Rev: Ithaca Startup Works recently welcomed Ben Boyd and John Tauzel as the two newest members to join the ranks mentoring startup founders as Entrepreneurs in Residence. These mentors utilize their wealth of knowledge and personal experience to work one-on-one with Rev member companies, offering advice and guidance through the stages of business development.
Ben Boyd
Ben Boyd, currently Vice President of Product & Engineering at Rev member company Exotanium, draws on his experience in the software and technology sectors when advising startups. Prior to joining Exotanium, Boyd served as the Chief Technology Officer of USATestprep, where he was brought on post-acquisition to build the R&D team and meet investors’ technology goals for millions of students nationwide. He also served as the CTO of Avaaz.org, a global online platform for mission-driven social campaigning with over 50 million members worldwide.
Boyd began his career as a software developer, working on environmentally-focused and other web properties for Discovery, Inc., in addition to developing and launching the first mobile apps for networks like Discovery, TLC, and Animal Planet. He has led globally-distributed R&D teams across multiple industries, providing highly-available software and applications to millions of users across the world. Boyd holds undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Computer Science from the University of Georgia.
John Tauzel
John Tauzel offers his passion and expertise in the agricultural and natural resource spaces to his mentees at Rev. With experience in design thinking and BizOps, his specialty is in customer empathy and understanding successful B2B product adoption.
Most recently, Tauzel worked at Dairy One, where he led operations and growth of the largest FDA-regulated commercial milk laboratory in North America. The role included digital product development, research commercialization, and mentorship of various AgTech start-ups. His prior experiences include working at Ithaca area start–ups in animal health and clean-tech spaces. Tauzel’s career started as a lobbyist for New York State farmers, with a portfolio that included land-use, energy, water quality, taxation, and transportation issues.
A part-time farmer, John grew up on his family’s farm in Schenevus, NY. Over the past few years, he has been a key member of restructuring the business to a mixed-enterprise, valued-added model. He holds both a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.B.A from Cornell University. An avid rower, he often spends mornings on the Cayuga Inlet in his rowing shell.
In addition to gaining access to all Entrepreneurs in Residence, Rev member companies are matched one-on-one with a mentor who has the experience and expertise to guide them through the next stages of growth. Entrepreneurs in Residence also make valuable connections between founders and investors, partners, and other resources. To meet the rest of Rev’s Entrepreneurs in Residence, visit the “Mentors and Team” page.