Judges

Soula Chronopoulos is the President of AquaAction, a North American non profit organization focussed on launching water tech startups to protect and restore our freshwater. With a background in medical research, Soula has over 20 years of global executive experience establishing, expanding, and leading prosperous public and private organizations worldwide, in the consumer health and digital transformation arenas.

Her initial start-up venture, Taimma

Communications, earned recognition as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies, while Soula herself was honored as one of Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs by Profit Magazine.

Soula holds a Master of Science degree from McGill University, and possesses an unwavering passion for entrepreneurship; she actively participates in mentoring start-ups in the health & science sectors as an active member of the McGill

Dobson Center for Entrepreneurship, and currently lectures at the McGill Desautels School of Business on Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Retail.

Gregg Latterman is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and founder of Aware Records. He is the new Executive Director of The Zell Institute for Entrepreneurship at The University of Michigan (Ross School of Business) starting in August.  

While building Aware, Gregg enrolled in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. While pursuing his MBA, Gregg established the first online music store, Awarestore, in 1995. 

In 1996, Aware Records entered a joint venture deal with Columbia Records and established the Aware/Columbia label. Train, Five for Fighting, and John Mayer were his first three artists. He later signed Guster and Mat Kearney to a deal with Aware/Republic/Universal Records.  

In addition, Gregg started a music management company in 1998, managing musicians such as The Fray, Brandi Carlile, Five for Fighting, Mat Kearney, Ben Rector, Jack’s Mannequin, Michelle Branch, Rachel Platten, and many others. 

In 2011, Gregg enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a master’s degree in applied positive psychology, studying under Martin Seligman, founder of the field, and Angela Duckworth and Adam Grant. While at Penn, Gregg developed what he calls “Positive Entrepreneurship,” which combines the principles of positive psychology with an entrepreneurial mindset to aim for Success and Happiness in life. 

In 2018, Gregg founded and built Positive Pretzels, the first organic flavored pretzel. He created the brand from scratch and built the company to the point of being distributed in over a hundred stores, including all the Midwest Whole Foods stores. 

Gregg is an angel investor, advisor, and mentor for many start-ups over the years. 

Alex is a Partner and Co-founder of Green Egg Ventures, a New York City based venture capital fund established in 2016. Before launching Green Egg Ventures, Alex worked at Metamorphic Ventures and graduated from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2012.

Michael Spath is a client executive for Kapnick Insurance Group, working with small businesses and startups to offer counsel and strategies on navigating the necessary but often confusing world of business insurance.

After running his own advertising agency for five years, Michael admittedly “didn’t know the first thing about insurance for a small business, particularly, one that didn’t have a brick-and-mortar presence” and has made it his highest priority to offer free education to entrepreneurs and small business owners so they can have peace of mind knowing the passion, hard work and resources they devote to making their business a success will be safeguarded.

In conjunction with Startup Nation radio, Michael co-hosts an “Ask the Expert” insurance podcast. You can also hear him during weekly radio appearances with WTKA in Ann Arbor and WJR in Detroit (though to talk sports, not insurance).

Michael spent 15 years in sports media prior to his career transition, including five years as the owner and host of “Inside the Huddle” sports talk radio in Ann Arbor and 10 years as the managing editor for TheWolverine.com. He taught “The History of College Athletics” for four semesters, beginning in the fall of 2020, at the University of Michigan School of Education.

He serves on the board of directors for Ele’s Place and the Ann Arbor Club. A 2002 graduate of the University of Michigan, Michael lives in Royal Oak with his wife and two children.