Why ‘Manos’

When deciding on a name for the accelerator, the founders did not want something catchy yet culturally insignificant. They wanted a name that identified Latinos as a proud ethnic group that desired and achieved upward mobility. Latino workers and aspiring entrepreneurs do not want to be stereotyped as only taking food service, agricultural, manufacturing, construction, and other blue-collar jobs.

The founders wanted a name to show the world that Latinos and emerging founders are more than just a pair of “hands” (manos), and capable of so much more. As a result, the name Manos was selected as a motivation for all of the accelerator participants to never forget the hard work and challenges that other all diverse founders have had before them.

Managing Team

Sylvia Flores, CEO

Sylvia Flores is an award-winning entrepreneur and engineer with years of experience. She founded several startup companies and is knowledgeable of the U.S. Hispanic market. In 2003, she worked with the former President of Mexico Vicente Fox to establish a technology incubator for Mexican entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Prior to her career in startups, Sylvia held various engineering positions at IBM.

She has also served as the Regional National Vice President for the Society of the Hispanic Professional Engineers. She was awarded the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in 2003 from Latino Style Magazine. She earned a Chemical Engineering degree from San Jose State University. She runs Managos Accelerator and is also a Managing Director for Manos Capital.

Jessica Vaitiare Chin Foo, Manos VP of Investments

Jessica is a distinguished leader known for her strategic expertise in ecosystem innovation, branding, and marketing within the Oceania and African markets. At KiwiTech, she spearheaded investment initiatives, investing in 34 startups, scouting over 1200+ startups, and engaging with over 1500+ investors. Her commitment to diversity was exemplified during her tenure at StartOut. Jessica also played a crucial role at the Tech4Island – ClimateTech Global Summit and advised the French Polynesian Minister of Energy on renewable energy investments, showcasing her influence in Oceania. She serves as the VP of Investments for Manos Accelerator, heads her own advisory firm Gauguine, and is a Managing Director for Manos Capital.

Juan Felipe Campos, Manos VP of Technology/Partner

Juan Felipe Campos serves as Partner and VP of Technology at Google Launchpad’s Manos Accelerator.

He has graduated his company NomadApp from the largest accelerator in the world,Plug and Play, and the Go SiliconValley program. He grew his startup’s community to over 70,000 people and consults VC-funded startups on growth strategies. Additionally, Juan helps run the largest digital marketing community in Silicon Valley with over 18,000 members.

He serves on the board of directors of green construction tech company Greenovate Construction. His companies have been featured in major publications including Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Inc. Magazine, and Forbes.

Eva Christine Reder, Program Manager for Manos Online Accelerator

Eva Christine Reder is an expert in marketing and startup growth-hacking with experience from working with multiple startups in Europe, the US, Latin America, and South-East-Asia. She has worked with fintech startup Holvi (exit: BBVA), the Human Rights Commission of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the Austrian Trade Commission in Bogota, and is now the co-founder of travel tech startup NomadApp.co (Plug&Play accelerator alumni).

She has helped fintech startup Holvi enter the Austrian market, grown her own startup to over 70,000 people in the community through her growth tactics, and is now a partner in growth agency GrowthMasters.io, where she consults startup founders in the field of customer acquisition. She has a degree in Business from one of the leading international programs in Austria (IMC Krems) and UP Universidad Panamericana (Guadalajara, Mexico). Originally from Austria, Eva is fluent in German, English, and Spanish.

She is a guest writer for Entrepreneur, Foundr Magazine, and a top entrepreneurship writer on Quora.com. Eva serves as a Program Manager for Manos Online Accelerator.

Manos Partners

Donna Griffit, Manos Partner

Corporate Storyteller, has worked globally for over a decade with Fortune 500 companies, Start-Ups and investors in a wide variety of industries. She has consulted and trained clients in over 30 countries, helping them create, edit and deliver verbal and written presentations, pitches and messages.  Donna has the ability to magically spin raw data into compelling stories that captivate audiences and drive to results.  Through her guidance clients have raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Donna is Co-Founder and CEO of www.invisu.me  – a tool that helps startups create their pitch to investors and get the meetings they want!

Lamia Aamou, Manos Partner – Africa

Lamia is a distinguished leader, renowned for her strategic expertise in technological innovation and product development, with vast experience spanning African and European markets. At RATP Group, she led the innovation lab across 14 countries, focusing on smart city solutions, and deployed $8M from their corporate fund to drive 8 industrial projects. Lamia played a pivotal role in bringing together mobility experts, industry leaders, and startups to collaborate on forward-looking innovations. Additionally, she has advised 22 startups, guiding them from product R&D through to commercialization and industrialization.

Her academic qualifications include a Certification in Technology Innovation Management from École Polytechnique Paris, showcasing her capacity to lead and scale impactful technological initiatives. She heads her own agency Easy Show Morocco who is partner with Manos Accelerator to offer their services to the African region.

Manos Interns

Ever since our foundation Manos has been supported by a diverse group of interns from some of the leading educational institutions in the country.