Blu Venture Investors

Bob Proctor brings active experience as CEO of Link Labs (industrial IoT) and deep-tech company-building, having founded multiple healthcare and energy startups and formalized the approach into a venture firm.

David Krauskopf is an entrepreneur and investor with experience founding and financing multiple companies, including dpi group, which held an exclusive Apple Computer contract in Russia and Ukraine, and Hamanasi, a luxury resort in Belize. He is a founding partner of Blu Venture Investors and has served as advisor, chairman, or board member for numerous technology and software companies, including several acquisitions by major firms such as Oracle, Mandiant, Elsevier, and Topcon, as well as the public offerings of Avizia/Amwell and investment in ID.me. Krauskopf holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and founded Legend Wrestling Club, a nonprofit organization serving community youth.

Dendy Young is Chairman and CEO of Saltenna, a company he co-founded to commercialize surface-wave communications technology for wireless connectivity in challenging environments. He has held leadership roles across defense, government, and commercial sectors, and serves as Managing Partner of McLean Capital and founding partner of Blu Venture Investors. Young operates Hidden Creek Farm in Virginia, a regenerative farming operation focused on soil health and ecological restoration.

Jim Hunt is Managing Partner at Lavrock Ventures, a firm he founded in 2016. He has invested in approximately 100 early-stage companies since beginning angel investing in the mid-1990s, with a focus on national security sector technology. Hunt's background includes roles as a U.S. Government scientist, founder of systems integrator BDS, senior positions at major consulting firms including Cap Gemini, and founding of strategy consultancies focused on national security and intelligence markets.

Joe Callanan is a Partner at Blu Venture Investors, LLC, focusing on early-stage venture capital investments. He brings experience from a career building business units at real estate companies of various sizes, with expertise spanning B2B software and commercial real estate services, investment, development, and construction. His current work balances identifying promising products and business concepts with advising emerging companies developing new business models.

Kim Nguyen is Managing Partner at Brilliant Keypoint Investments, LLC, where he invests in early-stage technology companies focusing on cybersecurity, HealthIT, and B2B SaaS in North America. He brings over 17 years of business development and project management experience from the federal IT services sector. His expertise includes business development, strategic planning, and program management.

Lily Bengfort is Executive Director of ADY Life Center, a nonprofit organization serving individuals navigating cancer, chronic illness, caregiving, grief, and major life transitions. She has experience building and scaling organizations as a tech entrepreneur and serves as a Guided Autobiography Instructor with The Birren Center, where she works with individuals to develop narratives around their personal experiences.

Pete Hayes is CEO and Founder of Tracer Labs, an identity and engagement platform for AI-driven internet applications. He previously held senior leadership positions at IBM, Microsoft, Frontier, and Equinix, where he managed global operations and large-scale organizations. Hayes has over 35 years of experience in technology leadership across early-stage companies and established enterprises, with work spanning multiple regulated industries and 50+ countries.

Pradeep Wahi is a founding member at Blu Venture Investors with executive management experience in high-technology companies. He serves on the board of directors of a NASDAQ-listed public company and holds leadership positions within IEEE and the Minority Business Federation. His areas of focus include business management, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.

Benjamin Ebenezer is a venture investor and founder who spent a decade as Managing Principal at Blu Venture Investors, where he deployed over $95 million into seed and Series A cybersecurity and enterprise software companies. In 2021, he co-founded StayLuxe Vacations with his wife Traci, a luxury vacation rental management company operating in Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, and Northern Virginia that has doubled revenue annually since inception. He currently serves as Co-CEO and Chief Revenue Officer of StayLuxe Vacations, Senior Growth Partner at FinStrat Management, and sits on the Investment Advisory Board for Virginia's CIT GAP Funds.

Hal Shelton is a partner at Blu Venture Investors, LLC and serves as a SCORE mentor. He has experience across corporate, nonprofit, and investment sectors, and authored "The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan," which became an Amazon bestseller.

Lance Ullom is Chief Executive Officer of Blue Triangle Technologies, a digital experience optimization company. He previously held senior positions at E*Trade where he oversaw a business unit generating $500 million in annual revenue, and brings experience across banking, asset management, and venture capital. Ullom serves as a principal at Blu Venture Investors and has held board positions at both public and private companies as well as early-stage technology ventures.

Matt Gittleman is an Investment Director at JHH vc focused on early-stage investments from pre-seed through Series A, with particular interest in teams addressing data-centric problems. He also serves as a Venture Partner at Cape Fear Ventures, investing in enterprise software, data/AI, defense tech, and space sectors, and co-founded VC in DC, a network of over 800 members. His background includes prior roles in venture capital at Blu Ventures and Core Capital Partners, as well as operating experience at venture-backed companies.

Matt Hanson is a cofounder and partner at Pax Momentum, an early-stage venture capital firm. The firm typically invests as an initial backer and provides support to founders on B2B sales strategy and go-to-market planning, alongside assistance securing subsequent funding rounds.

Founder of StoneMill Ventures and former CISO at Zscaler, where he was a founding team member who spent a decade building its research team and security model. He previously helped build SPI Dynamics (acquired by HP) and iDEFENSE (acquired by VeriSign), and turned to full-time angel investing after Zscaler's 2018 IPO.

Mike Kostoff is a Partner at Blu Venture Investors, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology and cybersecurity companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. He brings over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in research and consulting, with a focus on the financial services industry. Kostoff serves on the boards of or as a board observer for several portfolio companies, including ID.me, Enquire AI, and Enviedo.

PK Malhotra is a Managing Partner at Tipping Point, LLC and Principal at Blu Ventures based in the Washington, DC area. He has held executive positions at startups and Fortune 100 companies, and worked as an equity research analyst covering financial and technology sectors for Wall Street firms. Over a 25-year career, Malhotra has operated in healthcare, IT, financial services, and government contracting.

Pradeep Kaul is President, CEO, and co-founder of Hughes Systique Corporation (HSC), a digital engineering solutions and services company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland with R&D operations in India. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Member of the Office of the Chairman at Hughes Network Systems, where he led the formation of digital cellular businesses and wireless infrastructure deployments across North America and internationally, as well as development of OnStar in collaboration with Delco Electronics and EDS. Kaul has invested in and advised over 25 startup companies across his 25-year venture capital career and currently serves as a Principal at Blu Venture Investors and on boards and advisory roles for companies in sensors, eCommerce, AI/ML, energy monitoring, and semiconductor gas sensors.

Deepika Jonnalagadda is a Junior Partner at Outlander VC, where she focuses on pre-revenue and pre-product stage investments. She can be contacted at deepika@outlander.vc for investment opportunities.