The Advisory Council is composed of experienced, industry and function focused experts who advise the DCVF on new venture opportunities and entrepreneurship. The DCVF maintains active deal flow with ventures in a variety of different industries and with a variety of different needs. As such, Advisory Council members are selected as outstanding representatives in their fields to work with the DCVF to answer complex and technical questions that arise during the due diligence process. Advisory Council members will provide mentorship to young professionals eager to support the entrepreneurial environment in the front range as well as support local start-up ventures. The Council members’ diversity and depth of business and/or technical experience, as well as their commitment to facilitate the growth of the DCVF and the entrepreneurial culture of The University of Colorado - Boulder, will help maintain the DCVF as a primary venture capital fund for the local community.

Matt Bonoma

Matt Bonoma

Advisor – Food & Beverage, Finance, Entrepreneurship
Matt Bonoma completed his MBA with a focus in Entrepreneurship in 2009 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduating, Matt joined Red Idea Partners, and worked across many of the company’s consulting and venture engagements in the food and beverage industry. In addition to his duties as General Manager, Matt focused on strategic growth planning for Red Idea’s venture-backed businesses, as well as due diligence and financial planning/pro...
Kevin Boyer headshot

Kevin Boyer

Advisor - Financial Services, Natural Food & Beverage, Transportation
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Carole Buyers

Adviser - Consumer Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage
Carole Buyers is a Managing Partner at Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR) a venture fund that invests in early-stage natural and organic food & beverage companies. Carole has been involved with investments & the natural foods industry for over 20 years. As one of the first analysts to cover Whole Foods, she has had a front row seat as the story of this now powerful sector that has emerged. Carole...
carole@bigrventures.com
chris-deardorff

Chris Deardorff

Adviser - Marketing
A driven and creative marketing professional of over 10 years, Chris possesses in-depth global marketing and sales experience working with Fortune 500 companies such as GE, Medtronic, TerumoBCT, and Seagate Technologies. He also has consulted and worked with over 35 fast-growing emerging companies in the last few years. Throughout his career, Chris has been responsible for developing marketing and business strategies that have generated rapid, double-digit financial growth. His experience...
chris@magicflightstudios.com
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David DiGiacomo

Advisor - Legal
Dave DiGiacomo is a DCVF alumnus and currently an Attorney with Michael, Best & Friedrich, LLP where his practice focuses on entrepreneurship, business, and transactional law for early stage and growth companies. He has worked extensively on matters involving commercial transactions, finance and corporate governance. Dave is a Colorado native who earned a JD/MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Additionally, before joining Michael, Best & Friedrich, LLP, he...
dmdigiacomo@michaelbest.com
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Mike Dornik

Advisor
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Jeff Hopfenbeck

Advisor - Strategy, Due Diligence, Entrepreneurship
Jeff served on DCVF from 2015-2016 as a Mangaing Director. He is now an associate at McKinsey & Company where he supports the firm’s private equity and digital practices. In this role Jeff serves clients on commercial due diligence, portfolio company growth strategy, and digital transformations across a variety sectors. Prior to McKinsey Jeff worked for the Telluride Foundation where he helped launch the Telluride Venture Accelerator and directed the...
Joni Kripal

Joni Kripal

Advisor - Healthcare, Entrepreneurship
Joni’s career in healthcare spans 30 years covering the entire continuum of care. Her areas of expertise are business development, sales management, and strategy. She has an M.S. in Audiology (neuro-diagnostics specialization) and an MBA. She is an active angel investor and volunteers as an advisor at Innosphere. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonikripal/
Peggy Fasano

Peggy Tautz Fasano

Advisor - Product Development, Medical Device
Peggy was a DCVF managing director from 2016-2017. She now works at Deloitte as a Senior Consultant within product development, research and development and manufacturing supporting clients to streamline and improve their operations. Prior to getting her MBA, she worked in product development and design as a mechanical engineer within the medical device startup space. She has a breadth of experience across the early stages of the product lifecycle. She...
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Jose Vieitez

Advisor
Jose Vieitez is a cofounder of Boomtown Accelerators and serves as their Director and Portfolio Manager. He’s the founder of five startups, one of which was acquired. Previously he worked as a designer at Google, and was a Fellow at Access Venture Partners. Jose is a Stanford graduate with a background in management science, industrial engineering, and interface design. He earned an MBA and master’s in computer science from the...