About Us
Technori is building the best starter publishing and education platform in the world through curated content, expert advice, and a passionate network of tomorrow’s startup leaders.
Technori empowers, educates, and connects starters around the world through our online platform. We understand the inherent risks associated with launching a startup, creating a non-profit, or building anything truly worthwhile and we embrace the fact that the starter life is a roller-coaster of incredible highs and crushing lows.
Our mission is to improve the chances of starters becoming successful via education and empowerment, but only for those committed to make the leap and by discouraging those who are not ready. We aim to improve the quality of life for every starter that reads our content and utilizes our education platform.
Our Team
Melissa Joy Kong
CEO & Editor-In-Chief
Originally from NYC, Melissa now happily lives in Chicago. She’s spent her media career working on marketing and new product development at Time, Inc. for brands such as Fortune, People, and Sports Illustrated. She was also the founding Editor in Chief of Studentbranding.com. Melissa is putting her lifelong passion for media to work at Technori, building our ever growing network of writers and editorial content. She also blogs daily at
melissajoykong.tumblr.com
Seth Kravitz
CMO & Co-Founder
After falling in love with the Chicago entrepreneur community, volunteering as a mentor with several entrepreneur programs and organizations, Seth sold his business
InsuranceAgents.com and co-founded Technori in 2010. When he isn’t cooking up master plans for Technori to support starters all over the universe, he can be found helping people connect and running his new startup,
Bow Truss Coffee Roasters.
Robbie Abed
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Robbie is a digital native who started his career working for Consulting Firms Accenture & Deloitte. Instead of solving problems for big companies, he’s now leading technology initiatives for Technori in the startup world. Robbie keeps close to his roots and blogs on his personal blog
robbieabed.com. Robbie loves connecting people and helping people find their true passions.
Val Chulamorkodt
Co-Founder & Advisor
Now residing in San Francisco, Val co-founded Technori and kept the ship together as our COO for 2.5 years. In her previous life before entrepreneurship, Val practiced law, blogged for TheFootballGirl.com, and served as technology chair for a number of legal organizations through the Chicago area.
Clay Neigher
Chief Evangelist & Comedian
Clay is a Technori evangelist, serving both as a writer and a creative consultant since the early days. He’s currently assisting with new media content creation and relationship building in key markets. Clay has been working as a creative Swiss Army knife since getting a degree from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and a Masters from The University of Pennsylvania. He’s also the Co-Founder of a product-centric technology consulting firm, Three Man Rocket, based in Chicago. In his spare time, Clay enjoys cycling, photography, improv, and documentaries.
Alan Matthew
Investor
As Chicago’s most prolific angel investor, Alan has been a key asset for Technori as we morphed from passion project into scaleable startup. Some of Alan’s other investments include: SocialCrunch, StyleSeek, Packback, CityScan, Scholastica, and many others. Previously, Alan spent 35+ years in the world of futures trading. In his personal life, he is actively involved in the
Chicago Council of Global Affairs, he is a published photographer, and has traveled to 85 countries.
Josh Elyachar
Investor
Josh resides in NYC, where he manages multiple businesses and is an active angel investor. After building and selling a successful personal training business, Josh now actively manages his portfolio of startups investments, including
Bow Truss Coffee Roasters,
Strange Pelican Brewery, & Technori. Additionally, he is an active real estate investor and an advisor for Shaw Spring Partners.
