Dan Schmitt
Dan Schmitt is co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of AAQ and the founder of The Incubation Factory (“TIF”). By 1998, AAQ had become the 156th fastest growing company in the United States on Inc. Magazine’s Top 500 list. In 1997, Dan co-founded Advanced Business Fulfillment (ABF), which applies document processing solutions to the healthcare industry. In 2003, ABF had become the 23rd fastest growing company on the Inc. 500 list and #1 in Missouri, and it was sold to WebMD for $260 million in that same year.
Dan was the mastermind of the AAQ and ABF business models and the architect of a methodology for creating new business initiatives. In 2005, he combined his expertise in business development, administration, finance, and marketing to create The Incubation Factory – a privately funded Economic Development Platform. Dan’s primary roles as CEO are setting company strategy and vision, creating company culture, and supporting the TIF executive team. Dan participates in the evaluation and selection of all portfolio companies and takes an active role in strategic consulting and business model development of each incubated company. He is an investor in all of TIF’s incubated companies. Dan earned a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Northern Iowa in 1989. He resides in Naples, FL with his wife, Jen, and their two children.
Andy Wolter
Andy Wolter is the Executive Vice President of Operations of both AAQ and TIF. Andy’s career began when he served in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Program as a commissioned officer from 1990-1997. From there, he joined GE Appliances as an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer and was promoted to Master Black Belt in GE’s Six Sigma Quality organization. In 2001, he joined GE Capital as an Operations Manager for Vendor Financial Services. Andy left GE in 2003 to join AAQ and has helped shape TIF since its inception.
Andy’s roles as the COO include managing the infrastructure and operations of TIF while providing operational support to all companies under the TIF umbrella. Andy actively participates in the development of each new company’s infrastructure, creation of core processes, and continued monitoring of operational metrics. He also assists in reviewing new deal flow and conducting final diligence on all targeted opportunities. Andy completed a degree in engineering at Iowa State University, and received his M.B.A with honors from the College of William & Mary. He lives in Marion, IA with his wife, Cassidee, and their sons, Joseph, Jacob and Andrew.
Cindy Schmitt
Cindy Schmitt is the Executive Vice President of Back Office Services for both AAQ and TIF. Cindy’s career began when she was hired by General Motors Acceptance Corporation where she remained for nine years, eventually reaching the position of Vice President of Bank Relations. Cindy also served as Asst. Vice President of Cash Management with Norwest Corporation as well as Vice President of Cash Management for G. E. Capital.
Cindy directs the operations of all TIF back office functions, including accounting, legal and human resources. Cindy is also responsible for compliance and regulatory activities for TIF and all portfolio companies. Cindy received a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa in 1983. Cindy is actively involved in community affairs, routinely volunteering her time and talent to various organizations. She resides with her family in St. Louis, MO.
Angela O’Connor
Angela O’Connor heads up strategic relationships for TIF. Angela has successfully initiated start-up companies in Healthcare, International Supply Sourcing & Logistics. She developed and implemented business and operational strategies, including management of foreign organizations, operations, finance, production and distribution. She brings over twenty years of business and entrepreneurial experience with extensive experience in sales, sales management, international supply chain management, partner acquisition, international logistics, establishment of manufacturing processes and all facets of international facility establishment. Most recently, she co-founded and built the largest packaging manufacturing facility of its kind in the western hemisphere, located in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Angela O’Connor graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Business and Political Science from Birmingham Southern College in 1988. Since 1997, Angela has been a resident of Colorado, where she resides with her family in Denver’s Governor’s Park District.
John O’Callaghan
John is Vice President of Investor Relations for TIF. John comes to the firm with 18 years of experience in the Investment community, having spent time with such firms as State Street Global Advisors, Concordia Capital, and Pillar Financial. At the Incubation Factory, John’s role is to interact with the firm’s capital partners. John has an MBA from Boston College and a BA from Tufts University. He resides just outside Boston, MA with his family.
Tim Weber
Tim Weber is the Chief Marketing Officer for The Incubation Factory. Weber’s career includes significant and diverse experience in founding and operating early stage companies in areas ranging from live concert promotion to business consulting to publishing. He has a fierce love for team-building at all levels, and has supported entrepreneurship for the better part of two decades.
In addition to his involvement with TIF, Weber is currently a partner in The Newsmagazine Network, a 125,000 circulation newspaper group in suburban St. Louis, and the managing partner of The Old Rock House, the premiere concert venue in downtown St. Louis. Weber has served on the board of several local charities, and helped to found an organization named Shop HERE which promoted the activities of locally-owned businesses. He lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife, Shannon, and their daughter Stella.
Michael Lucca
Michael Lucca is a Principal within The Incubation Factory. Mike is an experienced technology industry executive and has held various senior management roles in engineering, marketing and business development for start-up organizations as well as Fortune 500 companies, including; Hewlett-Packard, Unisys and Bluestone Software Mike has developed market positioning plans for various technology segments including machine-to-machine middleware, utility computing and mobile/wireless. This has included market analysis/segmentation, partner and acquisition strategy, contract negotiation and deal structuring and go-to-market plans. Prior to The Incubation Factory, Mike was the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for a digital wireless service provider. Mike was a Venture Partner at an early stage venture firm focused on University Start-Ups.
At The Incubation Factory, Mike’s role is to source high-potential technologies, develop long-term relationships with universities and research labs, and manage the investment portfolio. Mike has an M.S. degree from Villanova University and a B.S. in Computer Science from Penn State University. He resides in Sewell, NJ with his wife Donna.