Createur Conference & Pitch Competition

Steve Beck | Spark Speaker

Session Title: So You Want to be an Entrepreneur? Think Twice!

Bio:  Steve’s an entrepreneur at heart. He’s started a number of companies, including CCS, which grew into the largest action sports retailer in the world before being sold to Foot Locker, and C2B Technologies, the internet’s first product search engine, which was acquired in 1999 by search pioneer Inktomi.

He began his venture capital career in 1999 and was the first investor in Baidu — often called the “Google of China” — where he served as a Director for five years. Over the past 25 years, he’s been involved in more than 100 venture investments and has served on dozens of boards, first as a Partner at Integrity Partners and later as Managing Partner at Serra Ventures, a role he stepped away from in 2025.

Above all, Steve’s deepest desire is to follow Christ closely and live under His guidance as a faithful steward. He’s been married for 41 years and treasures his close relationship with his two children and two grandchildren.

Zack Garrett | Spark Speaker

Bio: Zach Garrett is the Founder & CEO of Liftify, a growing marketing technology platform helping 1,000+ locally focused business’ across North America. Liftify partners with major franchise brands, PE-firms and has been nominated for awards such as Startup of the Year, Supplier of The Year and more. Zach and his wife Katie have 4 young kids and live in the Indianapolis area. They are passionate about family, faith and cheering on the Purdue Boilermakers.

Barton Garvin | Spark Speaker

Session Title: Run Toward Impact: Discover Peace in a life that is bigger than You

Bio: Former Owner of Garvin Industries, a manufacturer of electrical, low voltage and lighting products for the construction industry. During his twenty-five-year tenure at Garvin Industries revenue increased over 30% per year driven by strong demand from major technology companies such as Facebook, Tesla, Google, Netflix, & Amazon. In 2005, Mr. Garvin established Garvin Hangzhou Hardware, an International Manufacturing Operation with offices in Shanghai, Ningbo, & Xaioshan China. After 23 years of consecutive growth, Garvin Industries was acquired by Southwire Inc of Carrolton, Georgia in 2018.

Mr. Garvin currently serves as President of MCC Holdings, a real estate investment company. He and his wife Lisa actively partner with numerous Non-Profits Organizations primarily serving at-risk children and teenagers.

Kurt Heckman | Spark Speaker

Session Title: Artificial Intelligence, Revelations and You

Bio: Kurt Heckman is the President of vCalc. Formerly the President of Sycamore.US and part of the leadership team in the U.S. Department of Energy as a director in the Office of the Secretary. While at DoE, Kurt was the study lead and co-author for the Artificial Intelligence Report to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB). He managed all of DoE’s advisory boards reporting to Secretaries Perry and then Brouillette. He is a mathematician and computer scientist, and has spent his technical career as an aerospace engineer building software to command and control remote sensing satellites.

Daniel Kwak | Spark Speaker

Session Title: How to Scale a Million Dollar Business God’s Way

Bio: Daniel began his entrepreneurship journey at 18 years old while a freshman attending Olivet Nazarene University. He currently has 7 companies in his portfolio, ranging from real estate investments and software to artificial intelligence, financial services and physical products. Two of his companies are on the Inc. 100 fastest-growing companies list for their industries. Above all Daniel loves Jesus, his wife and daughter. Everything else just bores him.

Chris Lesner | Spark Speaker

Session Title: The Leadership Choice: Leading In Today’s New World

Bio: Chris Lesner is the Founder and CEO of PWI Brands. At age 20, he founded Project World Impact, walking away from a multi-million-dollar startup he helped build to pursue a vision of impacting hundreds of millions of people.

Today, PWI helps thousands of organizations grow their reach and collectively raise over $1 billion annually, while also serving growing companies and Fortune 500 brands through marketing and technology.

Chris also hosts the Servant Leadership Podcast, with more than 2 million listeners, featuring Fortune 500 CEOs and other leaders integrating faith and business.

Chris loves Jesus, his family and faithfully pursuing what God places in front of him.

Ty Lewis | Young Entrepreneur Panelist

Bio: CEO of Ty Lewis Speaks, Ty Lewis is a business and Gallup Certified Strengths coach, helping individuals and teams operate in their zone of genius, grow their influence and unlock their full potential. He also shares his expertise in financial literacy and real estate investing, drawing on his background in banking and his own multifamily and single-family investments to mentor others in wealth-building and financial freedom.

Passionate about turning vision into results, Ty blends strategic insight, coaching and motivational speaking to empower others to dream bigger, act boldly and transform possibility into reality.

Tyler Lingle | Young Entrepreneur Panelist

Bio: Tyler Lingle ’17 began his career in the inner-city of Indianapolis, teaching social studies through Teach For America corps. Although he loved the impact public education could provide, he desired to have more of an entrepreneurial impact. In 2021, he dove into investment real estate in Indianapolis, obtaining his real estate broker license. After investing in numerous residential properties, in 2023, he and a partner launched Roots Realty Co. Roots exists to help people plant roots and build wealth in real estate using a personalized, holistic approach to real estate transacting. The company has helped more than 250 families buy, sell or invest in real estate. Ask Tyler about his next project as he partners with his dad, Scott Lingle.

Nicolas Malonga | Young Entrepreneur Panelist

Bio: Nicolas Malonga played basketball throughout his childhood and through hard work and dedication he was able to receive a full ride basketball scholarship to University of North Florida. After graduating college with a master’s degree in business, he started his entrepreneur journey. In 2018, he launched Sniperkicks, a sneaker reselling company. Through more hard work and dedication, he was able to build Sniperkicks to a multi-million-dollar company. Sniperkicks has been able to become a big brand, garnering 700k+ followers throughout social media.

Cameron Mason | Young Entrepreneur Panelist

Bio: Cameron ’15 is a hoosier-based entrepreneur with a career centered on health insurance innovation and redemptive business building. He built Remodel Health with Scott Lingle to transform employee benefits, which eventually became the market-leading ICHRA platform and ultimately exiting in 2024. Currently, he serves as the cofounder and COO of Presidio, America’s first pro-life, Christian health insurance company. Cameron lives in Indianapolis with his wife Laura (D’Angelo) ’17 and their three kids, Mak (5), Mae (3) and Mia (1).

Heather & Mike Mucci | Spark Speakers

Session Title: They See Me Rollin

Bio: Heather ’06 and Mike Mucci ’06 are the owners of Bites and Blessings, a bakery in Terre Haute, Indiana. Both are Olivet alum and the proud parents of four daughters, one of which is a freshman at Olivet. They created Bites and Blessings in 2012 and expanded with their brick and mortar location in 2020. Bites and Blessings is a family owned and operated cookie bakery that specializes in custom decorated sugar cookies. Their goal is to create the perfect personalized treat for every occasion.

Addison Newell | Spark Speaker

Session Title: Find the product. Make it awesome. Get big fast.

Bio: Econ Major to 8th Grade Math Teacher to Missionary in South Africa to Corporate Drudgery to finding purpose and impact through entrepreneurship in residential and commercial real estate. Addison is the founder and CEO of Prevenient, a real estate operations company that focuses on unique commercial buildings throughout Central Indiana that offer coworking, office space, retail space and event venues to niche markets. Through Prevenient, Addison serves as the CEO for communities like Refinery46, Outwork Indy and The Quixote that are flagships for the mission of Prevenient. Alongside his wife, Katrina Newell, they operate Pfunanane Homes, which is their residential real estate venture that focuses on housing great people who don’t look good on paper.

Emily Poff | Young Entrepreneur Panelist

Bio: Emily is the Vice President of Operations at Prolific, an Indianapolis-based growth firm that helps visionary brands scale by integrating consulting, marketing and capital services. She holds an MBA from Butler University, specializing in Human Resources and a BS degree in Political Science from Olivet Nazarene University.

Emily began her career in community-based nonprofit work at United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois Counties and went on to serve as Executive Director of the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce. In her role at Prolific, she leads the firm’s people strategy, championing a culture focused on attracting, developing and retaining high-vision, high-values and high-growth leaders. She also drives operational alignment across the firm’s portfolio companies: JDA, Conquer and Chernoff Newman.

Along with her husband, Michael ’15, and Golden Retriever, Duke, Emily now resides in Fishers, Indiana.

Patrick Reith | Spark Speaker

Session Title: From Animator to Entrepreneur: Growing a Creative Business

Bio: Patrick Rieth is the Owner and Creative Director of Devon House Creative, a team of animators and filmmakers based out of Indianapolis, specializing in motion graphic animations with roots in filmmaking and storytelling. He loves running, biking, cooking and getting way too into FromSoftware games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Patrick lives in downtown Indianapolis with his wife, Morgen, and two kids, Julian and Georgia.

Andrew Shadid | Spark Speaker 

Bio: Andrew Shadid is the CEO of Genesis Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. As a “Modern Healthcare Top 25 Emerging Leader,” Andrew has overseen the growth of Genesis from one clinic to now sixteen clinics across Chicagoland, aiming to ensure that all people (regardless of insurance status, income, or wealth) have access to top orthopedic care in Chicago. Previously, he served as a Summer Analyst with The Africa Group (an Africa-focused VC firm) and an intern at the U.S. Senate. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College and conducted graduate work at the Tuck School of Business’ Bridge Program.

Jeff Williams | Spark Speaker

Session Title: Who are you, and what are you doing here?

Bio: Jeff is a lifelong entrepreneur whose career was built on relationships first and opportunities second. With an instinct for spotting what’s possible and the drive to see it done right, he has helped bring Spry and multiple other companies to life, each growing to local, national and international scale. Equal parts visionary and operator, Jeff balances creative thinking with responsible business practices and a deep commitment to delivering exceptional service and long-term value. He carries that same commitment beyond the office, leading an annual service trip to Costa Rica where the team builds homes for families in need. Known for his adventurous spirit as much as his leadership style, Jeff embraces cowboy hats, surfing and exploration—on land and in business.

George Wolff | Spark Speaker

Session Title: Move Fast and Make Things: How Creative Directors Can Help Entrepreneurs Win

Bio: George Wolff is Creative Director and Co-Founder of 989Group, LLC, a boutique marketing and media firm that has sustained over a decade in business, handling nearly $20 million in creative work annually. With a background in design, music, and theatre, his expertise spans brand strategy, media, and helping organizations tell their stories with exceptional craft.