Silicon Valley Impact S1 E14 with Naveen Khugputh, Shelley Kuipers, and Mercedes Korngut

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have Naveen Khugputh, Co-Founder & COO at Werqwise, and Private Equity; Shelley Kuipers, CEO and General Partner at The51; and Mercedes Korngut, Co-Founder and CEO of Small Bits of Happiness (oh, and did I mention, she’s only 16 years old?).

Naveen has over 15 years in business development, private equity, and angel investing. As the co-founder and COO of Werqwise, a pioneering flexible workspace provider. Naveen is as an active angel investor with a wealth of experience in high-growth global operations across emerging and developed markets. Naveen has facilitated over 30 private equity transactions, totaling over $3 billion USD. His expertise in navigating the intricacies of entrepreneurship and investment makes him a valuable asset to any discussion on business development and innovation.

Also joining us is Shelley, co-founder of The51, and serial entrepreneur. She's the Co-founder of @Chaordix; Co-Founder of Stormworks; and Co-founder of IOVIA, based in London, UK. Shelley has been an early-stage investing for more than 20 years. Her investment experience focuses on the tech sector with an emphasis on innovation-driven companies across many sectors. To date their family office has made +30 early-stage investments. Shelley’s most notable investment was Solium, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2019 for $1.1B. Shelley supports many founders, and ventures as an advisor, board observer and director, including Bobbie Racette Founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus.

Meet 16 year old Mercedes Korngut, Co-Founder and CEO of Small Bits of Happiness, a company on mission to help individuals of all ages, especially teenagers, find more happiness daily. She is also the co-host of Hack Your Happiness, a podcast where Mercedes and her younger sister, Anastasia, interview Oscar-winners, Olympic Athletes, and top authors on what brings them happiness, and their life hacks. Mercedes's written work has been featured in publications such as Impact Magazine and Washington Parent magazine, and she has been a guest on national TV news and media.

This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!

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Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.