Our Team

Atlas

- CEO emeritus

Atlas, our founder and CEO was with the firm his entire professional career. His involvement with clients focused around displacement of desk objects and team building. Atlas is a graduate of the Santa Barbara City Advanced Dog Obedience Program and was scheduled to repeat the program in its entirety multiple times. Weighing in at about 160 lbs, Atlas was a blue great dane. Blues are the rarest of great danes. Other than their coat, they are just like other danes - oversized lap dogs. Atlas hails from Victory Acres in Woodstock, GA. He was born on August 30, 1999 (and, yes, we celebrated with cake every year).

Atlas left us with our memories in early 2007. He lived large in every way imaginable and we all miss him.

Atlas was active in establishing and maintaining off-leash areas in Santa Barbara and Atlas's picture still adorns the poop bag stations in many parks. Since relocating to Seattle, Atlas has taken an interest in graffiti and has brought downtown residents together to remove it. His last clean up attacked about 250 blocks with 112 volunteers (see Seattle Paint Out). We think he was making up for that time he pooped on the floor at Bertlesmann Ventures and we never did tell him he was forgiven.

Atlas also did his part to help try to drive away drug dealers and keep Belltown livable by turning the downtown Regrade Park at 3rd and Bell into an off-leash area for all of his friends (see Seattle Times article). Atlas was the only non-service dog to enter Seattle's city hall when the city council awarded him for contributions in 2003. He has also received a commendation from the Seattle Police Department.

Mike Crill

- Managing Director

As a high-tech CFO since 1995, Mike has helped raise over $150MM in angel and venture funding in more than 60 different funding rounds and has managed mergers and acquisitions. He has contributed to companies that have created over $1Bn in wealth for entrepreneurs.

Mike has sat on over 30 boards for public and private companies and advised over 100 startups. As an advisor, Mike focuses on funding strategy, corporate governance, go-to-market strategy, board and executive compensation, and contracts. He began his work in startups as a CFO where we served over 75 companies in that capacity. In his current role, Mike manages Atlas, the nation’s largest venture accelerator and advises startups.

Mike's prior work history includes assignments as a division controller and plant manager with AlliedSignal, an operations analyst with Data General, as a cost accounting consultant and, earlier, an officer supporting the US Army's elite 82nd Airborne division. He left active duty as a Captain in 1989, having contributed to winning the Cold War (you’re welcome).

Mike holds BS from Syracuse University, magna cum laude, with majors in Finance, Personnel and Industrial Relations, and Managerial Law and a Military Science minor. Mike graduated at the top of his class with an MBA from Duke University. Mike is a winner of the US Army's George C Marshall award and was recognized as the top cadet in the Eastern US region. He was one of the first AlliedSignal employees to be recognized as a Master Black Belt for his work in quantitative methods. Mike is also a past president of Seattle's West Precinct Advisory Council and has received commendations for volunteer work from the city of Seattle. He has sat on NWEN's board where and has served as chairman of the screening committee for ESIF. He is currently on the screening committees for the Alliance of Angels and the Band of Angels and a member of EO. He is a regular speaker to angel groups, university classes, entrepreneur groups and law firms on a broad range of topics related to startups.

Mike has built or re-designed three homes and does his own architecture, general contracting, electrical and other work. His efforts have been recognized in several local groups and publications. When he's not working with a startup, you can often find Mike at the gym or with his beautiful young bride, his daughter (aka “the bundle”), and Wilma, his great dane.

Michael Cockrill

- Managing Partner

Michael Cockrill brings 20 years of operational experience to Atlas. Most recently, he co-founded Mixxer, a 60-person company focused on defining the emerging area of mobile social networking, where he served as CTO and VP Product. Michael led the acquisition and integration of two companies in Vancouver and Indianapolis to create a new company and culture in Seattle.

Prior to Mixxer, Michael spent nine years at Qpass where he served in various executive roles, including VP Product and VP Solutions Architecture. In Michael’s final role as Chief Technical Strategist, he led Qpass' office of the CTO and was responsible for Qpass' technical strategy.

A nine-year veteran of Microsoft, Michael led Product Management on MSN's original e-commerce efforts and the client strategy for Microsoft Merchant Server and Commerce Server. A payments and payment security specialist, he led the design and development of the Microsoft Wallet and the Commerce division's overall payment strategy. Previous to e-commerce, he contributed to the evolution of Word for Windows and created Microsoft's first Internet product, Internet Assistant for Word.

Michael has been actively involved in the startup community, serving as an investor, director and advisor for several small companies in Seattle, New York and the Bay Area. Michael holds a double BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound, in addition to non-degree graduate work at UCLA and the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Amy Bensinger

- Senior Consultant

Amy has worked in all aspects of delivery and operations. She began as a developer and went on to work across industries as a tester and project manager. She has worked with all sizes of companies, delivering solutions for enterprise customers, building out seed stage organizations and turning around high-impact projects. Amy has managed projects with teams and customers in over ten countries, including on-site work in Europe and Asia.

Amy focuses her considerable energy on creating lightweight processes for growing companies and provides management for high priority and high profile efforts. She manages the Quality Assessment practice and technical recruiting in addition to project, program and quality management for individual clients.

Amy’s industry experience includes work in mobile applications and billing systems, neuroscience, media applications, nonprofits, association management, microfinance and enterprise data management systems and has worked in Seattle with Microsoft, Vulcan Inc, Qpass (now Amdocs), Accenture and a host of smaller organizations. During her last leave from Atlas, Amy spent six months working in India for the Grameen Technology Foundation and previously spent nine months as an IT volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of East King County.

Amy holds a BA in Economics Honors from The University of Texas at Austin with minors in Military History and French, as well as non-graduate study in communication skills and bioinformatics. She was a National Merit Finalist, scholarship recipient, committee chair in student organizations and on the editorial board for Analecta, the student literary journal, as well as a bartender on Sixth Street and elsewhere. After learning to fence at the age of 20, Amy became a nationally ranked epee fencer (and a mediocre foilist), as well as a coach and mentor for young fencers.

Amy spends her free time cycling around Seattle, playing soccer or bartering manual labor for hand-crafted food. She’s not very good at sitting still but has a knack for finding reasons to travel outside the US.

Bruce Henry

- Program Manager

As a startup junkie since 1998, Bruce has helped start five companies and worked at Expedia during its growth from startup to travel giant. He has filled diverse roles from QA to product evangelist, project manager, designer, modeler (mathematical, not swimsuit), marketing video producer, developer, and as an all around fixer.

Often distracted by shiny objects, Bruce loves to work with large data sets to tease out and visualize hidden information enabling businesses to make better decisions. He bends Excel to his will with both his knowledge of functions and scripting and his formidable vocabulary.

Bruce holds BS degrees in both Physics and Mathematics, both summa cum laude. He went on to receive his MS in Physics from the University of Washington where he worked in both nuclear physics and gravitation. He has given talks on project management, been a conference panelist on collaboration tools, spoken on prioritization, and value delivery (as well as extensive talks to himself).

When he's not working with a startup, you can often find Bruce on the lake sailing his catamaran, playing soccer, or when the weather is colder, snowboarding.

Chris Cooledge

- Account Executive

Chris joined Atlas Networks in December 2009 as a lead Account Executive.

Daniel Kelly

- Software Test Engineer

Daniel holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. At LMU he worked as a research assistant and a teacher assistant for many different classes in engineering and physics as well as tutoring high school students off campus. In his senior year he was the chair of the LMU chapter of IEEE and the vice president of the LMU chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. Before joining Atlas, Daniel was enrolled in the Ph.D program for electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle where he studied digital signal processing.

Daniel enjoys surfing on the Washington coast, snowboarding in the winter, as well as hiking in the mountains and rain forests. Daniel is also an avid amateur photographer and likes taking nature, wildlife, and surfing pictures.

David Gens

- CFO

As an executive finance professional since 1995, Dave has helped raise over $60MM in angel and venture equity funding and has managed 17 mergers and acquisitions. He has contributed to companies that have created over $200M in wealth for entrepreneurs.

As a CFO and advisor, Dave focuses on prioritizing resources, funding strategy, corporate governance, board and executive compensation, contracts, and creating an efficient finance and administrative infrastructure to support the business. In his current role, Dave serves as a part-time CFO for startups to help build a foundation for growth.

Dave’s prior work history includes working in CFO/Corp Development positions for early stage companies either pre-venture, or joining as the company receives venture funding. These range from enterprise software to seafood processing. He has significant international experience having performed corporate development or M&A deals in 8 countries.

Dave holds a BS in Accounting from University of Delaware and is a 1999 graduate of the University of Washington’s Executive MBA program. He has a CPA license and is a member of the AICPA.

You can often find Dave on weekends in the Methow Valley where he Nordic skis during the winter and runs the trails during the summer. He and his wife have two rescue dogs who are either running ahead of him on the trails or begging for food. When not out on the trails, you will probably find Dave on his motorcycle exploring new parts of the USA.

Dylan Ostendorf

- Financial Analyst

Dylan has ten years of experience in accounting and financial analysis, working with a variety of companies ranging in industries from software development to aluminum and composite cylinder manufacturing. He has extensive experience in all aspects of GAAP accounting and financial reporting (budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis), as well as a strong ability to create and develop tools using a range of software applications (Excel, Access, Crystal Reports) to fulfill specific needs.

In Dylan’s first stint with Atlas (2004-2006), he was primarily responsible for the financial functions of Digital Map Products, an online GIS mapping company based in Costa Mesa, California. During his time at DMP, Dylan worked on numerous business plans, aided in fundraising efforts and spearheaded the company’s transition to a new ERP / accounting system (Microsoft Dynamics GP). In addition, he helped develop tailor-made financial models to incorporate into business plans for several other Atlas clients.

Dylan is eager to assist Atlas’ clients in any capacity and is especially interested in building financial models and analysis tools.

Dylan graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Economics with an emphasis in Accounting.

He lives in Southern California and, in his spare time, he enjoys frequent trips to Disneyland with his beautiful wife, Veronika, and their three wacky, young children. Dylan is a former punk rocker who has mellowed into a quiet retirement from playing but still needs to listen to music constantly in order to maintain his sanity.

Erik Dane Wirsing

- Marketing Director

Erik has established extensive experience in multiple fields of marketing communications throughout his career, including Retail, Channel, Strategic/Partnership, Branding, PR and his personal favorite- Social Media. At EMI Music, he was involved in sales & marketing for the Special Markets division, in which capacity he was responsible for creating and branding products, driving an increase in overall music sales, aggressively courting ancillary channels like Direct Response television and non-traditional retail, and aligning with charities and philanthropies.

At Screenlife, makers of the popular Scene It? line of games (and a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures), as a brand manager Erik created numerous comprehensive marketing plans, authored web communications and advertising copy, constructed retail strategies in tandem with sales personnel, and synchronized PR efforts both internally and with Mattel. He also assisted in cementing impactful promotions with partners like Xbox, Sony, Paramount, Citysearch, MTV, American Airlines, General Mills, Disney, The Onion, Comcast and other well-known brands and companies.

As a principal consultant with Jumpstartle, a Seattle-based marketing agency, Erik worked to build brand identity for numerous startups, including GoTime.com, Dibspace.com, and Monkifu through authoring messaging frameworks, refining business strategies and establishing strong web presence through communications and workflows. In addition, he drove marketing initiatives for product companies like Microsoft, Parallels, PlayNetwork, Moontime Tea, Emerson Salons and Inspire Studios.

Erik is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (BA) and the University of York, England (MA) and is an active member of the American Marketing Association. Apart from travelling and reading a good book, he enjoys hiking, horseback riding, wakeboarding, and writing fiction.

Frances Donegan-Ryan

- Marketing Director

Frances brings to Atlas a background in online marketing, brand awareness, lead generation, international business, product development and out-source management. She has supported numerous Atlas client marketing efforts. Frances has extensive experience in creating marketing collateral, developing website content and user experiences, coordinating Google advertising campaigns and project management. She has worked with startups across many industries including consumer goods, travel, social media, healthcare and science, technology services, and food. Frances brings a big picture and creative point of view to all her work.

Frances spent 5 years with AIESEC, an international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential and the world’s largest not-for-profit student organization. During that time she worked in Seattle, Australia, and for the International headquarters in the Netherlands traveling to over 20 countries for her work. Frances moved on to the for-profit, corporate world joining Cadbury. From their New York office she managed diversity and corporate social responsibility initiatives, designed and lead the Diversity Training program, and managed corporate giving. Before joining Atlas Frances spent 6 months in Hyderabad, India working in remote and impoverished areas of Andra Pradesh working with schools, parents and community leaders to encourage and enforce the education of girl children. Frances now sits on the Seattle Board of Advisors for the UW chapter of AIESEC.

Frances has a BA from the University of Washington with a major in Business Management and a focus in English Literature. As the only undergraduate entry, she placed in the finals for the Global MBA business plan competition hosted by the Foster MBA School. Frances also won best International Business Plan from the UW Undergraduate Competition for the same business plan. Frances played rugby for UW and was an instructor with the UW sailing club. She also earned her Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Arnis while at UW.

Frances loves to read and write, spend time on sail boats, play kickball, drink fine wines with her family and has been called the Atlas Fashionista. She has lived and worked in six countries, travelled to over 20 and plans to hit her seventh continent soon. If she’s not at a client office working hard, she’s probably on a plane off to some new country.

Greg Bullington

- Business Development

With a broad-based, diverse background, Greg has deep industry experience in the high-tech (hardware and software), biotech, medical device, healthcare technology, IP licensing/commercialization, financial services, insurance and non-profit sectors. He has worked extensively with senior management teams at over 30 companies ranging from the Fortune 200 to venture backed and early-stage startups. Regardless of the size of the client, Greg always approaches the development and execution of sales, marketing and business development strategy utilizing significant quantitative market data coupled with structured analytical thinking and tools.

Greg began his career in professional services with the Audit and Assurance practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP. He continued his professional development as a management consultant with Lake Partners prior to founding Forum Ventures, a strategy consultancy focused on technology commercialization.

Greg received his BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington Business School with concentrations in Finance and International Business. To augment studies at UW, he also spent time abroad studying International Business at the University of Granada, in Granada, Spain.

Greg is the co-proprietor of Forum Cellars, a boutique Washington-based wine producer that makes Rhone-style wines. He is also the President and Chairman of the Kyle Charvat Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides funding to young adults facing life-threatening brain cancer. He is an active “wish granting” volunteer with the Make-A-Wish foundation and holds Board and volunteer positions with a number of other local non-profits. Greg enjoys skiing, mountain climbing, flying small planes, cooking and international travel.

Jeff Seymour

- HR Director

Jeff joined Atlas Accelerator in March with 13 years experience in human resources. Jeff has held HR roles in a variety of industries in the greater Puget Sound area. Jeff experience includes HR management at area companies including SolutionsIQ, Medtronic-Physio Control and Three-Five Systems. Jeff’s experience in Human Resources has covered all functional areas in and Jeff is excited to be working in the area of start-ups.

Jeff graduated from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, with a concentration in Human Resources. Outside work Jeff spends time with family, waterskiing and outdoor sports, running and reading.

Jim Fuchs

- Software Development Engineer

Jim has been involved with Software Development for more than 20 years. He has worked as an employee, consultant, or vendor at many companies, from the large and well-known (Boeing, Microsoft, Weyehaeuser, University of Texas at El Paso), to many smaller companies and software startups. Jim is well-rounded in his technical skills, having worn many hats including Developer, DBA, System Analyst, and System Admin.

Jim holds a BS in Computer Science from Washington State University, and bleeds crimson and gray. When not working or cheering his Cougs, he can be found (or not) in the outdoors backpacking, hunting, fishing, or working out. To spend quality time with his children, he volunteers as a Boy Scout leader and as fodder during family Xbox sessions.

Jim Stapleton

- CFO

Jim received his introduction to being a CFO of a startup in 1987, with an IPO schedule for October 19. Pursuant to negative market activity on that famous day (Black Monday), the deal was completed months later, at different terms and conditions. Since then he has been actively involved as the CFO of public and private entities, providing expertise in public accounting, reporting scrutiny, oversight, in addition to raising capital, acquisitions, and investor relations.

Jim’s background spans a variety of industries, with hands on experience from direct response marketing, consumer goods, life science device and drug discover/development, technology, and manufacturing.

Jim holds a BA from University of Washington, with a major in Economics, and an MBA from University of California, Irvine. Jim has participate in over 20 marathons and half marathons (enjoying half marathons that don’t wipe out a full day and toe nails), raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and rescuing/fostering dogs for a variety of breed rescues.

Julie Connoley

- Customer Care

Julie joined Atlas Networks in January 2009 to focus on maintaining exceptional customer care for the company. Julie comes to us from Oregon where she was a Librarian focused on patron services and collection development. Julie holds a Bachelor degree in Communications and a Masters Degree in Library and Information Sciences.

Karin Thompson

- HR Director

Karin brings over 13 years of human resources experience to Atlas, and has enjoyed every bit through the satisfaction that comes with the success of her colleagues due to the contributions she's made.

Prior to joining Atlas, Karin was Director of Human Resources for Cruise West where she managed a team of six responsible for hiring over 200 employees per year. When Cruise West acquired Clipper Cruise lines in 2006, Karin oversaw the largest influx of new employees in company history. Her team processed over 100 Clipper employees in just under two days, which included managing two sets of personnel processes designed to introduce and encourage adoption of the Cruise West brand and values.

Karin has also held the title of Human Resources Manager for Personnel Management Systems Incorporated where her primary function was to help small to mid-size companies in a variety of industries establish or improve their human resources functions.

Karin has extensive experience in all aspects of human resources including compensation and benefits, and greatly enjoys helping her colleagues find creative solutions to complicated challenges. In her free time, Karin volunteers for an organization titled Outdoors for All, which offers kids with disabilities an opportunity to experience the great outdoors in a variety of ways. She too loves to run, hike and ski every chance she gets, and feels the same way about travel.

Kyle Dumas

- Suncadia Network Technician

Kyle joined Atlas Networks in May 2009 as the lead project manager for the Suncadia FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network for Television, Telephone (VoIP), and Internet services. As a local Cle Elum resident and with a diverse background in telecommunications and IT services, Kyle has become an invaluable asset to our team.

Mark Cristalli

- Controller

Mark Cristalli brings eight years of financial and operational analysis experience in the technology industry to the team. He previously worked as a Sr. Financial Analyst at F5 Networks, where he worked with the management team to help develop financial and operational models to support business decisions, worked with the Investor Relations team on developing and managing external reporting targets, and other financial planning activities. Mark’s previous experience in the technology industry includes working as a Business and Financial Analyst with the Cobalt Group, where he helped manage the company's annual budgeting and forecasting processes, business case modeling for product and manufacturer launches, and working with sales management on sales development, targeting, and forecasting.

Mark works with Atlas’ clients on financial modeling, GAAP, sales compensation, accounting, business plan writing, product positioning and pricing, chart of accounts development, financial reporting, account management, sales operations development, and due diligence documentation and process associated with raising additional investment capital. Mark graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Business with a concentration in Finance. He is a Seattle native, and in his free time enjoys fly fishing, football, basketball, skiing, and enjoying the outdoors.

Mark Daniel

- Controller

Mark brings over 16 years’ experience in finance, consulting and investment banking to Atlas. He has worked with companies in the technology, business services, consumer products and industrial sectors, from startup through Fortune 500. Mark works with Atlas’ clients implementing financial and operations controls, focusing on management of all accounting and tax needs. Mark also works with senior management on the preparation of budgeting and financial plans, capitalization tables, and due diligence documentation, as well as the process associated with raising additional investment capital. Mark has helped lead companies through IPOs and private equity investments, worked with clients to identify and complete acquisitions of competitors, and led clients in the research and implementation of growth strategies.

Mark’s prior work history includes strategic and financial consulting through Next Level Finance, investment banking advisory with North American Capital Partners, and M&A research and analysis with Wasserstein Perella.

Mark received his MBA in Finance from Columbia University, his Masters in Music from Yale University and his Bachelors in Music Performance and Education from the University of Michigan.

When not working with clients, Mark is most often found at the hockey rink playing defense, working as Committee Chair of BSA Troop 550, or getting run ragged by his son, wife, and dog.

Martin Zych

- Controller

Martin has been with Atlas since November 2006. He has worked with multiple clients handling their financials, cap tables, private equity offerings, mergers/acquisitions and the sale of a company. He focuses on in depth, detailed financial reports with attention to accuracy & detail. He enjoys building financials models & other excel tools, solving & modeling out the hardest mathematical problems you can throw at him, and creating business plans.

Previously Martin worked for the market research software company Global Market Insite, as Associate Director of Business Performance & Analytics. There he helped build out GMI's global and regional performance reporting structure and systems. Along with this role, he worked on business process improvements, software development testing/bug fixing, and project management for custom clients. He also has experience with Microsoft as a Financial/Business Strategy Analyst.

Martin holds a BA from the University of Washington, with a major in Business and Finance Concentration. He graduated in the top 10% of his class at UW. Martin is an alumni member of the UWB Entrepreneurs Network and has been a guest speaker for UW Bothell’s Undergrad and MBA Entrepreneurship classes. He’s a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and Beta Gamma Sigma. He is currently working on obtaining his CPA and CFA charters.

Martin is an active follower of all things tech and/or geek-like. In his free time he likes to go backcountry hiking & camping, skydiving, and snowboarding. He’s an avid traveler, fluent in English and Polish, and hopes to improve on his Russian and German next.

Matthew Donegan-Ryan

- Sales

Matthew brings to Atlas the experience of closing record size deals for startup companies. His ten years of sales experience includes creating partnerships with Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Chase, Google, Apple, Oracle, Nike, Coca-Cola, OfficeMax, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, the United Nations, NATO, the Army, and thousands of other corporations, government and not for profit organizations.

Matthew typically works with our clients seeking to create large scale sales or distribution agreements. He will take a product with little sales history, research potential markets, and quickly create revenue generating partnerships. He also trains current sales teams and generates winning sales strategies.

Matthew's prior work history includes various business development and sales management roles in technology companies. He served as the Vice President of Sales for The Active Network after the acquisition of Thriva, a local startup where he served as the company’s sales director. During his time there, Matthew recruited, hired and trained the sales team and orchestrated the acquisition and integration of a competitor. Most recently Matthew ran the business development efforts for the Sustainable Group where he created distribution agreements with the country’s largest retailers and wholesalers and setup a nationwide network for manufacturer representatives and resellers.

Matthew received a bachelor’s degree with a double major in economics and communication from the University of Washington. While at UW, he joined Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and currently serves as the Seattle Alumni Association’s President.

Since 2006, Matthew has served as a speaker, and often emcee, at the American Leadership Academy. He mentors multiple undergraduate students in business. Matthew also volunteers with Junior Achievement of Washington and as a bicycle tandem captain for the blind.

When he’s not closing deals, Matthew spends his time swimming in Lake Washington, cycling on the Burke Gilman trail, or running in Kirkland while getting ready for his next triathlon. When he needs a break from endurance sports, Matthew enjoys a day on the golf course or a weekend sailing through the San Juan Islands.

Michel Goffin

- COO

Michel has been assisting emerging businesses for over 10 years, most recently as President of SIVI, an incubator of media related technologies. SIVI’s patented technologies are used by many of the major media companies and have enabled the monetization of user distributed content. SIVI’s portfolio companies have received financial backing from many first tier corporate and institutional investors. Prior to SIVI, Michel was the co-founder and CFO of VoloMedia, a platform for the distribution of media and integrated advertising to portable devices. Volomedia, which was funded by Worldview, Mayfield and Sutters Hill, holds the patent to ‘podcasting” and provides services to many of the major media companies. Prior to Volomedia, Michel was CFO at QDesign, the developer of the original QuickTime audio compression technology. QDesign was sold to DTS.

Michel’s initial career was in corporate finance. He was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase and Westdeutsche Landesbank. He holds a JD (KUL), MA (Carleton) and is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. Michel is an avid sailor and on a constant search for the culinary delights of the world.

Mike Zaroudny

- Sales and Biz Dev

Mike Zaroudny hails from a wide entrepreneurial background ranging from early entree in the wireless telephone industry to retail centers and a boutique hotel nestled cliff-side in Santa Monica. Mike also has a hand in producing independent television shows centered around luxury goods and vintage automobiles, including two shows produced in conjunction with Bentley Motors UK.

Recently Mike moved from Santa Monica back to Seattle to be closer to family. More recent ventures include working with Porsche NA and Sender+Partners, a New York based consulting firm. Throughout it all, Mike's organic style and relationship building is paramount in consummating collaboration between company and client. Mike holds a Bachelors in Music from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Passions include collecting and restoring automobiles, covering Concours events for media and participating in auto races, as entrant and spectator, for over 12 years. He is known for documenting special interest vehicles such as Porsche and pre-war Blower Bentleys.

His hobbies (other than cars) snow sports, motorcycles, fine cigars, collecting timepieces and pursuit of the perfect porterhouse steak. He lives in Kirkland with his wife Anna and their work-shy Bouvier named Porterhouse. Mike also spends a good portion of the year designing a better Burningman experience for others.

Nathan Eisenberg

- Atlas NetworksSenior Systems Administrator

Nathan joined Atlas Networks in July 2008. Prior to joining Atlas Networks, Nathan had focused on systems administration for companies ranging from the SOHO sector to the Enterprise domain. Nathan's expertise includes secure systems/network design and maintenance, virtualization, SAN technologies, and technology solution matching.

Parag Vaish

- Principal Marketing

Parag Vaish specializes in B2B and consumer marketing for startups in a variety of industries. He has worked with about two dozen Atlas clients in the travel, digital marketing, consumer technology, social networking, online retail, and enterprise software industries. Parag gets fired up about getting companies their first few customers and then scaling that effort to wild success.

His prior work experience includes managing the go-to-market efforts for all Microsoft Advertising products, founding member of the Disney Auctions business, and manager of the marketing efforts for ESPNstore.com and NASCARstore.com. Parag, while at the Disney Studios, analyzed the profitability at the green light stage of live action films from the Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, and Miramax banners. The combination of marketing and finance experiences causes him to think about efficient, scalable, and profitable marketing tactics.

Parag specializes in taking new products to market with an emphasis towards high impact marketing strategies, fiscal responsibility and a bias towards action. He has a B.S. in Finance from Cal State University Northridge, an MBA from Boston University and a Masters in Information Systems also from Boston University. During his academic years, Parag was co-author of a refereed paper which was published in a journal on business dynamics and he interned at Akamai, Microsoft and Disney.

Parag enjoys spending time traveling with his wife and visiting some of the great Washington wineries. He adores his two nephews and loves playing all kinds of games with them, including Xbox, basketball, soccer, bowling, and Zoo Tycoon. Although it may sound like work, Parag also enjoys developing small businesses with his friends.

Rachel Huffman

- Project Manager & Executive Assistant

Rachel has a varied background which includes event promotion and management, staffing and administrative support. Most recently she worked for Atlas Accelerator as an event coordinator and at Mod Systems as an office manager where she supported 20 people. In her spare time she enjoys cyclocross, bike riding, and spending time with her friends.

Ross Rosen

- VP Sales & Marketing

Ross is a specialist in building new markets. He has done so as a software engineer, a product manager, a VP of Marketing, the CEO and founder of his own company, and now as the head of Atlas’ Sales and Marketing practice. Ross leads teams in learning about the customer and the market, figuring out how to reach them, generating the first sales, gaining market traction, and then blowing out early traction to a market-leading position.

Ross was CEO and founder of InsideCrowd, an online advice network for consumers. Prior to that he was VP of Marketing for RiskClick, an enterprise software company targeting the insurance industry. During the dot com era, Ross was one of the first employees of Kana Communications, an e-CRM provider that he helped create and win its market and build from 10 to 1,200 people.

Ross has also done consulting projects for a variety of early-stage startups, such as strategy work for Outlooksoft, a business intelligence leader, and product leadership for Wetpaint, a network of tv fan sites.

Ross has an MBA from Stanford where he won a joint business school and engineering school product design and marketing competition. He also hold a BS from Duke in Computer Science and Economics, where he was summa cum laude and phi beta kappa.

Ryan Maloney

- Atlas Networks Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Ryan founded Atlas Networks in March 2008 in partnership with Atlas Accelerator. Prior to founding Atlas Networks, Ryan served as the CEO of several companies, including 9 years at NetRiver Corporation, a data center company he founded in 1999. His professional background includes business management, technical operations, data center design, network and low voltage systems design, and point of sale systems architecture. Outside of work Ryan spends most of his time backpacking in the Cascades and flyfishing in rivers all over the northwest.

Sara Murray

- Office Manager

She has held the position of Atlas Internal Office Manger since December 2006 and has worked with many of our clients. She brings to Atlas 15 years of bookkeeping and general office management experience. Her experience is with a wide range of industries from non-profit, healthcare, staffing, retail, commercial construction and several startups.

Sara enjoys rolling up her sleeves and getting projects done such as new office setup, payroll setup, QB setup and the misc tasks required to create a functioning office. Sara spare time is devoted to her three children and holds PTA Board & Booster Club positions on both the middle school and high schools her children attend. When she is not working she can be found boating or snowmobiling with her family and enjoying time at their cabin in the mountains.

Shael Anderson

- Business Development

Shael comes to Atlas with over 15 years of international and domestic startup experience. Starting when he founded his own Desktop Publishing and Design Firm, Shael discovered his passion for helping entrepreneurs build their businesses. After spending 5 years developing his own business, Shael spent the next 3 years in Malaysia for Columbia Asia - a firm building hospitals. With Columbia Asia Shael conducted Business Development and Project/Construction Management to lay the groundwork for a network of 40 private hospitals throughout India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Upon his return to the US, Shael worked for 6 years at ShareBuilder helping it become the fastest growing online broker in the country. At ShareBuilder Shael teamed to bring in over 300 Strategic Partnerships in the Bank, Credit Union, Retail and Airline industries. Shael went on to lead the Customer Acquisiton and Retention Marketing programs.

Before joining Atlas Accelerator, Shael has spent the previous year working at Tenacious Offense helping early stage companies take their products to market.

In his free time Shael likes to golf, attend University of Washington football games, and travel the world.

Teddi Pratchett

- Controller

Teddi brings 20 years’ experience in finance to Atlas, providing financial support mainly in the technology sector. As a controller, Teddi focuses on GAAP compliance, closing and producing financial reports in a timely manner, development of quarterly reports and tax reporting. She is able to provide the day to day accounting or work side by side with an office manager or bookkeeper. Teddi can help with the preparation of budget and financial plans, capitalization tables, and due diligence documentation, as well as the process associated with financing rounds. Teddi thrives on improving efficiencies within her clients accounting processes.

Teddi has worked for Atlas since November of 2008, she was the proud recipient of the 2009 Atlas Employee of the Year.

Teddi’s prior work history includes 13 years at WPP companies; Hill and Knowlton and J. Walter Thompson as Director of Finance and Operations. Prior to that, she worked as a controller at a property management company in San Diego.

Teddi received a Bachelor’s Degree in Quantitative Economics and Decisional Sciences from University of California, San Diego.

When not working for Atlas, she coaches or manages soccer teams for her three kids and resides on the board of the local soccer organization. She also owns and runs a small business; a salon in Mountlake Terrace.

Tyler Dary

- Sales and Biz Dev

Tyler Dary brings ten years of inside and outside technical sales experience to Atlas. Ranging from the fortune 500 to a six-person startup. As a sales and business development consultant for Atlas he actively contributes to a startup’s success by relying on his tactical and strategic experience in sales, sales operations and engineering, product development and marketing, and lead generation management to give startups the advantage and help they need to move the business forward. Tyler is often referred to as a jack-of-all trades because of his willingness and ability to get the job done no matter what department it falls under.

Prior to Atlas, Tyler’s work history includes senior sales positions in the telecommunications and the content delivery industries. While achieving success in the sales arena, he expanded his contributions to other areas of the business including, operations, development, marketing, and IT.

Tyler holds a BS from the University of Washington with majors in Business Administration and Marketing. He continues to expand his knowledge with courses in JavaScript, Ajax, XHTML, Online Video, and Marketing.

When he steps away from the fast-paced business environment, he enjoys relaxing with his wife and participating in activities that benefit the health and happiness of their children. He can often be found standing in the rain (it is Seattle…) at his daughter’s soccer game.

Wendy Dooley

- Financial Analyst

Since 2006, Wendy has worked as a Financial Analyst providing finance and accounting support to over 45 different high-tech startups. She works mostly on building financial plans and budgets. She has also helped with other projects as needed, including production plans, capitalization tables, and valuations. Wendy’s prior work history includes assignments as a Logistics Accountant for American Woodmark, a Program Control Officer at Computer Sciences Corporation, a Promotions Assistant for Coca-Cola North America, and a Senior Marketing Specialist at Aireco, Inc.

Wendy holds a BS from Frostburg State University, with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing.

Wendy lives in Virginia with her husband and three-year-old twin girls. When she is not working or taking care of her family, she enjoys swimming, soccer, Guitar Hero and Wii Boxing.

Cathy Nobis

- Atlas Special Advisor

Cathy is currently a physician in private practice in Bellevue. That has very little to do with our business but because she's Atlas' mom, she deserves a place here. Thanks for looking after the CEO.