MANAGEMENT TEAM

Max is a forward-thinking venture capitalist with a passion for expanding technological innovation into smaller, underrepresented Heartland communities. In line with this passion and commitment, Max founded Heartland Ventures to enhance Silicon Valley startups’ access to this market. With offices in San Francisco, Ohio, and Indiana, Heartland Ventures connects coastal startups to their largest customers within the recently flourishing and often overlooked Heartland market.

While pursuing his B.S. from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Max served as CEO/Founder of both CleanSlate and Peloton Investors, from which he gained valuable domain and entrepreneurial experience, as well as a deep understanding of Heartland business trends and practices. Through the process of inventing, designing, and marketing, Max was able to patent and license CleanSlate, a technology that prevents cheating on written exams. Prior to developing CleanSlate, Max founded Peloton Investors at age 14, a Milwaukee-based real estate investment firm, which he grew to 450 residential units throughout high school, before selling the portfolio while in college. Max also led the acquisition of a Midwestern construction company, which subsequently experienced 20X revenue growth.

Max serves on several regional boards designed to increase per capita income and entrepreneurial activity.

Mark joined Heartland in 2017 as a Principal. In January 2019, Mark was named Partner.

In his current role at Heartland, Mark leads deal sourcing, due diligence and investment execution activities as well as the internal fund administration.

Prior to joining Heartland, Mark was a full-time graduate student and an active investor working with several established venture firms around the country. Before graduate school, Mark was Vice President at Sceptre, where he was the General Manager leading all sales, finance and operational functions. At Sceptre, Mark led a team dispersed around the US and internationally building and selling high-end, custom vacation packages. This included negotiating vendor contracts in Europe as well as building and managing strategic national accounts with groups like American Express. After four years, Mark led the sale of Sceptre and took on the Chairman role of the acquiring holding company.  Additionally, Mark spent time working in Hospitality Management for Ritz Carlton in Ireland, in logistics for Worldwide Express in New York and in Marketing for Tyson Foods in Chicago.

Mark received a B.A. in Business Administration from Muhlenberg College, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and is an active Board Member of TravelSmart, a United Kingdom based travel corporation.

Conor joined Heartland in 2019 as a Principal and now serves as Partner, overseeing the firm’s Platform function.  <

In this role, Conor leads engagement with LPs and Midwest industry leaders to ensure the Heartland’s portfolio aligns with their strategic and financial needs.

Conor leverages his knowledge of the challenges facing Midwestern businesses, gleaned from his experience as a Consultant to many such firms.  His history of overseeing the development and growth of new technology products and delivering them to legacy firms, as well as in-house legal experience at a Fortune 500 company, is similarly advantageous.

A transplant to the Midwest, now going on 10 years, Conor is passionate about connecting the region’s unique businesses with technology being developed on the coasts.  Conor is a graduate of Loyola University Maryland and the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Bianca Caban joined the Heartland Ventures team as a Principal in October of 2020. 

At Heartland, Bianca is responsible for leading the firm’s deal sourcing, co-investor relations, and founder interactions in Silicon Valley.

Prior to that she was Head of Partnerships at Republic, an AngelList spin-off, and CEO of SheWorx, which was acquired by Republic in 2019. Before Republic she worked for a decade in financial services including at firms, Credit Suisse, BlackRock, and Atlas Merchant Capital, which sought investment in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Bianca also established a consultancy, Taino Capital, where she worked with clients on fund formation and strategy.

Bianca is on the Advisory Board of Lilu, an innovative female-led hardware startup, and an alum of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers and Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle. She founded the annually held Harvard Latina Empowerment and Development Conference in 2007, and has served on the Harvard Schools and Scholarships Committee. Bianca received a B.A. from Harvard College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Austin joined Heartland in 2021 as an Associate on the Platform team.

In his role at Heartland, Austin leads engagement with LPs and Midwest industry leaders to ensure Heartland’s portfolio aligns with their strategic needs.

Prior to joining Heartland, Austin spent his entire career helping both tech and non-tech companies with the design, development, and marketing of their digital products. These companies have spanned from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500.

Austin leverages this experience to uncover critical pain points business leaders are experiencing. These pain points help inform the Heartland Ventures’ team on the investments they make.

Born and raised in Indiana, Austin is passionate about connecting the Heartland’s underserved communities with technologies that will help shape the future of their local economies. Austin received his B.A. from Depauw University.

Hannah joined Heartland in 2021 as an Associate Director of Community Development.

In her role at Heartland, Hannah leads initiatives in collaboration with public sector leaders and community members to support local and regional growth and vitality.

Prior to joining Heartland, Hannah served as a management consultant for local governments in disaster relief, economic development, and democratic innovation. Additionally, she has conducted research in public health, environment, and sustainable development for the Bloomberg Foundation Cities RISE Initiative, the Pew Research Center, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Environmental Defense Fund.

Born and raised in Ohio, Hannah is passionate about fostering a collaborative environment for innovation and creating more sustainable and efficient systems that serve all members of our communities. Hannah received a B.A. from Harvard College and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Traci Bayles joined Heartland in July of 2021 as an Executive Assistant. She brings to the team 15+ years of experience. 

In her current role at Heartland, Traci supports the Managing Director and assists with the firm’s marketing and event planning.

Prior to Heartland, Traci worked in the banking industry where she supported the CEO, COO, and CFO. She also owns and operates her own photography business. 

Traci attended Hocking College where she studied Health Information Management. She is passionate about being creative, building relationships, shaping an inclusive team culture, and giving back to the community.

Haley has been working with Heartland since it was founded in 2017 and joined as an official member of the team in 2021. She currently assists the team with communications and event planning, with a particular focus on stakeholder engagement.

A psychologist by profession, Haley works at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a post-doctoral researcher and study coordinator of a psychiatric genetics project. In her role at Heartland, she uses relevant academic and professional experience in human relations, research, and communications to support the team’s engagement and programming efforts.

Growing up in Indiana as the daughter of a small business owner, many of Haley’s first memories involve helping out with her father’s family-run trailer sales company. In doing so, she quickly gained an appreciation of the passion and dedication that it takes to grow and sustain a family-owned business. It is in part due to this personal experience that Haley is passionate about Heartland’s mission to help Midwestern businesses thrive through the incorporation of technology, and she is enthusiastic about the opportunity to engage and foster connections with business owners.

Haley received degrees in Psychology and Business Administration from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Notre Dame.