Melani Gordon, Partner at Evolution, is a serial entrepreneur and business coach who has dedicated the last decade to mentoring and coaching over 200 startup founders via Techstars and Founders First Capital. As a coach, Melani works with ambitious startup founders and their teams, offering a range of services including CEO coaching, co-founder alignment, team off-sites, peer groups, and sales training programs. Melani works closely with entrepreneurs seeking to thrive not only in business, but also emotionally, psychologically, and physically. She’s also well known for her SaaS Sales Academy.
As the past CEO of TapHunter, Melani grew the company from an innovative two-person startup into a leading player in management and marketing software for bars, restaurants, and other local businesses. Their tools have helped 5,000+ organizations, including Lagunitas Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Stone Brewing. TapHunter was acquired in late 2022. Prior to that she led a successful marketing firm with clients such as Lucky Brand and held senior roles at various startups and high-tech companies.
In addition to her business experience, Melani holds a degree from San Diego State University and is a limited partner at Interlock Capital. She is also a founding member of San Diego Startup Week, a board member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and a volunteer adaptive snowboard instructor at Achieve Tahoe.
She is AIARE 1 Avalanche Certified and enjoys being in the backcountry mountain biking and snowboarding in the Sierra Nevadas. Melani lives with her husband Flash and rescue pup Charlie in Reno, Nevada.