SwiftWing Ventures announced that Scotty Smith, Courtney Watson and Kevin Wojton have joined the company to continue building SwiftWing’s startup platform.
As Director of Business Development, Mr. Smith helps companies develop and execute their most cost-effective and scalable go-to-market strategy. Having led this process for Quickcue, which sold to OpenTable for $11.5MM last year, he is familiar with the complex tradeoffs that startups face in weighing different sales and marketing strategies.
He is also familiar with the perspective of large corporate acquirers and thus how to position startup companies with an exit strategy in mind. Taken together, along with an extensive network, he can develop strategies and open doors to accelerate and amplify the success of companies. In his spare time, Mr. Smith can be found cooking, fishing, playing golf, or tweaking his successful mobile app “Smitty’s Fish Call” (available on the App Store).
Coming off of a successful engagement managing the CO.LAB’s GIGTANK accelerator, Courtney Watson joins SwiftWing Ventures to continue lending her expertise to make startup companies more successful. As Director of Strategy, Ms. Watson oversees various projects including SwiftWing’s “next level” accelerator concept, research and market analysis, internal project management, and external engagement for SwiftWing Ventures and its family of companies. Having worked for a San Francisco-based start-up, Flycast Networks to The Corporate Executive Board and AOL in Washington, DC, her background in marketing strategy, customer acquisition, strategic planning, research, and brand management complement the SwiftWing team. Ms. Watson received her MBA from Vanderbilt University. When away from the office, she spends her time with her family of five hiking, gardening and enjoying the Chattanooga food scene.
Kevin Wojton comes to SwiftWing Ventures with a background in finance and entrepreneurship. Kevin began his career in investment banking performing risk analysis at Citigroup and later developing quantitative trading strategies for Casey Capital Advisors in Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Mr. Wojton began to develop an affinity for climbing. Disappointed there were no guidebooks on climbing in China, he decided to raise capital, travel China for seven months, and write and publish his own guidebook (“Climb China”). His book is sold in 25 countries and is the go-to resource for rock climbing in China and Hong Kong. Now an Analyst for SwiftWing, he uses his financial expertise, his own entrepreneurial experience, as well as his self-taught skills in software and hardware development, to analyze investment opportunities. In his spare time, Mr. Wojton can be found enjoying Chattanooga’s outdoor scene, building furniture, or working on his next startup idea.
Ben Brown, CEO of SwiftWing Ventures, commented on these key hires: “We’re ecstatic about landing Scotty, Courtney, and Kevin. And our companies are thrilled to have talent of this caliber available on a daily basis. With the team we’re assembling, we couldn’t be more optimistic about the future.”