Baris has been a partner at Fuse Capital since 2006. He focuses on identifying investment opportunities in digital media with a principal emphasis on the Internet. Concurrently, Baris is CEO of HIP Digital Media, a Digital Music company in the firm's portfolio.
Prior to joining the firm, Baris worked for six years at U.S. Venture Partners, a leading Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm.
Baris' recent board seats/investments include: Radar Networks, HIP Digital Media, Like.com, SpectraLinear, Minerva Networks, Redline Communications (LSE: REDL) and Aspendos Communications.
Before becoming a venture capitalist, Baris worked in both engineering and marketing at 3Com/U.S. Robotics, where he worked to develop the company's networking and cable industry products. His efforts at U.S. Robotics resulted in a number of U.S. patents.
Baris holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College, where he graduated summa cum laude.
He is a frequent speaker in Digital Media conferences, including Digital Hollywood, Dow Jones Conferences & Macworld.
The best way to get to know Baris is to read his blog, "From Istanbul to Sand Hill Road" which focuses on high technology, venture capital, innovation and creativity.
Adam Bowron, Vice President of Technology is responsible for all technical related operations for Hip Digital Media. Bowron has extensive experience with design, implementation, and operation of high performance web applications. He brings over 14 years of experience in internet application architecture and technology leadership to Hip Digital Media.
Prior to Hip Digital Media, Bowron worked for Visiphor Corporation, a leading enterprise integration consulting and technology firm. While holding the position of Senior Software Architect, Bowron was integral in the success of a variety of projects all over North America in the Law Enforcement & Justice, Health Care, Public Utilities, and Manufacturing sectors.
Bowron also held senior positions at a variety of internet and technology companies such as Topclick.com, Zimtu.com, Expert-Guides.com, Sunaptic Solutions, and Visiphor Corporation. Bowron is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer.
Josh Gertz has lead sales and marketing for entertainment companies for over a decade, including large firms and small start ups. Josh comes to Hip Digital from Neurotic Media where he served as Executive Vice President since 2005. At Neurotic Media Josh created digital promotions for top content owners and sold content distribution and licensing services across multiple verticals. Prior to this, Josh was Vice President and co-founder of XACT Radio, an Internet radio network working with virtually every major broadcasting group.
In the last century, Josh was Director of Sales at MP3.com where he lead the company’s efforts in the broadcast radio space and negotiated contracts with all major radio broadcasters (Clear Channel, Infinity, Cox, and many others). Early on in his career Mr. Gertz was fortunate to have worked at PolyGram Records in Sales Administration. Josh holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications from the University Of Maryland.
Josh currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and 2 daughters. He can be reached 404.705.8885
Henna Patel has over 10 years of experience working in technology and digital music. Most notably, before joining Hip Digital she helped pioneer early market digital music up-starts, Riffage.com and Rioport.com, in Silicon Valley. During this time, Henna’s umbrella of digital music properties included Digital Music Stores for MTV, House of Blues, BestBuy, VH1 and Yahoo as well as one of the first online portals for independent artists.
Henna has been with Hip Digital for over 3 years, playing an integral role in building product innovation, label & client business and licensing in all territories.
Betty has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, as a key member of the executive team at high-growth, venture-funded start-ups. Her contribution ranges from strategic planning and fund raising to tactical challengers such as building appropriate infrastructure without stifling growth. Betty concurrently serves as CFO of several high tech companies (Wi-Fi/mesh networks, consumer products, Web 2.0, eLearning), and previously was CFO at Leapfrog (a leading manufacturer of interactive learning aids), Nominum (internet/telecom infrastructure software), MGA Entertainment (since grown to be the world’s largest privately-held toy company), and senior financial management positions at Fortune 500 companies including Fujitsu and Citicorp. Betty was certified as a CPA while working for Ernst & Young. She holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA from Pomona College.