THE JUDGES

Moon Blossom Collection

Founder

Maya started Moon Blossom Collection in 2020 during the Covid lockdown. With nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram, Moon Blossom Collection provides affordable jewelry, accessories and room decor to customers around the world. Her prior business, Maya’s Henna, was forced to close during the pandemic due to the in-person nature of henna tattooing. Maya created the Contra Costa Shark Tank youth competition to encourage other young entrepreneurs. She is on the Teen Advisory Board of Girls Crushing It, an organization focused on girls and entrepreneurship, and the President of Campolindo’s Entrepreneurship Club.

Lafayette Chamber of Commerce

President, Board of Directors

Matt Pease is the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors’ President, and previously served as the President of the Lafayette Rotary Club, and on the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army of Alameda. 

Prior to his retirement in 2015, Matt spent over thirty years in the information technology sector with Cisco, Microsoft, AT&T, and other Silicon Valley companies. He worked on initiatives ranging from personal computers, TCP/IP networks, client server computing, mobile computing, consulting services, and most recently, cloud computing. 

Kinfield

Founder & CEO

Nichole Powell is a Shark Tank alum from Season 14, Episode 11! Kinfield's mission is to make the joy of the outdoors accessible and inclusive for all, with clean, sustainable personal care products that are Made Safe for People + Planet™️. Their line of award-winning bug repellents, soothing anti-itch remedies, and reef-safe sunscreens have been featured by the likes of VOGUE, The New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, and more. 

When she isn't working on Kinfield or mentoring emerging entrepreneurs, Nichole is an avid traveler, hiker, and rock climber, and lives in San Francisco, CA.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company

VP, Business Finance & Planning

Kristin Manz is Vice President, Business Finance and Planning. She is responsible for overseeing the company's financial forecasting, reporting, and governance process.  Joining PG&E in 2023, she brings deep expertise in financial planning and operations, accounting, and transformational process improvement. Kristin earned her BS in Management Information Systems from the University of Florida and her MBA, Finance, at DePaul University in Chicago. Kristin lives in Danville with her husband, three boys, four hens and their dog Franny!

Campolindo High School's Entrepreneurship Club members

Marqeta, Inc.

Founder, Chairman, Former CEO

As Marqeta’s founding CEO from 2010 to 2023, Jason led the company through its IPO on NASDAQ (Ticker: MQ) in June 2021 before transitioning into the Executive Chairman role in January 2023. In 2020, Jason was named an E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year and one of the Most Admired CEOs by the San Francisco Business Times. Jason is considered an expert on global electronic payment systems, the fintech ecosystem and entrepreneurship. Jason grew up in New Jersey, where he had numerous businesses that included making and selling tie-dyed T-shirts. Jason graduated from Arizona State University.

Girls Crushing It

Founder & CEO

Roxanne Christophe is the founder & CEO of Girls Crushing It, a Bay Area-based nonprofit delivering entrepreneurship programming that cultivates confidence and leadership skills in girls ages 8-18. Through partnerships with Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and Square, she expanded Girls Crushing It nationally, serving more than 5,000 participants since 2018. Prior to Girls Crushing It, Roxanne founded Pampered Pixel, a publishing firm that partnered with Shutterfly to offer bespoke photobook services. She earned a BA in Communication from Tulane University and an MA in Public Relations from the University of Houston.

thredUp

Former President

As President of thredUP, a pioneer in powering the $36bn apparel resale market, Anthony was responsible for the profitable growth of the thredUP marketplace. Before thredUP, Anthony was on the leadership team of Virgin Group, leading its investment program and product innovation teams in North America. As Managing Partner, he led the creation of multiple Virgin businesses, including Virgin Money, Virgin Voyages and Virgin Hotels. Anthony previously was a Principal at Venrock and worked closely with start-up founders to develop highly-disruptive products and scale their businesses through periods of rapid growth. Anthony is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Business School.