Nicola Corzine

I'm Nicola Corzine, CEO and Executive Director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, a nonprofit that gives founders free classes, mentorship, and research. We charge nothing and take no equity, and we've served more than 100,000 entrepreneurs.

I'm the daughter of an entrepreneur who moved our family from England to California. I started my first company at university in the UK, then two more in Silicon Valley. When my angel-backed company was caught between two acquirers, our investors guided us through, and I wondered how many founders ever get that help. That question led to a decade at Band of Angels, opening the group to founders without connections, and in 2015 to building the Center from day one with Nasdaq's support.

Ask me about what sets America's strongest startup regions apart.