Peter Mantas

Peter Mantas is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, commercialization strategist, and startup mentor with more than 30 years of experience building and scaling technology-driven businesses. His career spans roles from electrical design engineer to CEO, board member, and business unit executive, providing him with a unique perspective on the challenges of transforming innovative technologies into successful companies.

Throughout his career, Peter has led organizations ranging from early-stage startups to large public technology companies. One of his most notable achievements was creating and leading a disruptive strategic business unit that grew to more than $52 million in annual revenue within five years.

For more than two decades, Peter has been dedicated to helping innovators and entrepreneurs commercialize new technologies. He has mentored over 3,000 startups and spent 19 years mentoring MBA, PhD, and teams through programs at the University of California, Berkeley. Today, he continues mentoring UC teams while serving as a commercialization partner and mentor for startups emerging from the University of Arizona research ecosystem.

Peter is the Founder and CEO of Startup Zones, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on strengthening technology entrepreneurship through community building, mentorship, and the Startup Agoge Accelerator program. He has also served as an industry mentor for local and national NSF I-Corps programs, helping research teams validate markets, conduct customer discovery, and develop commercialization strategies.

Drawing on more than 18 years of experience applying Lean Startup methodologies developed by Steve Blank, Peter helps founders develop customer empathy, validate business models, develop roadmaps, build strong teams, protect intellectual property, create compelling customer stories, and prepare for investment. His industry experience spans biotech, medical devices, biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells, optics, photonics, semiconductors, IoT, SaaS, PaaS, e-commerce, and industrial automation.

Peter's mission is simple: help innovators transform breakthrough ideas into scalable companies that create economic and societal impact.