Staff
Angela Kujava, Managing Director
Angela is responsible for the execution and development of Desai’s business acceleration program, including mentoring and counseling startups and selecting and managing investments. She works closely with the region’s business communities for the benefit of not only the participating startups but also the broader entrepreneurial landscape. Her areas of expertise include storytelling, design thinking, human-centered design, customer discovery, strategic planning, creative leadership, and innovation narratives. Angela earned the Foundations in Creative Leadership, Leading for Creativity, Cultivating Creative Collaboration and Storytelling for Influence certifications from IDEO and previously held the Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Investment Management Analyst certifications. Angela earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Design Methods from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Katia Kassof, Program Manager
Katia Kassof supports the execution and development of the Desai Accelerator program, including managing the elite student internship program. She serves as project manager for work submitted by participant startups that is executed by internal and external multidisciplinary teams. Prior to joining Desai, Katia worked as a Program Coordinator at the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies where she managed the Dare to Dream Grant program for student startups and coordinated additional student programs that fostered innovation and entrepreneurship. Katia earned an MBA from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Michigan State University, with minors in Bioethics and Health Promotion.
Satish Malnaik, Entrepreneur in Residence
Satish Malnaik is a technology and venture creation enthusiast driven by a passion for innovation. He is CEO and co-founder of NextServices, leading a global team delivering a cloud health technology platform and knowledge-based revenue cycle services. Satish is also a co-founder at Fantelope, a collaboration marketplace for personalities, designers and charities.
Rob Streeter, Entrepreneur in Residence
Rob Streeter is an accomplished Head of Product with a proven track record of delivering groundbreaking solutions in retail media, marketplace, analytics, and technology integration. He has over 17 years of experience in product management at both startups and enterprises, working with leading brands, retailers, and platforms across the globe. Known for his entrepreneurial spirit, hacker mindset, and hands-on approach, Rob has led product launches and enabled successful exits to industry giants Google and Criteo and served in product management at Amazon for more than four years.
Kim Gamez, Entrepreneur in Residence (2020-2023)
For the past seventeen years, Kim has founded businesses in both the US and Mexico. Most recently, she was featured in Forbes, The Today Show, and has been dubbed Tech Start Up Darling with her latest endeavor, Mi Padrino. Kim is the founder of Mi Padrino, an event-planning, crowd-gifting platform for Hispanic families all across the US and Mexico. With over 1 million users in the past year, Mi Padrino makes it easy for families to plan weddings, quinceañeras, and more with ease, online. Kim is proud to be representing women entrepreneurs and serving the largest growing demographic in the United States.
Michael Godwin, Entrepreneur in Residence (2017-2019)
Michael has worked with venture-0backed startups since 1996 and has been a venture capitalist since 2008. He founded Resonant in 2010 and led Resonant Fund I through over 50 investments in 14 portfolio companies. He currently serves on the board of directors of Accio Energy and Filament. Prior to founding Resonant, Michael worked with Menlo Innovations to help develop the first production release of Accuri Cytometer’s C6 Flow Cytometer. Before Menlo, Michael built the royalty allocation system for the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, acquired in 2009 by Sony Music Entertainment. Prior to IODA, Michael worked in the San Francisco Bay Area as a software engineer with Zengine, WebCrawler and Excite, Inc. which was acquired by AT&T for $6.7B.
Michael also has served on several nonprofit boards in the Ann Arbor area including the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Amateur Hockey Association and Moo Duk Martial Arts Institute. Michael earned a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music and an MBA from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
