About HarQen
HarQen (pronounced HAR-ken) is a next generation web-telephony company that captures, organizes and distributes original voice through our Voice Asset Management (VAM) platform. HarQen provides applications, white label solutions and an open API – all designed to turn voice into an asset, unlocking new layers of value for our clients. Founded in 2007, HarQen is a Milwaukee-based, privately held company with investment from Phenomenelle Angels Fund, Silicon Pastures and Golden Seeds.
Management Team & Founders
Kelly Fitzsimmons, Co-Founder & CEO
After the sale of her fourth company, Kelly Fitzsimmons leveraged the proceeds to found Comic Wonder/HarQen in October 2006. Under her leadership, HarQen assembled a top tier team and launched the first Comic Wonder product in December 2007, VoiceScreener in March 2008 and the HarQen platform in 2009. Prior to HarQen, Kelly founded, led and sold several companies generating positive returns to investors at Sun Tzu Security and Neohapsis. She received her BA from the University of Rochester and a Masters degree from Harvard.
Pehr Anderson, VP of Platform Technology
At 22-years-old Pehr had almost completed a degree at MIT. He dropped out and started NBX Corporation to make an IP-based phone system that used Ethernet to carry voice calls. When Pehr and his co-founders sold NBX to 3Com Corp. for $90 million in 1999, he returned to MIT and finished a BS and MS in computer science and electrical engineering. Upon moving to Wisconsin, he became the executive director of Silicon Pastures, the first angel network in Wisconsin. Most recently, he worked for Metavante, a financial services company, in their M&A group as an acquisition advisor.
Jeff Fitzsimmons, Co-Founder & VP of Product Marketing
Prior to joining HarQen, Jeff was the chief creative officer for Caffeine Communications—a marketing and public relations firm specializing in guerrilla, grassroots and downright crazy PR company for large international clients. At Caffeine, Jeff managed world‐class brand initiatives for large international companies including Sony Playstation, Rainbow Play Systems, Harley‐Davidson and InterContinental hotels. He studied Marketing at the University of Wisconsin&Eau-Claire and film studies at Evergreen University. Jeff is the co-author along with Mike Dillon (See bio below) of The Art of the Bonsai Potato: Zen Without the Wait, which has sold over 250K units to date.
Board of Directors
Lauren Flanagan, Chairman & Managing Director Phenomenelle Angels Fund
Lauren has over 25 years experience in founding, operating and investing in technology companies. As Managing Director of the Phenomenelle Angels Fund I, LP she leads an early stage venture fund focused on technology firms in the Midwest. (www.phenomenellevc.com) As CEO of SCIO Corp, she provides strategic advisory services to and invests in early stage companies. Prior to founding SCIO Corp, she co-founded and was CEO of WebWare Corp, a pioneer in Digital Asset Management and one of the first SaaS companies, which provided the platform and services for some of the world’s largest rich media repositories. She was recently named to BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Angels in Tech.
Kelly Fitzsimmons, Co-Founder & CEO
See bio above.
Mike Dillon, CEO—DillonWorks
Mike is a strategic advisor, co-founder, and sits on HarQen’s Board of Directors. Mike and Jeff Fitzsimmons previously co-founded YukLine, a precursor to Comic Wonder. Mike is a well-known entrepreneur who has built an internationally recognized fabrication company, DillonWorks! (www.dillonworks.com). At the age of 19, Mike became a Disney Imagineer—a career choice that served as the foundation for DillonWorks!. Founded in late 1987, Dillionworks is based in Seattle. Major clients include Disney, Sony, Microsoft, and Viacom.
Stuart Olsten, Independent Angel Investor
Stuart served as Olsten Corporation's chairman of the board, vice chairman and president at various times between 1990 and 2000. The Adecco Group (SIX: ADEN and EURONEXT: ADE), one of the world's largest providers of HR solutions with over 28,000 employees, acquired Olsten Staffing, a NYSE traded and F500 company that was a pioneer in the staffing and recruiting space, for over $1 billion. Mr. Olsten served on Adecco's board of directors for three years, as well as serving as a chairman of the operating board of MaggieMoo's International, LLC. He was its president and chief executive officer from July 2003 through December 2003. Currently, Olsten serves on the board of directors of Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIV) and several other start-up enterprises.
Roman Scharf, CEO—Talenthouse
Roman began a career as a management consultant. Early on, he became a managing partner in the management consulting firm ECOS Consulting, where he developed expertise in executing large, complex projects on a pan-European basis. Roman then went on to become an original angel investor, and later a member of the management team, in Ecotech Software GmbH, a provider of software solutions for architects and engineers. He was responsible for business development and marketing for the Ecotech Group as well as Executive Manager of Ecotech Software Germany - the group’s main branch. In 2004, Rockwool International acquired Ecotech. Roman co-founded JAJAH together with Daniel Mattes on the belief they will change the world of voice communication. Roman served as President of JAJAH and led its sale to Telfonica for over $200 million after only 3 years of operations. He is currently the Founder & CEO of TalentHouse (www.talenthouse.com).