David Lee
Vanka AI was founded by David Lee, John Lagerling, and Satoshi Kataoka—serial entrepreneurs and technologists whose previous companies have been acquired five times, including two sales to Google, one to a top Meta Business Partner, and one to a NASDAQ-listed company. Collectively, they’ve built zero-to-one ventures serving global customers such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Lazada; led high-impact teams across Silicon Valley, New York, Tokyo, and Seoul; contributed to foundational work at Google Brain; and raised tens of millions in venture capital. David Lee, in particular, brings deep expertise as a two-time founder with successful exits, including a sale to a publicly traded company and another to a category-defining Meta/TikTok Marketing Partner. His career spans senior leadership roles across augmented reality, computer vision, product strategy, and global e-commerce
Deep Patel
Deep Patel has spent 19 years in the solar and energy storage industry, dedicating his career to making energy independence widely accessible. What began as a college research project in 2006 turned into a garage startup that Deep grew into GigaWatt—now a thriving middle-market solar and battery innovation company. Under his leadership, GigaWatt has generated over $100 million in revenue, expanded through two strategic acquisitions, and built a reputation for resilience in an industry known as the “solar coaster.” Deep’s journey from bootstrapping a startup at 23 to influencing clean-energy innovation nationally, offers powerful insights into grit, long-term resilience, and industry leadership. His ability to navigate economic swings, policy shifts, and supply-chain challenges has allowed GigaWatt to grow steadily for nearly two decades.
Erick McAffee
Erick McAffee is a results-driven sales and business development leader with over 15 years of experience building and scaling high-performing teams, driving revenue growth, and forging strategic partnerships. Currently serving as VP of Go-To-Market and Agentic Revenue Growth at Supertab, he is known for his collaborative leadership style and ability to operate at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and execution to deliver customer-centric solutions. Based in San Francisco, Erick brings deep expertise across digital media, payments, and technology, with a career spanning both the tech and sports industries.
