• Allan Tear |

    Allan is a founder and managing partner of Betaspring. Allan has founded three venture-funded startups: Elastic Networks, Incanta, and WhyData. He has raised over $15M from angels, venture capital, and strategic partners, including Slater Fund, Intel Capital and AT&T. He is an expert in new product and service launches. 

     

    Allan is an active angel investor in early stage technology companies, and advises national, state, and local government on nurturing high-growth startup ecosystems. He helps students and schools with entrepreneurship through the Brown COE program, RISD Mindshare, and the Carnegie Mellon Dean’s Leadership Council. He was selected in 2008 for the Providence Business News “40 Under Forty” list and in 2010 as "10 to Watch" by Providence Monthly. Allan is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, with B.S. degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Public Policy.

  • Owen Johnson |

    Owen is a founder and managing partner of Betaspring. His past ventures include Investment Instruments Corporation, provider of online residential real estate services Rentomatic.com and Rentometer.com; and Interdimensions Corporation, a high-growth interactive agency. In 2004, he founded Connect Providence, a group helping to connect newcomers to the City of Providence, RI. In 2009, he started the Providence chapter of the Awesome Foundation. He is Co-Founder & Chairman of Revival Brewing Company  and currently serves on the board of directors for Location, Inc.

     

    He regularly mentors aspiring entrepreneurs, has been a team mentor for the MIT 100k Business Plan Competition, and a business plan judge for the Brown Entrepreneurship Program Business Plan Competition. Owen holds an S.B. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an active member of the MIT alumni community.

  • Jack Templin |

    Jack is a founder and partner of Betaspring. He is the CEO of Lockify, an online security as a service company. Prior to moving to Rhode Island from New York City, Jack was a Lead Strategist at iXL (now Microsoft), and co-founded Arc, a venture-backed consultancy widely recognized as a leader in the field of customer experience design.

     

    As a Co-Founder of Providence Geeks and RI Nexus, Jack plays a leading role in Rhode Island’s burgeoning info-tech and digital media sector. He sits on the board of the RI Economic Development Corporation and the Providence Economic Development Partnership. Jack is a graduate of Middlebury College with a B.A. in Economics., and has a Masters from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). He has served as an adjunct faculty member at both ITP and Columbia.

  • Melissa Withers |

    Betaspring Chief of Staff and nerd whisperer Melissa Withers (@mizwithers) manages Betaspring's Mentor network and coordinates programming for each Betaspring session. In her advisory capacity to Betaspring teams, her skillz are primarily in PR & media relations, customer experience design, and get-to-market communications.

     

    In 2011, Melissa served as communications director for the then newly-elected Mayor of the City of Providence. Prior, she was co-founder and Executive Director of the Business Innovation Factory, an organization that creates platforms to enable the design and testing of new business models in areas of high social impact. 

     

    Melissa started her career in life science and previously served as Assistant Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were she managed community relations and public communications, as well as Whitehead's pioneering science policy and advocacy program.  

     

    She lives in Providence, and has soft spot for nerds.

  • Jenn Schwall |

    Jenn is the Startup Operations Manager at Betaspring. She works with the Managing Partners to design, create, and execute processes related to the operation and administration of the accelerator, helps coordinate fundraising and investment relations as well as assists accelerator participants with various projects related to their businesses.

     

    In addition to her role at Betaspring, Jenn is also the manager of Cherrystone Angel Group, Rhode Island’s first organized angel group.  Jenn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bryant University with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Legal Studies.  She received the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key, awarded to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative academic average, as well as the Jack H. Rubens Leadership in Finance Award.

     

  • Stephanie Caress |

     

    Stephanie moved from Boston to Providence to join the team at Betaspring as the Administrative Coordinator in 2012. She is a graduate of Emerson College where she received her B.A. in Media Arts, focusing primarily on production and management. She has formerly held a position as an executive assistant, and has several years of administration and management experience.

    Keeping her mind sharp, Stephanie remains active in the arts community, picking up freelance film work, honing her photography skills, popping into local performances, and attending exciting events in Providence. She is an excellent networker and strives to be the most helpful point person in the city.