United Founders

Clark Parsons is CEO of the European Startup Network, an umbrella organization of nearly 40 startup associations, a position he has held since January 2024. Since 2016 he has led an independent think-tank focused on Europe's innovation economy and defense capabilities, and he also serves as a Partner at a digital consultancy and as an advisor to a pan-European VC fund. A former journalist in the United States, he moved to Germany 28 years ago and previously led a global business school, and he works as Jury Secretary for the AUREA Award and lectures at universities including Humboldt University and the Thunderbird School of Management.

Dušan Zábrodský combines six years at AVG Technologies with early-stage investing to digitize offline sectors (restaurants, grocery) via operational redesign, build Balkan infrastructure, and publish Central European startup content.

Václav Pavlečka is Co-founder and Managing Partner at United Founders and a General Partner at Czech Founders VC. His work focuses on investing in and supporting startup founders, with an emphasis on European technology and community-driven venture capital.

Dr. Janina Zippel is a Senior Scientist in Venture Capital at Beiersdorf, where she executes early-stage investments in sustainability, biotech, and health, including areas such as ClimateTech, circular packaging, sustainable ingredients, regenerative medicine, and AI-enabled diagnostics. She holds a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and has more than 15 years of experience spanning R&D and venture investing, with work covering Seed and Series A deals, venture partnerships, and startup collaborations across Europe and Israel. She has also supported fund strategy for Emerald Technology Ventures and mentored biotech founders through SPRIN-D, the German federal agency for breakthrough innovation.

Susan Vuong is a Finance Accounting Consultant at IMIDomics Inc. and serves as CFO at Bay City Capital, with a background in the venture capital and private equity industry. Her areas of work include corporate finance, accounting, venture capital, due diligence, and corporate development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of the Pacific - Eberhardt School of Business.

Partner at Castle Creek Launchpad leading strategic growth, investor engagement, and ecosystem partnerships, with a focus on community bank partners and portfolio company advising. She previously served as Publisher of Bank Director and founded FinXTech, and serves on the board of Locality bank.

CEO and co-founder of planqc, a Munich-based quantum computing startup, holding a PhD in theoretical quantum physics; he led planqc to a €50M Series A and a €29M DLR contract to build a 1,000-qubit quantum computer.

Board director, Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School, and podcast host with 25+ years of leadership at Johnson & Johnson and Google Cloud, focused on healthcare digital transformation. Serves on the boards of The Honest Company and American Ballet Theatre.

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Empion, a Berlin-based HR tech startup using AI to match candidates and companies on culture and values; holds a PhD in mathematics and serves on the German AI Association board.

CEO and Co-Founder of Wonderful, an enterprise AI platform launched in 2025 that reached unicorn status and a $150M Series B at a $2B valuation; previously founded Approve.com (acquired by Tipalti) and was an early IronSource leader.

Co-founder and Co-CEO of Munich-based drone company Quantum-Systems, a former German Armed Forces helicopter pilot and aerospace engineer, and an investor in defense and deep tech startups.

Honza Široký is the Chief Technology Officer at United Founders, an early-stage venture capital fund built around a community of European founders. He began in web development at age 15 and later joined the startup Mews as one of its first two developers, serving as CTO for ten years until the company reached USD 100M ARR and a team of 170 engineers. He is also an investment committee member and limited partner in Czech Founders VC, makes angel investments in early-stage startups, and mentors founders and CTOs.

Spanish entrepreneur and investor, co-founder and former CEO of UserZoom (acquired by UserTesting), now at Encomenda VC supporting founders in SaaS and user-centric technologies.

Serial tech entrepreneur behind Cognitive Security, AgentFly Technologies, and BlindSpot Solutions, former CTO of Gen (formerly Avast), and Director of the AI Center at Czech Technical University in Prague, where he was elected Rector in 2026.

Milana Idrisova is an Investment Analyst with a legal background, holding a law degree from the University of Glasgow and an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the London School of Economics. Before venture capital, she co-founded a civic association focused on engaging youth in EU politics and interned with a Slovak political party. She now works to support the local startup ecosystem.

Recently retired Big 4 equity partner with 25+ years advising listed, PE-backed, and high-growth international companies through IPOs, acquisitions, restructurings, and regulatory matters.

Co-Founder and CEO of Probabl, a predictive analytics and decision-making software company, and an advocate for European digital sovereignty active with Hub FranceIA and France Digitale.

Oleg Chervonnyi is a Principal at Beiersdorf's corporate venture capital arm, where he invests in early-stage startups and venture capital funds worldwide. His investment focus spans AI, techbio, longevity, digital health, sustainability, and life sciences.