Wil Schroter is the Founder and CEO of Startups.com, where he has helped over a million startups raise $1 billion in funding, attract 23 million customers, and launch countless new ideas.

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At age 19, Wil launched one of the first Internet companies, Blue Diesel, an interactive marketing agency that quickly grew to $700 million in billings and was sold with inVentiv in 2002, becoming a $6 billion publicly traded company.

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He went on to found 9 companies with 5 successful exits, backed by well-known venture capital funds such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Founders Fund, Bessemer Ventures, and Charles River Ventures.

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Wil is the host of the popular podcast "Startup Therapy" and has been a contributor for Forbes, Entrepreneur, TechCrunch and The Wall Street Journal.

When Wil isn't building companies, he's building furniture - he's an obsessive carpenter, having designed and built high-end, modern homes and bespoke projects.

Peter Burghardt is the founder and CEO of StringTree, the premier auction marketplace for vintage, collectible, and high-end musical instruments. With a background in venture capital, product development, and startup acceleration, Peter has spent over a decade helping early-stage companies scale and succeed.

 

Prior to founding StringTree, Peter served as the Executive Director of the Batchery, a Silicon Valley accelerator where he worked with hundreds of founders to refine their business models, raise capital, and bring products to market. He has also served as a General Partner at IA Seed Ventures, a Berkeley-based seed stage investment fund.

 

A lifelong guitarist and collector of rare instruments, Peter recognized a major gap in the online marketplace for serious musicians, collectors, and dealers. With StringTree, he is building a platform that combines trust, transparency, and a community-driven approach to redefine how high-value instruments are bought and sold.

 

Peter holds an MFA in Creative Writing, blending his passion for storytelling with his deep knowledge of the music industry to craft compelling auction experiences. 

Wedding planner, event decorator, invitation designer, venue manager and author, Renee Bauman started Hitch Studio in early 2014.

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Her 20 years of experience with wedding planning and event design runs deep as she’s been a part of the industry since she graduated from South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 2005 and started her very first wedding invitation design business in 2007. Renee is strong believer in giving back to her community. She’s involved with Masterminds, the Area Development Corporation board and is chair of the Downtown Brookings board.

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She is a graduate of the Dakota Rising Fellowship program and Goldman Sachs 10KSB program. Beyond running a small business and mentoring her nearly 50 employees, she enjoys biking, yoga, traveling, and spending time with friends, and her family (her amazing husband and two young boys.)

Nick Curry is the founder, CEO, and "Sauce Boss" of Halogi Hot Sauce, LLC. He launched the company in 2020 with a single case of empty bottles—a Father's Day gift from his family—and quickly found himself needing a commercial kitchen to keep up with demand. National sales followed in 2021, but a real breakthrough came in 2022 when his sauce, Tyrfing's Curse, was featured on Season 18 of Hot Ones. That appearance, along with several international awards, helped propel Halogi to new heights, and they've now shipped nearly 100,000 bottles worldwide.

Here's the kicker: Nick's background isn't in food science. As a professional writer (and South Dakota State University graduate), he had to get comfortable far outside his expertise. He leaned into his writing and branding skills, which proved surprisingly useful in navigating the regulatory landscape and developing Halogi's popular Norse-themed identity. His commitment to local sourcing gives his sauces a unique freshness and supports his community.

Outside of the hot sauce world, Nick is an avid reader, enjoys death metal, and runs a non-profit dedicated to expanding the local skate park. He's also a skateboarder himself—well, when his knees allow.