Mark has built his career at the intersection of the private, public, and social sectors. Devoted to economic development both domestically and internationally, Mark has pursued a path supporting entrepreneurship as a way to lift others out of poverty while celebrating innovation and creating sustainable economies.
Mark has worked at startups across 4 continents and consulted for Fortune 100 companies like Pfizer, Nike, and EMC. After graduating from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business with his MBA in 2017, Mark joined a Private Equity firm and moved to Arizona to lead one of their portfolio companies.
Today, Mark brings that same enthusiasm and passion to the Arizona Commerce Authority where he supports entrepreneurs and startups across the state by leading programs like the Arizona Innovation Challenge and the Venture Ready Accelerator.
Hamid Shojaee is a local veteran entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of Axosoft, a software development tools company, and Pure Chat, a live chat software company. Both companies were acquired in 2020, at which time Hamid shifted his focus more towards his passion for startups and investing.
As an investor, Hamid has been involved with numerous Arizona tech startups, including being an angel seed investor to companies like CampusLogic, Prenda and Equipifi to name a few. He is also a board member of the StartupAZ Foundation and Venture Madness.