About Us

Mark Strauss – Set apart by extraordinary creativity, Mr. Strauss holds a degree in chemistry from Yale University and has extensive experience in marketing, e-commerce and analytics. Mr. Strauss is an accomplished leader able to navigate the most complex projects forward, quickly, without fail and with distinction.

Steven Bofill – Steve is formerly co-founder of Vengolabs, a successful mini compact vending machine company located in NY. Vengolabs was on shark tank and has raised 7 million to date. Vengo has over 1300 machines across the US generating vending and media revenue. Before this Steve was an aerospace engineer at Sikorksy & a composite & propulsion Design Engineer for varoious defense companies on the west coast. Skills: 3D modeling, Aerospace Engineering, Concept to prototype to production, cost savings, sales. Tech Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing & Supplier MGMT.

Ely is a 3rd year student in the UConn Engineering Physics program. Ely has extensive experience in small aircraft design, operation, and mission planning. He has worked in multiple manufacturing research and development departments as the head author of his published research. Ely is previously certified to perform high-risk operations to maintain critical public infrastructure.

Simon Felicione is a third year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Connecticut, with a minor in Manufacturing and a concentration in Aerospace. Previously, Simon interned for a drone retrieval company based out of Brookfield, CT. Simon has held various high level leadership positions at both the high school and college level.

Brian was a Systems Engineer for a major defense company, and prior has worked as a System Engineer for Ericsson. Brian has a BS degree in Computer Science from SUNY, a Masters Degree in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute and a Masters Degree in Management of Technology from NYU/PolyTechnic. Brian’s knowledge and experience span from hardware, firmware and systems design and development, PCB development, test engineering, concept proving and configuration management and control.

Director, Technology Incubation Program (TIP), Stamford. Prior to coming to UConn she was the Head of Innovation in the US at NatWest Markets.

TIP Executive Director – With oversight of venture development activities for UConn startups and the Technology Incubation Program (TIP), Mostafa supports the launch and growth of UConn companies. He also works closely with partners throughout UConn and UConn Health to support entrepreneurship and innovation programs. He also collaborates with organizations and institutions around Connecticut to support economic development efforts in the state.

Emmy Award winning video & film editor