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
