John Schmidt is a product and technology executive turned founder coach who has spent more than 25 years building and scaling companies across fintech, e-commerce, and telecom. He has founded and co-founded several high-tech startups and has led major product and technology transformations at industry scale, most notably driving cloud, data, and AI/ML initiatives at Capital One.

John came to Tech Launch Arizona because he believes the best help you can give a founder is showing up with real experience, genuine connections, and no agenda other than their success. As Mentor-in-Residence, he works directly with UA-affiliated startups on investor readiness, helping teams navigate the gap between a compelling idea and a closed round. He also supports the Wildcat Philanthropic Seed Fund and instructs in the Desert and Pacific I-Corps Hub.

A member of Arizona Tech Investors and an active participant in the Southern Arizona investor ecosystem, John brings a network of relationships across angel, seed, and venture that he puts to work for founders when the fit is right. 

John holds a deep appreciation for the chaos and trade-offs of early-stage company building, because he has lived them. He is based in Tucson.