 Amanda Schutzbank and Deborah Benton are Co-Founders and General Partners at Willow Growth Partners. Willow is an emerging growth fund providing early capital to entrepreneurs building next-generation, values-led consumer brands.

They typically lead the first institutional round for companies generating $1-5 million in revenue, applying a disciplined approach to valuation, capitalization, and scaling for long-term success. 

Amanda Schutzbank and Deborah Benton are Co-Founders and General Partners at Willow Growth Partners. Willow is an emerging growth fund providing early capital to entrepreneurs building next-generation, values-led consumer brands.
They typically lead the first institutional round for companies generating $1-5 million in revenue, applying a disciplined approach to valuation, capitalization, and scaling for long-term success.&nbsp;

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, launches the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting and successful leaders to learn from them. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur and tips on building a successful career.

What Fuels You

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, hosts the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting, and successful leaders from all areas of business. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance, and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur, and tips on building a successful career. 

Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, hosts the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting, and successful leaders from all areas of business. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance, and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur, and tips on building a successful career.

Deborah Benton and Amanda Schutzbank - Founders of Willow Growth Partners 

Evan Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Pacagen, using biotechnology to revolutionize consumer products. Before Pacagen, he served as Chief Science Officer at ODDITY, and previously built and sold Revela.

He earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and completed work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at Harvard.

Evan Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Pacagen, using biotechnology to revolutionize consumer products. Before Pacagen, he served as Chief Science Officer at ODDITY, and previously built and sold Revela.
He earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and completed work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at Harvard.

Evan Zhao - Co-Founder and CEO of Pacagen

Aaron Finn is the CEO of SingleFile. He  has spent over 25 years building and leading technology companies across consumer, internet, digital advertising, healthcare, and legal and compliance infrastructure.

Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at classmates.com, where he worked on customer acquisition analytics and scaling consumer platforms. He later co-founded AdReady, an automated advertising company, and led it through multiple growth phases and an eventual acquisition. Across those roles, Aaron has often been responsible for stepping into complexity and helping organizations scale responsibly. He joined SingleFile in 2021 to lead the company through its next phase of growth, with a focus on clarity, execution, and building infrastructure that works quietly and reliably in a highly regulated space.

Aaron Finn is the CEO of SingleFile. He  has spent over 25 years building and leading technology companies across consumer, internet, digital advertising, healthcare, and legal and compliance infrastructure.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at classmates.com, where he worked on customer acquisition analytics and scaling consumer platforms.&nbsp;He later co-founded AdReady, an automated advertising company, and led it through multiple growth phases and an eventual acquisition. Across those roles, Aaron has often been responsible for stepping into complexity and helping organizations scale responsibly. He joined SingleFile in 2021 to lead the company through its next phase of growth, with a focus on clarity, execution, and building infrastructure that works quietly and reliably in a highly regulated space.

Aaron Finn - CEO of SingleFile

Brent Beardall  is the President and CEO of WaFd Bank, the largest bank headquartered in Washington state with more than $27 billion in assets and 200 offices located in nine Western states. He has spent over two decades at WaFd, rising through Finance and Operations before becoming CEO in 2017. 

Known for his candid leadership style and public advocacy for community banking, Brent has led WaFd through significant economic disruption, strategic pivots, and cultural transformation. He is a Stanford Executive Program graduate, a CPA by training, and serves on several civic and financial boards. Brent often describes himself as the luckiest man alive, a perspective shaped by lived experience, gratitude, and responsibility.

 

Brent Beardall  is the President and CEO of WaFd Bank, the largest bank headquartered in Washington state with more than $27 billion in assets and 200 offices located in nine Western states. He has spent over two decades at WaFd, rising through Finance and Operations before becoming CEO in 2017.&nbsp;
Known for his candid leadership style and public advocacy for community banking,&nbsp;Brent has led WaFd through significant economic disruption, strategic pivots, and cultural transformation. He is a Stanford Executive Program graduate, a CPA by training, and serves on several civic and financial boards. Brent often describes himself as the luckiest man alive, a perspective shaped by lived experience, gratitude, and responsibility.
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Deborah Benton and Amanda Schutzbank - Founders of Willow Growth Partners

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