Mario Tapia
San Francisco
Mario Tapia is co-directing the first Mobile Monday accelerator known as Momentum. Momentum is a non-profit accelerator that recruits mobile startups from around the globe and brings them to Silicon Valley. Momentum is a 12 week program to help them grow and form partnerships with the sponsoring Brands, Companies, Angels and Mentors.
Mario has more than 20 years of experience across mobile, Internet and leading edge technologies. Prior to Momentum, Mario was director of product and then business development for GetJar. Mario also launched products for Yahoo! Latin America, Danger, Disney Mobile, T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and pioneered the first SMS voting for American Idol. Additionally, Mario served as a consultant for companies like SK Telecom Intl., Cell Japan, and Nokia. He holds two patents for Location Based Services.
Mario is recognized as a subject matter expert in developer relations, the app economy, emerging markets, mobile advertising, and brand engagement. He is a founder and leader of Mobile Monday groups in Seattle, Los Angeles, and currently is directing the Silicon Valley chapter with over 8,000 members.
Mario holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University at Fresno and completed post-graduate work in Engineering at the University of Washington. He currently resides in San Francisco California, and enjoys bike riding and sailing.