Erin Simpson

Founder & CEO

Wildcat

Erin Simpson is a cat product designer and founder of Wildcat, the modern cat lifestyle brand turning feline essentials into covetable, design-forward objects. Wildcat’s Canyon Bed is a cult favorite among behaviorists, rescuers, and creators on IG and TikTok, while its Whisker Vases and irreverent hats have built a loyal, cross-generational following. A veteran of the tech and consumer brand worlds, Erin previously founded Brick Lane, a leading PR agency trusted by Silicon Valley’s top VC firms, and served as Lyft’s first head of communications. She now leads Meow Lane, a feline-focused strategy and marketing studio helping legacy brands and startups reach the modern cat consumer. A longtime rescue volunteer and advocate, Erin has been called a “cat PR expert” for her work challenging outdated narratives about cats and their behavior. She lives on the Northern California coast with her four rescue cats (and counting), featured on her popular platform @wildcatliving

Brandy Kuentzel

Co-Founder & CEO

Ease Pet Vet

Brandy Kuentzel is the CEO and co-founder of Ease Pet Vet, the company making expert veterinary behavior care accessible to all pets. Prior to starting Ease, Brandy led legal strategy and advocacy efforts for one of the nation’s most influential animal welfare organizations, the San Francisco SPCA, for more than a decade. As General Counsel, she oversaw numerous groundbreaking legislative victories including shutting down California’s last gas chamber for shelter pets, challenging restrictive laws on veterinary telemedicine, and establishing the nation’s first legal aid organization dedicated to shelter animals. Brandy saw firsthand that behavior was the silent crisis behind so many heartbreaking outcomes for pets, and founded Ease as the first online solution to bring specialty behavior care into the mainstream. An accomplished entrepreneur and corporate attorney, Brandy was the season winner of NBC’s The Apprentice, and previously founded and sold her own venture in the food industry. She earned her JD from the University of Chicago Law School and holds a BA from UCLA, and enjoys time with her family of two cats, two children and husband in the Bay Area when not building Ease.

Chuck Johnson

Angel Investor

VANE

Jason Meltzer

Founder & CEO

Live Work Pet

Jason Meltzer is a pet care entrepreneur with a track record of building category-defining brands. He is the founder of Live Work Pet, a new real estate platform that combines premium rental housing with integrated pet care and curated lifestyle amenities designed for modern pet parents. The company is launching its first community in Denver with plans to scale nationally.

Previously, Jason co-founded Wag, where he served as CEO & Chief Dog Officer and helped grow the company into one of the most recognized pet tech startups in the country. He led market expansion, product launches, sales operations, investor relations, and brand storytelling during the company’s early growth.

Jason brings over ten years of experience at the intersection of pet wellness, technology, and consumer real estate. His work is focused on building scalable solutions that improve quality of life for pets and their people while unlocking long-term enterprise value.

Ryan Reed

Co-Founder & CEO

Pawzitivity Pets

Ryan has been an entrepreneur since 2008, right out of college. He started a successful Digital Marketing agency where he worked with many large ecommerce companies and helped some to exit. Ryan also started a lifestyle brand with his wife in 2017, Lifebyher LLC, which provides lifestyle content for women. He and his wife Ashley have built the following to 700,000 followers and growing.  In 2020, Ryan partnered with his friend and former client, Gary Nealon, to start Pawzitivity Pets where they have acquired 8 brands in the pet space, ranging from supplements to content websites.

Dr. Lun Yu

Co-Founder and CTO

Metanovas Biotech

Paula Floyd

Founder & CEO

Headkount Inc