Kyle Ballarta

Founder & CEO

Kyle is the Founder and CEO of Falkon Ventures, an innovative venture capital fund designed to catalyze innovation in the new entrepreneurial landscape for companies that have the mission to positively change industry and the world.

Prior to Falkon Ventures, Kyle was a member of the founding team at LifeProof, a California-based consumer electronics company that grew its force from three people to over 300 employees on three continents in three years. LifeProof’s meteoric growth led to its successful acquisition by Otterbox in 2013.

He is also Co-Founder of Citadel Drone Defense, which is an institutionally funded company with partnerships with groups such as NASA, US Special Operations, and Department of Defense, and he is the Co-founder of RMT, which is a blockchain-based cooperative currency integrating with renewable energy assets with support from the Nobel Sustainability Trust. 

Kyle is the pioneer of the concept of Venture Sequencing; a methodology to view and measure the dynamics in innovation as value network systems of interdependent stakeholders. This has resulted in a new level of intentionality of resources, support networks, and iterations in the process of innovation. 

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He is a Founding Partner of the Laudato Si Challenge, and is member of the Founding Patron Council for the Humanity 2.0 Initiative in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development within the Vatican. He serves on board and advisory positions for organizations such as Singularity University, 1776, Urban-X, The Munday School of Business, and Board of Trustees for St. Edward's University. 

Kyle holds an MBA in Digital Media Management from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and two executive certificates (Innovation & Ideation) from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Mr. Ballarta is Professor of Innovation and Disruption Management at the Munday School of Business at St. Edward's University. 

Zoltan Papp

Founder

Zoltan Papp is a Co-Founder of Falkon Ventures.

He has over 30 years of experience in a broad spectrum of global corporate and commercial law, venture capital, debt financing, corporate governance, M&A, securities law, litigation and intellectual property. He is an entrepreneur and experienced in operations and has been active on Boards of companies at various stages.

He architected and was an officer of the venture capital company of Tokyo Electron Limited, a global Japanese public company, and was its General Counsel heading its global legal and intellectual property operations.

He helped found LifeProof, a consumer electronics company, and was on its Board from inception to its sale to Otterbox assisting through its meteoric rise to an annual revenue run rate of $400M in 22 months.

He was a Co-Founder of Javelin Investments which was the first foreign company to have a license to conduct investment banking management in mainland China.

He holds a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law and is licensed to practice in California, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Mike Del Ponte

Venture Partner

Mike Del Ponte is an entrepreneur, investor, start-up advisor and brand builder. 

Mike is a Venture Partner at Falkon Ventures, a venture capital fund with a proprietary method to identify, invest and support companies providing systemic solutions to global challenges. 

Mike was the founder and CEO of Soma (acquired). Soma makes beautifully designed, sustainable water filters, water bottles and coffee & tea products. Its mission is to hydrate the world. For every product sold, Soma makes a donation to charity: water, which provides clean and safe drinking water to people in need. Soma was named one of "25 Companies The Will Change the World" by Inc. and the #1 Design Story of the Year by Fast Company. Soma has won many international design awards and its products are currently sold is more than a dozen countries. 

Mike is an advisor to Protocol Ventures, Solugen, Cora, Steward, Ode to Clean (acquired), and Panatea (acquired).

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Mike currently serves as the VP of Marketing and Brand at Skyryse, which is on a mission to provide the fastest, safest, and most uplifting urban transportation solutions to the people and communities it serves. 

Mike was the founder and CEO of Sparkseed, a global nonprofit investing in the most promising young social entrepreneurs. Mike's leadership earned Sparkseed a Financial Times Social Innovation Award and recognition in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNN.

Before founding Sparkseed, Mike did short-term volunteer engagements as a Christian Peacemaker in the West Bank, an orphanage volunteer in Jamaica, and a microfinance consultant in Nepal. Mike has degrees from Boston College and Yale University.