MIT Startup Exchange is convening a new installment of Demo Day on Wednesday, June 17 (12 – 1 PM ET). The event will feature several exciting industry-ready startups in brief lightning talks and Q&A. Breakout rooms will follow at the end of the event. Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
This event is for ILP members.
Manager of Partnerships & Engagement, MIT Startup Exchange
Tricia Dinkel comes to Corporate Relations with several years of experience in the innovation ecosystem and managing relationships with startups and corporates. Tricia previously worked as Director of Navigate (NECEC’s flagship innovation program) at the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) in Boston where she led all operations and partnership development for 400+ startups, 65+ innovation partners, and 200+ investors & corporates in North America and Europe. Prior to that role, Tricia held positions with increasing responsibility in program management at NECEC. Before that, her experience included Director of Data Analytics and Sustainability Reporting Manager at WegoWise Inc. in Boston, Associate Director at the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation in Cambridge, Senior Sustainability Coordinator at A Better City in Boston, and Assistant Director at The Green Alliance in Portsmouth, NH.
Tricia earned her B.A., Environmental Studies/Natural Resource Policy at the University of Colorado, and her M.A., Environmental Science Education at the University of New Hampshire. She served on the NECEC Diversity & Inclusion Committee and as a member of the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), Massachusetts Chapter.
Co-Founder, Blue Lifeline
Jose Valdovinos is Co-Founder and CEO of Blue Lifeline, where he is building the standard for water sustainability. He brings more than 20 years of experience across infrastructure, energy, fintech, and venture building, with prior roles at Evercore, Citigroup, and Thermion, where he worked on transactions, capital structuring, and growth initiatives across complex sectors. He was also a founding team member at Escher Finance, helping shape the company’s strategic, financial, and operational foundations. At Blue Lifeline, Jose combines finance, execution, and emerging technologies to scale solutions that can mobilize capital to address the global freshwater challenge.
Co-Founder & CTO, First Light Solutions
Matt Rivera earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech in 2022. His thesis focused on purifying complex hydrocarbon mixtures with composite membrane materials. Following grad school, he was awarded a prestigious post-doctoral fellowship at MIT to work on developing AI/ML algorithms for designing high-performance gas separation materials. As CTO at First Light, he leads the development of a proprietary AI/ML platform that designs customized adsorbent solutions high-impact industrial gas purification systems.
Co-Founder & CEO Kapitale
Anderson (Andi) Pereira is a Brazilian fintech entrepreneur, investor, and innovator recognized for building transformative financial solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He is the co-founder and CEO of Kapitale, a B2B payments and credit platform that enables merchants to pay suppliers using their account receivables. Kapitale’s flagship product, Pague com Kapi, was recognized by the World Bank and IFC as the Product Innovation of the Year, helping thousands of businesses access working capital in a simpler and safer way.
Previously, Andi served as CEO of Universia Brasil, Santander’s global education company, and as Head of Innovation at Banco Santander, where he spearheaded initiatives at the intersection of technology and finance.
Andi holds a Master’s in Management of Technology from MIT, where he authored a thesis on SME lending asymmetries in Brazil. His leadership and vision have earned him recognition from Forbes (Under 30 list), the World Economic Forum (Global Shaper), the United Nations (Ubuntu Leader), and the U.S. Department of State (Young Leader of the Americas Initiative).
CTO, Optigon
Bio coming soon.
Co-Founder & CEO, Queens Carbon
Daniel Kopp is a scientist, innovator, and entrepreneur dedicated to addressing the world’s toughest problems through cutting-edge materials science and first principles thinking. He holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering from Rutgers University. During his tenure as a Postdoctoral Associate and Research Associate at Rutgers' Riman Laboratories, Daniel co-led groundbreaking research aimed at reducing the energy and carbon footprint of industrial products, including cement and concrete. This research directly inspired and laid the foundation for the formation of Queens Carbon, Inc.
As the CEO, CTO, and Co-founder of Queens Carbon, Inc., Daniel leads a deep tech startup focused on decarbonizing cement production. Backed by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, Plug & Play Ventures, Clean Energy Venture Group, Buzzi Unicem USA (Top 5 Cement Manufacturer), Clean Energy Ventures, and the Department of Energy (ARPA-E), Queens Carbon leverages over a decade of hydrothermal chemistry research to develop low-energy chemical pathways for cementitious material production. Their innovative approach significantly reduces costs, energy demands, and CO2 intensity, advancing sustainable solutions for the cement industry.
Daniel’s work at Queens Carbon is driven by a commitment to building a sustainable future –with a strict mandate of ensuring profitability and compelling economics without incentives.
Co-Founder, Varas Technologies
Sandip Agarwal, PhD is the founder of Varas Technologies. Prior to VARAS Technologies, Dr. Agarwal worked at Nano Terra, a material science startup from Prof. George Whitesides at Harvard University. At Nano Terra, Dr. Agarwal led several technical projects with Fortune 1000 companies such as Hexcel, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Halliburton, Chevron, Honeywell etc. on applications of novel materials. Dr. Agarwal was also the founder at Vuronyx Technologies, an SBIR firm, in which he raised federal funds, took technologies from concept to pilot stage, as well as licensed technologies to large companies.
CTO, Ventum Biotech
Disclaimer: MIT Startup Exchange can make introductions that ideally provide open ended discussions in order to share mutual interests and potentially create common ground that incite the parties to collaborate. MIT Startup Exchange introductions may eventually lead to mutual partnerships, but that is not in any way guaranteed by MIT, MIT Corporate Relations, MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) or MIT Startup Exchange, which takes no responsibility for these outcomes and no formal part in such discussions following our introduction. MIT Startup Exchange and its activities and events are not for purposes of soliciting investment or offering securities.