Ed Teixeira has 40 years of experience in the franchise industry including the retail, manufacturing, home health care, medical staffing industries. He has done franchising in Asia, Europe, and South America. He has a Masters Degree in Economics and is a member of the Advisory Board at Pace University Lubin School of Business and Industry Partner with Stony Brook University.

Richard Chan is Associate Professor in the College of Business and has founded the Center of Entrepreneurial Finance at Stony Brook University, USA. His research situates at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship. Specifically, he investigates how entrepreneurs finance their ventures using emerging platforms, such as crowdfunding and blockchain-based cryptocurrency. His work has appeared in leading entrepreneurship journals.