Kaplak
Ecosystem

Global connectivity for global growth.
We do not only accelerate and invest in our startups. We provide an ecosystem to nurture and empower companies throughout their lifecycle.
‘Kaplaks’ are business leaders who help founders beyond our accelerators with strategic advice and connections to potential customers or partners.
Our mentors are experts in their specific focus areas and know how to help founders through the growing pains of scaling a company.
Additionally, we work with partner organizations for various benefits, such as connecting with founders, funding, and incubation.
Our Kaplaks
As a founder in one of our accelerator programs, you are matched with a sector-specific ‘Kaplak’ upon graduation.
Kaplaks are partners at Kaplak Ventures, who connect founders with resources, provide customer and investor introductions, and earn the possibility of taking a board seat. They meet periodically to assess the strategic progress of their startups and identify avenues for acceleration of the companies in our portfolio.

Jim H. Snabe
Chair, Siemens & Northvolt

Jesper Lok
Chair, Dagrofa & Semco Maritime
Sector Head: Transportation

Stig Pastwa
Former CFO, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Sector Head: Energy

Mikael Trolle
CEO, IDONEA Group

Alexis Glick
CEO, Nature Energy

Matt Puccini
Executive, IBM Innovation Ecosystem

Tomas Pietrangeli
CEO: Dagrofa
Ex.: Arla / Unibrew
Partner Organizations
Our startups and scale-ups benefit from our investor-, business-, and partner networks both in the U.S. and in Denmark.
Here are some of our most important partners helping entrepreneurs scale:
A climate innovation hub created by Yale University and Connecticut Innovations. ClimateHaven accelerates climate tech entrepreneurship and the innovations needed to decarbonize our economy.
One of Denmark’s largest philanthropic foundations. It develops and supports innovative and economically sustainable projects, strengthening the competitiveness of the Danish industry and business communities.
Mentors
We have built a global network of mentors, making sure we can match each founder with a perfect mentor with subject-specific expertise.
Here is a selection of our mentor network:

Abby Lyall
Investor | Tribeca Venture Partners

Alessia Bell
Head of Investment Strategy | Notley

Alfia Ilicheva
Product Owner | Bridgewater Associates

Billy Morrissey
Manager | Allagash Brewing Company

Brian Luciani
Head of Fintech Platform, North America | Barclays

Dana Muntean
Head of International Sales | Plan A

David Hughes
Director | IBM Ventures

Dimitris Kouvaros
Vice President, Startup Banking | J.P. Morgan

Dina Samra
Director, Business Development | New York Life Ventures

Frances Simowitz
CEO | WEVE Acceleration

Jeff Dunn
Head of Partnerships and Policy Communications | Google Trust & Safety

Jeff Madoff
CEO | Madoff Productions

Jeremy Potter
VP Product Strategy | Stavvy

John Lynn
Co-Founder | WEVE Cela

Joshua Ness
Senior Manager, 5G Labs | Verizon

Lauren Zujkowski
COO, Sustainable Investing | Bridgewater Associates

Liz Walsh
Global Category Strategy-Tech & Telco | Spotfiy

Marina Rakhlin
Director of Partnerships for Climate and Sustainability | IBM Research

Murat Aktihanoglu
Managing Director | Remarkable Ventures

Natasha Bansgopaul
Co-Founder & COO | VegaX

Olivia O’Sullivan
Head of Platform | Forum Ventures

Peter Burakowski
Associate Director | University at Buffalo Business & Entrepreneur Partnerships

Preeti Adhikary
Founder | The Great Nepali Diaspora

Terrance Orr
Operating Partner | Mach 49

Tiwari Shashwat
Business Director, Sustainability and Innovation | Tata Consulting Services