Co-Founder, CEO

Second time founder with over two decades at the intersection of applied math, AI, software engineering, and innovation, including leadership roles in R&D and AI/ML product development at ING, ICE, Mckesson, and most recently as the Product and Engineering executive at Rebellion Defense. He is the co-founder of a clean tech company focused on recycling and sustainability. He has authored multiple patents for systems applying mathematics and statistics and helped shape electronic options markets at ICE/NYSE.

Co-Founder, COO

John is the former CEO/Co-founder of Wisconsin-based Cultured Decadence—a cultivated seafood company acquired by Upside Foodsin 2022. Before working in the cultivated meat industry, John served as an Army officer for four years and spent three years in China working for Edelman and FTI Consulting in various operations and business advisory roles. He has spent over 15 years in consulting, finance and startups in New York, California, China and Wisconsin. John is passionate about promoting the Wisconsin startup ecosystem, is an alum of gener8tor’s flagship accelerator and numerous WEDC/CTC startup programs, and currently volunteers with MERLIN Mentorsand UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation. John is an Entrepreneur in Residence at TitletownTech, a leading Wisconsin-based early stage venture capital firm, where he met Stephen and they joined forces to bring Vadar Alpha to life. He is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee (BA) and NYU-Stern (MBA).

Co-Founder, Head of Client Services

Over fifteen years turning innovative ideas into hardened software products. He spent 9+ years at fintech leader ICE/NYSE where he led the execution of the global R&D portfolio, after which he joined FIS to spearhead customer success and change management for the Capital Markets vertical. Most recently he joined consumer data analytics startup HundredX where he built out the team accountable for enterprise software development and professional services.

Co-Founder, Head of Engineering

A software engineer and innovator with over a decade of experience designing production-grade distributed systems and leading lean, agile development across industries. He scaled a real-estate evaluation platform from 10 to 600+ B2B clients and grew an airport software business from 1 to 40 clients in 2.5 years, supporting hundreds of thousands of users and tens of millions of data points. A methodical problem-solver, Jason isolates variables and tests hypotheses to deliver reliable, user-centric solutions, and his design-driven creativity has produced interactive software installations showcased in art shows. He partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on AI-in-education research and volunteered with Microsoft’s TEALS program teaching computer science to rural high schools. Born outside Orlando and raised on a Wisconsin farm, wrenching diesel semis and climbing radio towers, his blue-collar grit and inventive curiosity fuel every project.

Head of Product

A seasoned product leader with over 25 years of experience in retail and technology, specializing in digital transformation across buying, planning, operations, and e-commerce. He has led the creation of AI-powered tools that have transformed how retailers manage product assortments, optimize store layouts, and deliver personalized digital content at scale. With a proven ability to take ideas from concept to launch, Ben has successfully delivered multiple end-to-end platform solutions that streamlined operations, improved speed-to-market, and drove significant sales growth.