Our Team

Antoine has worked intimately with early-stage companies as an operator, consultant, and advisor. He works hands-on with our portfolio companies in the areas of operational scale, customer acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue strategy.

Antoine is a 3x founder and understands the nuances of raising capital as a founder and uses this experience to connect with current and potential portfolio companies. Prior to founding Vertical404, Antoine operated a branding consultancy where he led brand positioning & growth strategy implementation — and previously worked as a software developer.

A Nashville native, Antoine holds a B.A in Computer Information Systems from Middle Tennessee State University and lives in the Metro Atlanta area with his wife and two children.

Avoilan has spent his career as an operator and sales leader, building and developing high-performing sales teams for high-end retail and enterprise software companies. He works hands-on with our portfolio in the areas of SaaS sales metrics, prospecting, qualifying, presenting, and closing sales leads.

Prior to joining Vertical404, Avoilan has held Director of Sales & Director of Partnership roles at several companies and specializes in coaching, building, and training sales teams.

An Atlanta native, Avoilan holds a B.S. in Sports Management from Guilford College (NC) and lives in the Metro Atlanta area with his wife and three children.

Blanca has spent her career building startup ecosystems and entrepreneurial programming within multicultural communities throughout the U.S.

As our Chief Program Officer, Blanca leads the development and implementation of our in-house Founder Access programming — and provides advisory support and coaching to Vertical404 portfolio companies.

Prior to Vertical404, Blanca developed and led programming for nationally recognized organizations such as digitalundivided’s award-winning BIG Incubator, Walker’s Legacy PROSPECTUS Latina Accelerator, and Goodie Nation’s Intentionally Good — all of which focus on the advancement of Black, Latinx, and Women-led tech companies.

Blanca holds a B.S in Psychology from Eckerd College and lives in the Metro Atlanta area with her husband and two children.

Derrick has a 25+ year career in finance and investment banking and specializes in advisory and capital procurement.

He began his investment banking career at UBS Securities as an industry and product generalist and has executed transactions in the business services, distribution, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, restaurant and hospitality and technology industries.

Since 2013, Derrick has focused specifically on early-stage startups and currently provides CFO and advisory services to assist entrepreneurs and management teams in addressing financial challenges to its business and strategic direction.

Derrick holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is licensed by FINRA and has also served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer in Finance and Entrepreneurship.