Marcus Laun 

President, CEO, Head Honcho

With over 15 years in finance he is the brains behind the operation with the rolodex to back it up. He is known in the finance community as a straight shooter, trustworthy and a visionary leader. He created Growth Circle  as a solution to what he saw as a disconnect between investors and the face-to-face meetings necessary to really get a feel for a company and it’s trajectory. Having raised millions of dollars for various companies he understood the value seeing a CEO speak brings to an investor.  The need for a better way for traders, brokers and other financial-based individuals to understand company profiles more quickly is why Marcus created Growth Circle.

Evangelo Bousis

Advisory Board

Evangelo Bousis graduated from Parsons School of Design with a Bachelors degree in Design Management. Since graduating, Evangelo merged his modeling career into the film industry as an actor and producer. For the past five years, he has been involved in various film productions in Los Angeles and New York, furthering his knowledge in feature development and marketing. Evangelo is also a managing partner in a private technology fund, Hornet Ventures, which invests in technology start-ups and small businesses, providing seed money, marketing strategy, and networking capabilities. Evangelo resides in New York and Los Angeles.

Jessica Baker 

Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Baker fuels her business ventures with expertise gained from nine years of experience in finance, business analysis, client management and research. Previously specializing in business intelligence projects, she is driven to unleash the power of technology to help individuals connect with the insight and the people who will help them thrive. Ms. Baker has worked extensively in the information services and finance industries in New York City, through which she has built strong capabilities in organization development and project management.

Jessica graduated summa cum laude with a M.B.A. in Finance and a B.S. in biology from the University of Texas.

Eugene R. Souther

Advisory Board

Gene’s career has spanned the gamut of financial, technology, legal and media industries.  With extensive experience in sales and strategic planning as well as product development and corporate development, he has helped grow a number of startup technology businesses.  Most recently he joined ThriveMetrics as Chief Executive Officer in November 2014.  Prior to that, Mr.Souther served as Senior Vice President for Morningstar Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research.  Prior to Morningstar, he served, in New York and London, as Senior Vice President of Client Development with S&P Capital IQ where he was responsible for setting up Capital IQ’s commercial operations and leading sales across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  Before joining Capital IQ, Eugene Souther worked to develop new markets and define new businesses for firms including start-ups and the Wall Street bulge bracket.  Mr. Souther graduated with a B.A. from Lehigh University and earned an M.B.A., with honors, from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration.

Franz Moncada

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Moncada brings to Growth Circle 20 years working with public, private & start-up companies; extensive Wall Street experience in M&A, PE/VC and public & private offerings; plus work with hedge funds. Prior work  with start-ups include being Founder & VP Finance at Savue fka Phone Through, serving as President as Creative Capital Enterprises, President at MMMedia, and working with Unveil Games; Asanamed; and others. Previous hedge fund work includes consulting for Blue Mountain, Oakdale Capital, Merchant Intercapital, and Orbus Funds.  Previous Wall Street experience entails being Director M&A at UBS, M&A at DLJ, Oppenhiemer on Latin America PE, and at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in M&A. Franz graduated from Washington University in St. Louis.

Douglas Hertweck

Advisory Board

Results centered with 20 years involvement in Financial Services specifically Wealth Management Mr. Hertweck offers his counsel to Growth Circle. Having worked with high net worth families, individuals and Corporate Executives he brings a unique ability to simplify complex issues and an understanding of client needs.  He responds to difficulties with certainty and centering as many of the individuals he has helped can attest to. In a nutshell, Douglas is the go-to guy when looking for solutions, ideas or just to listen.