A serial entrepreneur, Ryan Holmes started his first business in high school, ultimately opening a string of ventures—from a pizza restaurant to a digital media agency—before starting Hootsuite in 2008. As founder and now a board member, he has helped grow Hootsuite into the world’s most widely used social relationship platform, with 18 million-plus users, including more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies. A supporter of socially conscious ventures, Ryan is proud to have steered Hootsuite to B-Corp status. In addition, his charity, League of Innovators (theleagueofinnovators.org), offers online and in-person programs for the next generation of entrepreneurs. He also recently launched LOI Venture (loi.vc) which is a $20m seed staged fund focused on backing the smartest founders under 30. Ryan is also an active angel investor and advisor, whose Maple Syrup Mafia syndicate is dedicated to accelerating Canadian startups. A future enthusiast and the inventor of a low-cost standing desk, he’s a tech optimist at heart — always looking for better ways to solve problems using technology. Ryan is the author of Saving Social: The Dysfunctional Past and Promising Future of Social Media, as well as the Amazon-best-selling guide to social media for leaders, The $4 Billion Tweet. He shares his insights in Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. and ranks as a global influencer on LinkedIn and Facebook. Twitter: @invoker Startup pitches: https://www.loi.vc/pitch/ AngelList: https://angel.co/ryan-holmes/syndicate