Garrett Gilbertson
Garrett Gilbertson is an entrepreneur, venture partner, Afghan War veteran, and former USAF Captain. He has cross-functional leadership experience running business development, finance, and product teams in aerospace and defense, consumer products, cybersecurity, and fin-tech. During his Air Force career, Garrett served as a procurement contracting officer and was responsible for negotiating, awarding, or administering $2.4 billion in government contracts (primarily space systems). Garrett received his B.Sc. in Management from the United States Air Force Academy (Honors) and M.Sc. in Entrepreneurship from Pepperdine University where he was recognized in 2013 as the Outstanding Student in Entrepreneurship from the Graziadio School of Business and Management. While serving in Afghanistan he was responsible for 439 construction contracts totaling $224M. He was recognized by Brigadier General Blake as the Outstanding Contracting Flight Chief and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Garrett is a partner of Caltech's Computer and Mathematical Science Department through Serenify, a startup he founded. He also led product development for an enterprise software company, Visual Technology, in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University's Masters of Human Computer Interaction program. Currently, Garrett works with Tech Coast Angels ACE Fund, BLD Ventures, and as the founder of Startup Mavericks where he advises and invests in early stage tech companies. He currently works with: a passwordless authentication solution, a gamified credit improvement and lending app, a portable cybersecurity solution, and a mindfulness platform. Garrett’s greatest strength is his ability to turn complex problems into actionable steps that drive growth. He volunteers his time by mentoring at Stubbs Alderton Markiles Pre- accelerator Program and is passionate about helping startups succeed. He is currently looking for opportunities to invest in social entrepreneurship.