Our Team
Miles Dotson, Partner
Miles is an influential startup business leader, career product manager, author, research advocate and entrepreneur with over 20 companies to his credit. He holds a degree in Audio Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami and served as a visiting researcher at the University of Rochester through funding by the National Science Foundation. Throughout his career he led technology development as a software engineer and product manager creating frameworks for repeatable innovation within Private Equity managed companies. He now focuses on designing sustainable ecosystems that forge technology creation through new ventures, alternative funding models, corporate innovation engagement and applied R&D.
Devon Fanfair, Partner
Devon graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in 2008. While working as an engineer, Fanfair knew there was more he could do with his unique way of problem solving and gift for human connection. He shifted into corporate Human Resources, sculpting executives and developing solutions for people development. As a serial entrepreneur Devon has launched several companies in consumer goods and manufacturing and believes the studio model is the best environment for building repeatable success. His unique network with founders and investors has helped catalyze Devland becoming a trusted name for company building from day zero.
Saji Girvan, Principal Researcher
Saji is a builder, leading the creation of multiple products, systems, and projects across disciplines. Their portfolio includes physical, digital, experiential, and geopolitical works. Using their rigorous training at the London School of Economics, Saji melds insightful analysis with untouched synthesis, meeting innovation and imagination in beautiful harmony. They bring 7 years of multidisciplinary design experience and 10 years of analytic and project management experience to every project. Saji has also served as the Director of Product for Just Wipes and leads the charge at experiential music software startups Spinme and Plug, while advising numerous other projects.
Chinua Umoja, PhD, Researcher
Dr. Umoja has been a research advisor and software builder on several Devland projects with EIRs. His experience in both academia and within startup organization allows a firm bridge between the theory of our work to real approaches to executing on new product or service creation that involves software for scale.
Computer Scientist, Software Architect, Developer and Lecturer, Dr. Chinua Tyehimba Umoja is a person of many skills. Born and raised in the metro Atlanta area and Dr. Umoja received B.S. degrees in both computer science and mathematics with a minor in bioinformatics from Morehouse College in Atlanta as well as his MS and Ph.D from Georgia State University.
In research, Dr. Umoja primarily worked on the application of machine learning, graph mining, link detection, and deep learning algorithms to analyze protein data to find real-world correlations involving the confirmation energies and electric potentials of the amino acids they comprise.
TJ Woodberry, Partner Initiatives
TJ Woodberry is a self-taught, self-funded entrepreneur and investor who describes herself as “a builder.” She is the owner of Poppi’s Spa + Lounge and holds real estate interests throughout the Tulsa metro area. A longtime Tulsa resident, in 2017 Woodberry left a successful career in international auto sales to focus on her own family and wellbeing, but quickly realized her drive to create needed an outlet. In 2021, she launched the nonprofit initiative “Founded and Funded by Women” to make sure other women have access to the start-up capital they need to build their own businesses. “I’m happiest, I’m most myself when I am helping other women realize their dreams,” Woodberry says.
Women are soon to be the fastest growing investor population in the next 5 years and the companies they will support represent innovations we believe will have inclusive impacts on society. TJ is leading our groundbreaking initiative focused on increasing womxn led-startup funding events and driving progress in key industry metrics for women as business leaders and investors.
Learn more: fundedbywomxn.com or via Twitter @fundedbywomxn
Gayathri Samuel, Undergrad Fellow
Gayathri Samuel is a first-gen sophomore studying Business Law and Marketing at the University of Miami. After obtaining her Bachelor's, she aspires to become a Business Lawyer with a special focus on small businesses. This focus was heavily inspired by her family's Orchid shop, JJ Orchids, founded in 2008 in the Heart of Miami, and has contributed over 12 years of experience to both her academic and business personas!
Petter Hovelsrud, Battery/EV Research
I am Petter and I come from Oslo, Norway. I have made my way here to intern at Devland this summer and I am thrilled to finally be here. I’m a tennis player by heart with an economics background. Previously started my own art initiative inspired by street art and Banksy. Eager to take on new challenges, so reach out if there is anything I can do to help.
Currently exploring and investigating how electric vehicle batteries can be made more sustainable and efficient. I would love to get in touch with companies within this field, as well as VCs interested in this area of focus.
Don’t hesitate to reach out! Tips regarding the above, as well as art galleries, books, music and events, and interesting people to talk to is highly appreciated.
Håvard Pettersen, AR/XR Research
I chose Devland because the company shared my passion for technology and investing. My background is a master’s degree in both management and finance from two different countries. My goal for the summer is to get deep insight into the future trends of technology. In addition, I am diving into augmented reality and the autonomous drone industry this summer and would be happy to debate the topic. I enjoy exercising, history, and studying languages in my free time.
Jamal Nichols, Venture Partner (Europe)
Jamal is a product designer and educator who has worked with some of history’s greatest companies. He spent 7 years working in Silicon Valley with some of the brightest minds in the world. His work has been used by billions of people around the world.
From Jamal, ”One of my greatest passions is to identify and grow emerging talent, with the goal of creating greater global prosperity and freedom. As part of this mission, I’m helping Devland identify some of the most promising startups in Europe.”
A deeply skilled UX design and interaction expert, focused on identifying new wildly advanced startups. Are you a wildly advanced startup leader currently based in Germany? Please reach out.
Our Board of Advisors
Travis McPhail, Advisor
Travis McPhail, PhD. is a Staff Software Engineer and Engineering Lead-Manager at Google who works with Google Maps. He was hired to help rebuild the technical infrastructure for Google Maps on Android around the time that Apple launched Apple Maps. Travis has worked on Google Maps and Google Earth on multiple platforms and is currently a lead for rendering maps in Google’s Maps across Android, Web, 3rd-party APIs, Car dashboards as well as lead rendering for Streetview on Android/iOS.
Travis also focuses on Google's engagement with Black and Brown communities. He champions expanding access to computer science education and partners with Google in fostering tech talent at HBCUs. Earlier this year Travis unveiled his interactive project at National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC) that allows visitors to explore artifacts managed by the Smithsonian but not shown within the museum.
Layla Lumpkin, Advisor
She has developed a library of contract and legal solutions for the startup studio asset class and is a key advisor on the development strategy for Devland.
Layla concentrates her practice in business transactions, including
mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, venture capital and private equity fund formation, commercial contract drafting, and serving as outside general counsel. She enjoys working with entrepreneurs and champions this work through legal clinic support as well as an active leader in the Houston and Chicago tech ecosystems. In serving her clients, whether early stage companies or multinational corporations, she is also able to draw on her experience before law school working in Finance and Accounting at Procter and Gamble.
William A. Schulze, Advisor
William A. Schulze ("-was-" or "Bill") is a business executive with 20+ years' experience in high-profile technology companies as a product leader and also specializing in corporate business development and investments. He has been an advisor with Devland since 2017.
"-was-" has a rich and diverse career in software technology having held a range of management positions across engineering, product management, content production, and business development. An early employee in the 1990s at Macromedia (acquired by Adobe), he has also worked for a number of leading bay area technology companies including Autodesk, Apple (Kaleida Labs), ION, and at Gracenote, where he ran their worldwide business development efforts from 2007- 2012. Recently he has worked for Wikia (Fandom), Abstract, and now JLLT with a primary focus of corporate development.
Rich Cockrell, Advisor
Rich Cockrell has a combined 20+ years experience in investor relations and as a Wall Street analyst. He has managed Strategic Finance, Financial Planning & Analysis and Investor Relations activities at Fortune 100 and 1000 companies such as Kinetic Concepts (KCI), The Home Depot Inc., El Paso Corp., ING Americas and Motorola. It was early in his career, while an Equity Analyst with UBS, when Rich first discovered his gift for investor relations. His broad experience spans a multitude of key industries and encompasses publicly-traded, pre-IPO, high growth, under-valued and liquidity-challenged companies.
Philip Burke, Advisor
Philip Burke is an investor, entrepreneur and founder advocate. Life long learner who enjoys learning by helping others realize and work towards their true potential. He and his wife were the Devland partners first believers as angel investors and have continued to support the growth of their work cultivating paths for wildly underestimated builders with his family office Tekcor Launch.
Philip is an alumnus of Texas Tech University with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Masters in Industrial Engineering and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the Rawls College of Business.
Keenan Beasley, Advisor
Keenan Beasley is a successful entrepreneur, industry disrupter and visionary who embraces and utilizes technology to tell stories and influence consumers in dynamic ways. Keenan’s expertise in blending tech, art and creativity has changed the marketing landscape and opened the door to modern strategies and fresh approaches.
Keenan currently serves as the CEO of Supply Factory Brands, a venture studio that invents and invests in brands in the health and beauty sectors. Keenan’s non-profit arm, Venture Noire, mentors and develops diverse entrepreneurs and provides them with access to critical resources. Keenan also founded and is CEO of Kukua Corp, a global cannabis business, and Infinite Looks, a textured hair care company. In 2014 Keenan started BLKBOX, a creative agency in New York City with a wide range of multinational clients, including Samsung and Diageo.