What we eat, where it comes from, and how we eat it are all changing as consumers’ preferences evolve and they demand more selection and convenience to fit an ever- changing range of nutritional needs and lifestyles.
Economic pressures and technological opportunities are also changing the nature of the supply chain, fulfillment, and the user experience around food. At this forum we will discover how automation, data, and AI are changing the food landscape as they converge on vending, convenience, food service, and delivery.
Brian Frank is the Founder and General Partner of FTW Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in technology for a better Food System. FTW provides capital, mentorship and access to a wide community of tech and food industry partners to early-stage biotech, hardware, software/SaaS and novel food startups.
Prior to founding FTW, Brian served as a founder and executive in a number of tech startups and leading corporations, taking 3 venture-backed startups through to successful exits. He's been an angel investor and advisor to numerous Food Tech companies, including Nomiku, Dishcraft Robotics and Square Roots. And through FTW, he's invested in many sectors of the Food & Ag ecosystems, including Geltor (synthetic biology for core ingredients), Spoiler Alert & Galley Solutions (SaaS for food inventory management) and Plantible (cultivation of high-value, plant-based proteins).
Andy Lin is the Founder and CEO of Yo-Kai Express, the autonomous ramen machine delivering fresh hot bowls of ramen in 45 seconds, 24/7. A trained Electrical Engineer, Andy previously led technical sales teams ASE Group Global, and was the founder of Sholics--a last mile grocery delivery app. The Yo-Kai Express is the first real autonomous restaurant solution in the US and is pursuing
other Asian dish selections.
Lee founded Byte in 2015 alongside Megan Mokri, and brings a wealth of experience in public relations and marketing. Byte Technology is the first retail platform for selling products in the workplace and has been deployed by third- party retailers across the country. This is Lee’s third startup, and second in the food space, following a career managing public relations for industry leaders and tech focused PR agencies.
Prior to Byte, Lee served as the Corporate Director of Communications at Visa launching their first consumer product, Visa Checkout. In his role Lee focused on building consumer awareness, measuring interaction and improving brand perception. Prior to that Lee spent ten years supporting communications efforts at Dell, Google, Turner and 2K Games.
Krishna Motukuri is the CEO of Zippin, drawing on his deep retail technology, e-commerce and startup experience to lead Zippin. Most recently, he was a portfolio company CEO at Naspers Group, where he built and grew multiple e-commerce businesses in India and South Africa. Earlier in his career, Krishna spent seven years at Amazon leading teams in search, marketing, global expansion and supply chain. In 2006 he left Amazon to start Ugenie, a next-gen comparison shopping site that was acquired in 2008 by Lulu.com. Post-acquisition, Krishna assumed the role of SVP, Business Development at Lulu and established key partnerships with Apple, McGraw Hill, Google and others.
Krishna has a Master's degree from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. In his spare time, he enjoys travel and spending time outdoors with his family.
Tim Koide leads The Coca-Cola Company’s External Technology Acquisition team in Silicon Valley. He was previously the co-Founder of HarvestPort, a shared- economy marketplace for agricultural equipment, where he led business development, sales & marketing, and strategy. He was part of the founding team of the Mixing Bowl Hub, an advisory platform and hub for innovators in the food and ag tech industries.
For several years Tim worked in the corporate strategy unit of Mitsubishi Corporation Americas in both Washington D.C., and Palo Alto. He also spent time at various Washington D.C. think tanks as an analyst, and as a congressional fellow in the offices of then Rep. Xavier Becerra, and Sen. Daniel Inouye. Tim is a member of the US Japan Council, and advises the Silicon Valley Japan Platform.
Registration/Networking: 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Program: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Networking: 8:00 PM – 8:45 PM
$15: Early Bird Discount for first 30 registrations by Monday, May 27 (11PM)
$20: Regular Registration by Thursday, June 6 (11 PM)
$35: Late Registration by Saturday, June 8 (Noon)
$50: Walk-ins (Seats are limited and may not be available)
Food and beverages will be served.
