang, Partner, Invention Bridge

Prior to Co-Founding Invention Bridge Alex Tang was the Director of Finance and Operations for the University of Chicago's Global Initiative project with a focus on China and India. While completing his MBA from Chicago Booth, Mr. Tang became an IT/Cleantech Kauffman Fellows Finalist. Prior to business school Mr. Tang worked as a Senior Manager for STAX Consulting where he performed due diligence for private equity and venture firms across a variety of technical and industrial sectors. Earlier in his career Mr. Tang was an Analyst for Open Prairie Ventures where he sourced early stage technology companies from leading Midwest research institutions. He recommended the investment in TomoTherapy which spun out of the University of Wisconsin and which had an IPO in 2007, generating an 11x return for the firm. Mr. Tang earned an MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.  alex@inventionbridge.com

Jeremiah Schatt, Associate, Invention Bridge

In addition to working alongside Ms. Francetic and Mr. Tang at Invention Bridge, Jeremiah Schatt is a second-year MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he is concentrating in entrepreneurship, finance and strategic management. Active in campus life, Mr. Schatt is Co-Chair of the Chicago Booth Energy Group. In this capacity he has undertaken a number of initiatives to raise the profile of energy issues on campus as well as strengthen ties between the school and the energy industry, including launching the school's first clean energy study tour. Prior to attending Booth, Mr. Schatt worked at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), a political think-tank and foundation dedicated to strengthening transatlantic relations. While at GMF, Mr. Schatt managed a broad portfolio of projects, including directing a major public opinion survey, organizing several high-level conferences and study tours, and assisting the foundation with its long-term strategic planning processes. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he majored in Religion.  jeremiah@inventionbridge.com

Jason Zielke, Associate, Invention Bridge

Jason has served a leading role in the incubation and growth of five new businesses, including co-founding and raising seed stage capital for an Argonne National Laboratory spinout, SiLyte, a manufacturing company which makes advanced electrolyte materials for lithium ion batteries. At Invention Bridge, Jason leverages his entrepreneurial background in chemical engineering and software to provide innovation services to our clients, primarily in the clean energy sector. Prior to Invention Bridge, Jason worked for 5 years at the Dillon Kane Group, a business incubator and advisory firm, where he began as a Senior Architect and was promoted to Venture Associate for the remaining 2 years of his tenure. As a Venture Associate at Dillon Kane, Jason evaluated potential investments in cleantech and software services, developed emerging business models for portfolio companies and clients, and supported financial transactions, including corporate spinouts, licensing, joint ventures and M&A. Prior to this, Jason was a software engineer serving several industry verticals. He began his career as a chemical engineer at Universal Oil Products, an inventor and licensor of petroleum and refining platforms. Jason earned a B.S in Chemistry from Southern Illinois University. While earning his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, he also worked as a research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he focused on basic research in nanotechnology and chemical sciences. Jason is also an MBA graduate from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business with concentrations in entrepreneurship and finance.   jason@inventionbridge.com

Connie Capone, Entrepreneur In Residence

Ms. Capone is an accomplished investment and business professional with significant experience helping emerging companies grow efficiently and solving strategic and operational challenges. As part of the Invention Bridge team, she is leading the Department of Energy's Entrepreneur In Residence program at Argonne National Labs, responsible for commercializing Argonne's most promising technologies. Ms. Capone has raised capital for many growing companies and typically takes operational roles as well. She spent 11 years with venture capital firm JK&B Capital, as a Partner investing in the communications, software and service industries. Prior to JK&B, Ms. Capone was a Senior Manager at Booz Allen & Hamilton where she led various operations and strategy projects across a broad number of industries. She started her career at Price Waterhouse as an auditor in 1987 and then programmed and installed SAP financial software systems. Ms. Capone earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and graduated with distinction and high honors from Pennsylvania State University.  connie@inventionbridge.com
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