WE ARE A COMMUNITY FIRST
Our Story
What are we about?
In June 2016, Groundswell was founded by three serial entrepreneurs and Space Coast natives, eager to see greater startup activity in the area.
For a little over a year, we brought together technologists, entrepreneurs and innovators at any coffee shop, restaurant or office space that would let us borrow a table.
Today - Groundswell lives in a skatepark-turned-coworking-space, hosting more than 30 events per year and continuing our mission of building a place where Space Coast innovators an build, grow and thrive.
Meet our Founders
Mark Mohler
Mark Mohler has been a lawyer for over twenty years and is a founder of Corridor Legal Partners, a full service business and transactional law firm. He was formerly a partner in the Tax and Business Groups of BakerHostetler, one of the largest law firms in the US. Mark previously served as general counsel to a public company venture/incubator and during his tenure was the chief legal officer for companies from idea through IPO. Having been on “all sides of the table,” he was a co-founding entrepreneur of a venture and private equity-backed multi-national company, has served on staff to one of Florida’s largest venture funds, is a founder of LaunchPad40 Capital Partners, a spacecoast-focused venture capital firm, and has been a member of the board of directors of many venture-backed companies. He has a BS, Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws in Taxation degrees from the University of Florida.
John Vecchio
John Vecchio has been in the software industry for 30 years and co-founded three software companies. The companies raised over $75M from prominent venture firms across the US. His first, N2 Broadband, was acquired for $120M in 5 years. His latest, Clearleap, is the underlying multiscreen video streaming technology to customers including HBO, NFL, Verizon and Time Warner. He has worked on product strategy, software development & investor pitches with numerous start up companies in the Atlanta area. His is a patent holder and his team at N2 Broadband was awarded a Technical and Engineering Emmy for his Video on Demand system. Currently, John is a partner at Mosley Ventures working with Sig Mosley, one of the most prolific early stage investors in Atlanta. He resides on several Boards and has led several investments into early stage technology companies in the Southeast.
Bud Deffebach
Bud Deffebach was a Patent Attorney for the Atlanta, GA based intellectual property law firm Jones & Askew, and with Harris Corporation, specializing in patent licensing. In 1997, Bud joined ATLC, Ltd., a patent licensing firm, as a Partner. ATLC has generated over $2 billion in royalties for its clients, including entities such as AT&T, Stanford University, Harris Corporation, Kodak and Cypress Semiconductor.
Bud is an active board member, investor and advisor to companies including Sarda, NexStreem, ZippSlip, 3D WiFi and others. Bud also co-owns Matt’s Casbah, develops commercial real estate and is a very strong believer in, and supporter of, Club Esteem and the University of Florida College of Engineering.
Bud is married to Dr. Kim Deffebach and they have two children, Lee and Kate. Hobbies include surfing, diving, golf, mountain biking and snowboarding.
How we can help
Meet our Mentors
Pawan Gaikwad
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Kailas Narendran
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Shane Close
UI/UX
Keith Nugent
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
James Stern
PITCHING AND INVESTMENT
Andy Quintana
SALES AND MARKETING
Alex Rudloff
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Adam Hoffmann
CREATIVE STRATEGY
Roger Baker
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
Aaron Burnett
MARKETING STRATEGY
Ryan Shelley
DIGITAL MARKETING AND SEO
