Tech Wildcatters Names
New CEO for Accelerator

Tech Wildcatters co-founder Gabriella Zielke is stepping aside as Vorachai (Ricky) Tejapaibu comes on board as the the new managing partner and CEO.

Gabriella Draney Zielke

There’s new leadership at Tech Wildcatters, the Dallas technology seed accelerator that has seen significant management changes in the past year.

Co-founder and Managing Partner Gabriella Zielke introduced Vorachai (Ricky) Tejapaibul as the new managing partner and CEO Wednesday evening at a town hall meeting for staff, investors, mentors, and alumni.

Zielke said she will stay on as managing partner and will be involved in the accelerator’s fall program.

“After searching for years for a new partner to take what we started at Tech Wildcatters and build on it, myself and the other partners are pleased to work with Ricky in creating what we like to call TW 2.0,” Zielke said during the meeting.

Zielke’s announcement comes after significant leadership changes at Tech Wildcatters.

“I see new opportunities for our platform to extend beyond Dallas, and to leverage Texas as a gateway for international investors and entrepreneurs who want to access the U.S. market.”
VORACHAI (RICKY) TEJAPAIBUL 

D CEO reported that last June, Zielke let go the accelerator’s executive director and chief revenue officer. She laid off the organization’s chief operating officer and much of its staff six months later, and suspended plans to raise a new fund and accept a new class of startup companies.

Tejapaibul, a Thailand native, is a chartered financial analyst who did both investment banking and management consulting in the Fortune 500 sector, while simultaneously angel investing.

“I am very excited to start the next chapter of Tech Wildcatters,” he said in a release. “I believe this platform has so much potential, as demonstrated from the success of our Gauntlet methodology that we introduced last year.”

He said that Tech Wildcatters is dedicated to finding the best entrepreneurs and then helping them to build a scalable business “by surrounding them with the right resources.”

Tejapaibul touted the North Texas region.

“Dallas is a great place to build a company and North Texas is increasingly a leading destination for startups,” he said. “I see new opportunities for our platform to extend beyond Dallas, and to leverage Texas as a gateway for international investors and entrepreneurs who want to access the U.S. market.”

The application process for the accelerator’s fall class is open, with a deadline of Aug. 26.


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