Kirsten Green is the Founder and Managing Partner of Forerunner, the consumer-driven venture capital partnering with ambitious founders and companies redefining industries. Combining an unconventional and powerful blend of professional experiences and acquired investment expertise, Kirsten launched San Francisco-based Forerunner in 2012, and has since led the firm to raise nearly $3 billion in assets under management. Kirsten’s 25+ years of evaluation and investment success stem from a combination of product savvy, consumer insight, research, and a thesis-driven approach that has been the basis of all her investments — from pre-revenue startups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. Her early investor and board member roles span Faire, Hims&Hers, Chime, Ritual, Daydream, Decagon, Warby Parker, Wonder, and Balance, among others. She is also on the Board of the National Venture Capital Association, and has been part of both the Forbes Midas List and Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women List for the past nine years.
Daniel Lurie was born and raised in San Francisco. Daniel founded Tipping Point Community in 2005. Under his direction as CEO, Tipping Point has raised over $500 million to help house, employ, educate and support hundreds of thousands of Bay Area families. Former Mayor Ed Lee selected Daniel in 2013 to lead the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, an effort that brought over $240 million in economic impact to the region. Following
the devastating fires in the North Bay in 2017, Daniel and Tipping Point partnered with 90 Bay Area business and community leaders to organize Band Together – a benefit concert that raised $17 million for those hardest hit by the deadly fires. In total, Tipping Point’s Emergency Fire Relief Fund raised over $34 million. He is a graduate of Duke University and obtained his Master’s in Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He lives in the City with his wife Becca and two school-aged children.
Tarek Mansour is the co-founder and CEO of Kalshi. A graduate of MIT and former Citadel trader, Tarek founded Kalshi in 2019. Kalshi has since become the largest prediction market platform in America. In 2024, Kalshi took prediction markets mainstream with their market on the Presidential Election, which garnered billions of dollars in trading volume and famously outperformed polling a wide margin. Tarek lives in New York City, where he continues his work leading Kalshi.
Ryan Petersen is Founder and CEO of Flexport, a leader in global supply chain technology. Since its inception, more than 10,000 companies of all sizes – from emerging brands to Fortune 500s – have used Flexport’s logistics and technology to move more than $175 billion dollars in merchandise. Prior to starting Flexport, Ryan was the founder and CEO of ImportGenius, a premier provider of transaction data for the global trade industry. He earned a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ethan Thornton is the CEO and founder of Mach Industries, a next-generation defense technology and manufacturing company. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before launching Mach in 2023. Thornton’s ultimate goal is to create decentralized strategic capabilities that guarantee the defense of freedom worldwide.
