StartupAZ Foundation Adds Three Board Members, Expands StartupAZ Collective
Three prominent Valley leaders join the nonprofit’s board of directors, and the StartupAZ Collective adds three new areas of focus
StartupAZ Foundation, the organization created to catalyze Arizona’s technology and innovation ecosystem by connecting and empowering entrepreneurs, has added three prominent leaders, Brenda Schmidt, Jim Prendergast, and Gregg Scoresby, to its board of directors. The organization has also opened applications for its spring StartupAZ Collective and will be expanding the program to include three new cohorts: healthcare, growth stage and scale stage.
StartupAZ Foundation, which just received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, has been steadily growing its network of Founders in Residence (FIR), StartupAZ Collective alumni, and community partners. To help guide the organization’s growth, co-founder and interim CEO, Brandon Clarke and chairman of the board Tom Curzon, along with the nominating committee have been building the board of directors with individuals who are at the forefront of the Valley’s technology and innovation ecosystem.
The three new board members, Brenda Schmidt, president of Coplex and founder and former CEO of Solera Health; Gregg Scoresby, founder and CEO of CampusLogic; and Jim Prendergast, CEO of 317 Ventures and founder of HealthiestYou (acquired by Teladoc), will help advise on programming and community initiatives, expand partnerships, and provide support to startup founders.
“The individuals who make up the StartupAZ Foundation board are at the leading edge of Arizona’s technology and innovation community, yet they prioritize time to give back in this very generous way,” Clarke said. “Brenda, Gregg and Jim are tremendous assets to our outstanding board and we’re all looking forward to working together to usher in the next phase of growth for the organization and ecosystem at large.”
“In the early days of CampusLogic, StartupAZ Foundation played an important role in our development,” Scoresby said. “The relationships I’ve cultivated through the StartupAZ Collective have supported our growth and I believe this wheel of generosity –– founders sharing lessons learned, providing mentorship, making connections for fellow founders –– is what will support the sustained growth of our Valley’s most promising tech startups. I’m looking forward to deepening my commitment to StartupAZ Foundation and the future generations of founders rising up through the ecosystem.”
StartupAZ Foundation will be recruiting for its spring StartupAZ Collective now through the end of March. There are three new cohorts: healthcare, which will include devices and wearables; growth-stage, those on the cusp of breaking through; and scale, those who’ve surpassed $5M to $10M in revenue. To be considered for the Collective, companies must have a scalable business model with an innovative, market-defining technology. For more details and criteria, visit https://www.startupazcollective.org.
ABOUT STARTUPAZ FOUNDATIONStartupAZ Foundation formed in 2015, to empower a stronger statewide ecosystem for high-growth companies to scale, catalyzing Arizona’s new economy rooted in technology and innovation. The nonprofit organization exists to help Arizona’s most innovative startup companies improve their leadership, performance, and connections, while inspiring generosity and philanthropy within their communities. It does this through three primary pillars: connectivity, capital and talent. For more information, visit startupaz.org.
