Mark Buffington is the founder of BIP Capital and the Managing Partner of BIP Ventures. Since founding BIP Capital in 2006, Mark has led the venture capital firm to its position as one of the most active and recognized brands outside of Silicon Valley.

Mark has led investment rounds in more than 80 companies in numerous industries (Healthcare, Digital Media, Ed Tech, Enterprise SaaS, FinTech, and Advanced Computing). Notable investments include Vendormate, Ingenious Med, QA Symphony/Tricentis, PlayOn! Sports, Huddle Tickets, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Cypress.io, ConnexPay, REACH Health, Trella Health, Shareholder InSite and Aspirion Health Resources.

Mark earned an MBA from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and a B.S. from the Georgia Institute of Technology (where he lettered as a varsity baseball player).

Mark serves on the board of directors of several companies, including the NFHS Network, AchieveIt, Trella Health, PlayOn! Sports, UserIQ and ConnexPay. He also serves on several nonprofit boards, including Buckhead Coalition, Inc. and the Georgia Tech College of Computing.

John D. Cooper is Vice President of Venture Investments for Wellstar Health System and Head of Venture Investment for Catalyst By Wellstar. In his current position, he oversees the healthcare innovation investing efforts for both Wellstar and Catalyst by Wellstar. Prior to joining Wellstar, he was a Vice President of Finance for Novant Health. His primary responsibilities included the management of Novant Health Ventures as well as executing debt capital markets transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. He focused on strategic investing through the allocation of capital to healthcare focused venture capital, growth equity and middle market buyout fund, and direct investments in Series A through growth equity stage companies.

Rich is a Partner at Knoll Ventures, an Atlanta-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in pre-Series A technology businesses focused on B2B markets. He has been active in the southeastern technology ecosystem for more than 10 years and is currently involved with investments in Belongly, Brightwell, ConverseNow, Daupler, Fetch Trucks, Freede, Lendflow, Repvue, and VoApps, amongst others. In addition, Rich serves in leadership and mentorship positions with multiple local technology organizations.

Ryan Whittemore is a Partner and the Chief Investment Officer for Florida Funders, a hybrid Venture Capital Fund, and a 1900-member accredited investor network focused on early-stage seed to Series A stage tech in Florida and beyond. Ryan oversees a team reviewing 2,000+ deals per year across 4 managed funds, and the due diligence process that leads to approximately 20 investments per year. Ryan also sits on the Florida Funders Investment Committee and serves as its Co-Chairman, having led Florida Funder’s investment in 75+ companies. Ryan leverages a diverse 22-year career in venture, private equity, legal corporate counsel, corporate operations, capital market portfolio management, and research analysis to identify the best tech investment opportunities for Florida Funders.

Ryan is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Finance as well as an MBA, and a Juris Doctor from Stetson College of Law, and is a licensed attorney in Florida. Ryan outkicked his coverage with his amazing wife Ashley, and loves spending his time with his little girl Finley and son Kohl! When not changing diapers, Ryan is an avid fisherman and spearfisherman, paddleboarder, and golfer. Ryan also
has given his time as a board member of Venture Atlanta, a board member at the Florida Poly University Foundation, a past board member of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, and co-founded the 1Voice Foundation for Childrens Cancer.