Dirk Ahlborn

Dirk Ahlborn is the Founder and CEO of Jumpstarter Inc. that operates www.JumpStartFund.com. This website is a web portal, that believes in creating smarter and more successful companies by applying crowd sourcing from the conception of an idea all the way through funding.

He is also the CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., another one of JumpStartFund's well known undertakings to make the Hyperloop become reality by using crowd collaboration.

Dirk is a serial entrepreneur with experience in almost every element of business: management, product design, product development & manufacturing, production facility design & set up, production cost control, marketing, product distribution, customer service and sales.

Before co-funding Jumpstarter, he was at the Girvan Institute of Technology, an incubator-accelerator for early-stage high-tech companies. Beginning in 2009 he was instrumental in the development of several start up companies there, notable Advanced Turbine Designs Inc., a developer of natural-gas fueled gas turbine generators for combined heat and power. In the course of his multi-faceted activities at Girvan, he also managed mobile and web application developments as well as search engine optimization and online marketing.

Prior to 2009, his activities were centered in Germany and Italy. Dirk began his professional career in 1996 as a broker and investment specialist at Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG, one of Germany's largest banks.

In 1999, he founded Rika Italia, the distributor for Europe's leading manufacturer of energy-conserving pellet and wood-burning stoves. In 2001, Dirk founded Diva Srl, manufacturer importer and seller of residential heating and cooking appliances.

He is fluent in German, Italian and proficient in conversational Spanish. Dirk holds the credential in banking and insurance from the Organization of German Industry and Commerce.