ForgeUp experts

Div is a leading computer scientist and AI researcher who has raised in excess of 30 million in venture and is currently on leave from a PhD in Computer Science at Stanford University. He was responsible for founding MultiOn, a personal AI agent startup and spiun out AGI, Inc,, the first autonomous agentic AI for on-device use (like "Siri" that does tasks for you). ‍His work centers on deep learning, reinforcement learning, and building generally intelligent systems. Div created and taught Stanford’s first course on Transformers (CS25), featuring leading AI researchers including Geoffrey Hinton, with lectures reaching over 1M viewers.‍He has presented research at OpenAI, DeepMind, and Apple, and developed state-of-the-art algorithms in reinforcement learning and imitation learning. Prior to Stanford, he conducted pioneering work in computer vision at Cornell and built one of the first camera-based self-driving systems.

Edgar Velazquez is a senior AI/ML engineer and former co-founder of Noted Analytics, where he built AI-powered sales automation tools before successfully exiting in 2022. As a Senior Technical Lead at Better Call People, he focuses on optimizing proprietary LLMs and machine-learning models for accuracy, speed, and efficiency. He helps founders identify the technical leverage points where AI delivers the greatest business impact.

Jonah Lewis specializes in designing clean, automated revenue systems for early-stage companies. As the founder of Creo, he transforms fragmented databases and tech stacks into predictable, scalable GTM infrastructure. His background spans sales leadership, outbound execution, CRM rebuilds, lifecycle analytics, and AI-enabled workflow design across SaaS, e-commerce, industrial, and construction tech. He helps founders create revenue operations that scale smoothly and consistently drive traction.

Anthony Ward is a tech-focused marketer with more than twelve years of experience scaling SaaS companies and DTC brands—including propelling one organization to #101 on the Inc. 5000 and another to top category leadership. With training from Wharton Executive Education and deep expertise in HubSpot, automation, reporting, and workflow design, he builds marketing systems that make teams faster, more aligned, and more effective. His work centers on creating growth rooted in true customer understanding.

Mike Blankenship is the Managing Partner of Winston & Strawn’s Houston office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets Practice. He advises startups and public companies on securities offerings, SPACs, venture capital transactions, M&A, and general corporate governance. Mike brings deep experience leading complex transactional and regulatory matters essential to scaling organizations.

Sumedha Ahuja, Co-Chair of Perkins Coie’s AI/ML practice, is recognized by Forbes, Chambers USA, and IAM for excellence in AI and patent law. With hands-on engineering experience building AI systems, she helps companies secure and defend IP across AI, fintech, blockchain, digital health, XR technologies, IoT, and cloud computing. She advises on portfolio strategy, infringement risk, monetization, and patent prosecution to ensure long-term defensibility aligned with business goals.

JC is a serial entrepreneur in the technology services space. For the last 15 years, he and his company, Made In Tandem (MiT), have helped dozens of clients design, build, and launch complex software, data, and AI/ML products. MiT’s clients have included energy and utility companies, financial services and fintech firms, medical device manufacturers, and public organizations like the US Department of Defense and NASA among many others.

JC has been named to Crain’s Notable LGBT Executives list twice, and MiT has won numerous design awards for their work as well as being named on Inc Magazine’s list of the top 500 fastest growing companies two years running. Today, in addition to leading MiT, JC works as a consulting CTO and technical advisor to companies from startup to enterprise. His passion for building inclusive, highly-effective teams and delivering cutting-edge technology remains his driving force.

Despite a busy schedule, JC still finds time to nourish his creative side—whether behind the piano, camera lens, 3D-printer, or simply enjoying Chicago’s vibrancy with his husband and their energetic Labrador, Lucy.

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Nicolas Figari is a marketing and growth operator with a decade of experience across both consumer and B2B. He founded Lemonade, one of the first agencies to unify marketing and business development under a single practice, working with nearly 150 brands from startups to Fortune 500 before exiting via acquisition in 2023. In 2025, he launched Parrot to continue that work with a sharper focus on building holistic, effective growth systems that help companies in any industry cut through the noise in increasingly crowded markets. His philosophy is simple: stop overthinking it. A rock-solid foundation drives long-term growth, and everything else builds upon it.

Jason Roche’s practice focuses on working with emerging technology and life science companies throughout the corporate life cycle, including on early-stage formation and structuring matters, angel and venture financings, commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate governance matters. I work with innovative companies during their most critical stages – formation, scaling and exit.

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Stephen Kenny’s practice includes patent portfolio development and management, competitive intelligence and analysis, and due diligence investigations. He analyzes competitor patent portfolios to counsel clients on pipeline products and potential design modifications.Stephen prepares validity, infringement, patentability, and clearance opinions in the electro-mechanical and mechanical fields, with a concentration on medical devices. In addition, he studies competitor products to advise clients on enforcement of their patent portfolios against third parties.

Stephen also has extensive experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications, conducting examiner interviews, filing appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, accelerated examinations and reexamination proceedings. Thus, he provides technical and legal analyses to strategically partner and advise clients with all stages of their products life-cycle development. Some exemplary patents Stephen prosecuted include: 10,034,784 (medical devices); 10,431,789 and 10,066,600 (renewable energy); 10,107,877 (precision instrumentation). Stephen’s practice also includes advising fashion industry clients, exemplary Design patents include D834,421, D834,310 and D835,538.Prior to joining Foley Hoag, Stephen was a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As an examiner, his docket focused on U.S. and international patent applications in various technologies including dynamo-electric devices, manufacturing processes, medical devices, printed circuit boards, mechanical systems, and business methods.Upon completing his graduate studies, Stephen worked as a flight test engineer with Sikorsky Aircraft, where he developed flight test plans, aircraft maneuvers, and performed data analysis while conducting test flights on both production and experimental helicopters. As a flight test engineer, he gained extensive knowledge in vibration harmonics, electrical noise reduction and electromagnetic interference generated from various navigation equipment employed.Additionally, Stephen's graduate studies focused on analysis of control systems having both linear and nonlinear characteristics, including system modeling and stability criteria determination.

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