“If companies expect to be sustainable, profitable, and efficient going forward, they must build ever-changing and fluid systems that are made up of “intrapreneurship,” meaning that all members of the organization understand their role and act with a confident sense of free agency within the mission and culture of the company, always aware that change is a constant in a 21st century marketplace.”
– Gary Conroy, founder & CEO of The Startup Studio
Meet Our
Startup Studio Team
Gary
Conroy
Founder & CEO
Gary is a serial entrepreneur, educator, and business consultant. He is the Founder and CEO of The Startup Studio LLC, a global education services company whose mission is to bring about real and sustainable change to education.
Anastasia
Hall
Director of Education
As the Director of Education for The Startup Studio, Anastasia focuses on creating opportunities for students to take advantage of as they gain confidence in who they are. She helps teachers transform into mentors who guide rather than instruct. With both students and teachers engaged in finding and communicating their value, she believes this new classroom will see real outcomes in education.
Joe
Gitto
Director of Finance & Strategic Planning
Joseph Gitto has more than 25 years of success in various industries. Leveraging extensive experience in finance, sales, marketing, and operations, Joe is an expert in raising capital, developing sales and marketing strategies, business and strategic planning, developing financial controls, reporting and oversight as well as leadership team development.
Gary Conroy
Founder & CEO
Gary is a serial entrepreneur, educator, and business consultant. He is the Founder and CEO of The Startup Studio LLC, a global education services company whose mission is to bring about real and sustainable change to education.
Anastasia Hall
Director of Education
As the Director of Education for The Startup Studio, Anastasia focuses on creating opportunities for students to take advantage of as they gain confidence in who they are. She helps teachers transform into mentors who guide rather than instruct. With both students and teachers engaged in finding and communicating their value, she believes this new classroom will see real outcomes in education.
Ridvan Aliu
Director of Technology
Ridvan worked as a software engineer for giant corporations such as Disney, Microsoft, and Amazon, until he founded his own software consulting firm in 2010 called Real Visualz LLC (realvisualz.com). This was following in 2012, by founding EDUonGo, a learning management system, and Kiwi in 2017, which serves quick service restaurants such as El Pollo Loco and TGI Fridays, among others.
Today, he partners with The Startup Studio in developing the Learn to Start e-learning platform.
Joe
Gitto
Director of Finance & Strategic Planning
Joseph Gitto has more than 25 years of success in various industries. Leveraging extensive experience in finance, sales, marketing, and operations, Joe is an expert in raising capital, developing sales and marketing strategies, business and strategic planning, developing financial controls, reporting and oversight as well as leadership team development.
Amanda Youngblood
Director of Marketing & Brand Management
Amanda started her career in education and edtech, and early on developed a love of WordPress design, eventually launching her own business doing freelance web design, graphics work, and GSuite training for educators and professionals.
In addition to appling her passion for branding and design to The Startup Studio’s brand, marketing, communications, and events, she also serves as a Learn to Start Instructor, helping to further the company’s mission of disrupting education and transforming student lives.
Louis Richner
Director of Media Production
Louis is an entrepreneur and content creation specialist, who produces audio and video material for the education, commercial, and music industries, including the Telly Award-Winning Domino’s Pizza “Cheesy Wedding” commercial.
With 15 years of experience in the production field, Louis brings not only knowledge in the techniques used to create quality content, but also brand-conscious creative decisions, personal perspective and a positive, caring atmosphere to The Startup Studio.
Amanda
Youngblood
Director of Marketing & Brand Management
Amanda started her career in education and edtech, and early on developed a love of WordPress design, eventually launching her own business doing freelance web design, graphics work, and GSuite training for educators and professionals.
In addition to appling her passion for branding and design to The Startup Studio’s brand, marketing, communications, and events, she also serves as a Learn to Start Instructor, helping to further the company’s mission of disrupting education and transforming student lives.
Louis
Richner
Director of Media Production
Louis is an entrepreneur and content creation specialist, who produces audio and video material for the education, commercial, and music industries, including the Telly Award-Winning Domino’s Pizza “Cheesy Wedding” commercial.
With 15 years of experience in the production field, Louis brings not only knowledge in the techniques used to create quality content, but also brand-conscious creative decisions, personal perspective and a positive, caring atmosphere to The Startup Studio.
Ridvan
Aliu
Director of Technology
Ridvan worked as a software engineer for giant corporations such as Disney, Microsoft, and Amazon, until he founded his own software consulting firm in 2010 called Real Visualz LLC (realvisualz.com). This was following in 2012, by founding EDUonGo, a learning management system, and Kiwi in 2017, which serves quick service restaurants such as El Pollo Loco and TGI Fridays, among others.
Today, he partners with The Startup Studio in developing the Learn to Start e-learning platform.
Linh
Nguyen
Director of Operations - SE Asia
Linh is a communicator who is cutting across languages and cultures. Having worked as a Business Development Consultant for Japanese and US enterprises for over 10 years, she has helped foreign companies with business license registration, business matching, and building bridges between Vietnamese and foreign enterprises so that they can earn the most potential business opportunities.
Linh is passionate about connecting organizations in SE Asia with The Startup Studio’s Learn to Start Program because she knows first-hand the power it has to be the solution they’re looking for.
Jeremy
Hall
Director of Wellness
Jeremy Hall has been in the education field for 18 years where he has found his passion in working with high school students in the wide field of the Humanities.
Jeremy’s student-centered approach to teaching and learning encourages the development of self-awareness in an environment of mutual trust and vulnerability. He joins The Startup Studio as our Story in Motion® podcast host.
Legjenda
Shabani
Platform Project Manager
Legjenda Shabani is a project manager at Kiwi, assisting in the definition of project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility. She performs risk management to minimize project risks, as well as meeting with clients to clarify specific requirements of each project.
Currently, Legjenda is partnering with The Startup Studio as the project manager for the Learn to Start e-learning platform.
Ryan
King
AWS Cloud Manager
Ryan is an entrepreneur, salesman, and an AWS cloud solutions architect, who started out as a student in one of the very first Learn to Start classrooms where he launched his first company in the program and found his passion for turning ideas into a reality using technology. Ryan studied business management and entrepreneurship at the University of Florida with a specialization in cloud architecture. He hopes that by working with Learn to Start he can help inspire a young generation of entrepreneurs.
Meet Our
Startup Studio Team
Gary
Conroy
Founder & CEO of The Startup Studio
Anastasia
Hall
Director of Education
Joseph
Gitto
Director of Finance & Strategic Planning
Louis
Richner
Head of Media Creation
Ridvan
Aliu
Director of Technology
Linh
Nguyen
Director of Operations SE Asia
Jeremy
Hall
Director of Wellness
Legjenda
Shabani
Platform Project Manager
Ryan
King
AWS Cloud Manager
Karin
Hoffman
Government Relations
Leslie
Williams
Director of Diversity & Inclusion