Nasir Ali is a Managing Partner at StartFast Ventures. He has spent the last two decades building Upstate NY’s high growth entrepreneurial ecosystem through the non-profit Upstate Venture Connect and investments in 60 companies. He launched Upstate NY’s first angel fund in 2007 and co-founded StartFast Venture Accelerator in 2011 with Chuck Stormon. By 2021, the accelerator’s successes led to the formation of StartFast Fund II for investments in diverse B2B SaaS founders outside major VC hubs. Nasir holds a Bachelors degree in Physics from Princeton University and a Masters in Management from Yale University. He is a board member and advisor to the NYS Innovation Venture Capital Fund, Next Gen Venture Partners, Fitzgate Ventures and multiple StartFast portfolio companies.
Chuck Stormon, is a 7X serial entrepreneur and prominent figure in the fields of artificial intelligence and venture capital. Stormon left his PhD studies to found Coherent Research which commercialized chip architecture for neural networks, which was acquired by Cypress Semiconductor. Stormon then co-founded Coherent Networks which combined neural networks and expert (rule-based) systems with human-in-the-loop processing at scale in one of the first commercially successful hybrid AI solutions, SmartMaps, which transformed the electric utility industry. Coherent Networks was acquired by Osmose Corp. Stormon’s next venture was Steleus, which was acquired by Tekelec (NASDAQ: TKLC), and was subsequently acquired by Oracle. After these successes, Stormon pivoted into Venture Capital, while continuing to be an entrepreneur/operator in a series of businesses. Stormon earned his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University.
Olivia Goldstein is a GP at StartFast Ventures. She’s an exited tech founder with 10 years of experience working in and with B2B software companies. Early in her career, Olivia advised international tech companies on U.S. market entry strategies. This exposure to tech brought her to India where she spent time working for a B2B software startup based in Bangalore overseeing their international product growth. While there, she co-founded RepHike, a marketing software for brands to find and work with influencers & brand ambassadors, and ultimately led it through to its acquisition in 2019. Olivia holds a B.A. in Economics from University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. in International Relations from the Institute of World Politics.
Alex is an investment analyst at StartFast Ventures. Her background is in venture capital, product strategy, AI, and digital innovation within the B2B SaaS and Financial Services sectors. With a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to develop and launch cutting-edge digital products, such as an internal generative AI tool that significantly enhances employee compliance processes, she has become deeply embedded in the enterprise tech and fintech startup ecosystems. Alex holds a B.B.A. and a M.S. in Information Systems Technology Management from the George Washington University.
Mark Zitter is Venture Partner for two venture funds, ICI and StartFast. He advises the PE firm Riverside Partners as well as Stanford’s BioDesign Program. He founded two healthcare companies that he sold to private equity firms and created the Zetema Project, a collaborative of top US healthcare leaders. Mark chaired the board of SFJAZZ, the nation’s leading presenter of jazz, and currently chairs the board of Reel Medicine Media. He also serves on the governance committee of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. Mark advises and invests in startups in the US and Israel and co-leads SERGE, a private national entrepreneur’s group. He holds a BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Stanford University. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Jeffrey Allan is the Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology at Nazareth University, where he leads initiatives for the responsible and impactful integration of AI in business and society. With a career spanning strategic roles at SAP and IBM in Asia and founding two successful Silicon Valley startups, he brings a wealth of experience in technology-driven innovation. A former U.S. Marine, Dr. Allan also serves as an Assistant Professor at Nazareth's School of Business and Leadership, developing and teaching AI strategy curricula focused on global business management. He holds a Ph.D. in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University, where his research focused on AI-driven productivity in multinational enterprises, and bachelor's and master's degrees in Cognitive Psychology from the University of North Dakota. His recent book, Writing AI Prompts for Dummies, underscores his commitment to advancing practical AI expertise.
