Stirlingshire is a New York-based financial services company building an advisor-first investment platform. Operating through SEC-registered, FINRA-member subsidiaries Stirlingshire RIA LLC and Stirlingshire BD LLC, it offers a full-service broker-dealer and advisory model with a sharp twist: advisors keep 100% of their asset-management fees and commissions with zero firm expenses and permanent work-from-home flexibility, while clients can self-direct at zero commission and call on a professional advisor only when they want one. Founded in 2020 by Steven Woods, the firm pitches a 'third way' between fully managed portfolios and pure DIY investing.
Venn is a New York cybersecurity company that secures remote and hybrid work on personal, unmanaged, or contractor-owned computers. Its patented Blue Border technology installs a lightweight agent that creates a company-controlled Secure Enclave on any Windows or Mac machine - work apps run locally inside a literal blue border where data is encrypted and isolated from personal use, with no virtual desktop, no remote session, and no shipped laptop required.
Steven Woods is the founder and CEO of Stirlingshire Investments, a New York based, SEC-registered, FINRA-member broker-dealer trying to rewire how financial advisors get paid. He started at 26 with a GED, cold-calling for $500 a day, and grew into an advisor producing millions before walking away to build a 'Hybrid Broker-Dealer' that lets advisors keep 100% of their fees and commissions with zero expenses. His 'advice on demand' model gives clients three choices: trade free, pay only when recommendations make money, or hand over full management. He frames the whole project around one question: 'How do we make this better?'
Allison Blais is Vice President of Business & Strategic Operations and Chief of Staff to Adobe President David Wadhwani, running day-to-day operations of Digital Media - Adobe's largest business unit. A lawyer-turned-operator, she transitioned from 15+ years in financial services and corporate law into driving strategy for Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Adobe Firefly, the company's generative AI platform. Her path from FINRA regulatory analyst to VP at one of the world's most influential software companies is a masterclass in reinvention.
Dusko Kelez is the Peruvian founder and CEO of Hapi App (YC W21), a San Francisco-based fintech that lets anyone in Latin America invest in U.S. stocks and crypto with no broker commissions and no minimums. After leading operations at Grin Scooters across seven countries and noticing that Latin Americans had no easy way to access global markets, he co-founded Hapi in 2020 with engineers Piero Sifuentes and Billy Caballero. Today the platform serves over 500,000 users in 20 countries, has raised $4.3M from Y Combinator and leading investors, and is celebrating milestones on the NASDAQ tower in Times Square.
Jennifer Moy is the Chief Operating Officer of Boldstart Ventures, a New York-and-Miami-based seed fund with over $1 billion in assets under management that backs engineering-driven founders from day one. With 18+ years in venture capital, she brings rare operational depth to an early-stage shop - spanning LP relations, FINRA compliance, broker-dealer oversight, and firm-wide infrastructure. Before Boldstart, she was VP at Dawntreader Ventures and has held CFO/FINOP roles at broker dealers. A Cornell economics grad and self-described Pac-Man enthusiast, she is the operational engine behind one of the most founder-focused inception-stage funds in the country.