Dr. Luis Martínez is highly sought by early stage investors and senior management in private and public companies as a startup and innovation strategist, vc, founder, ecosystem builder, and startup coach/mentor. He has guided 200+ entrepreneurs from early stage to successful exits across a wide range of industries and sectors. He is sought for his expertise in venture capital and early stage venture investment, leadership, startup business strategy, new product and business development, design thinking and business model design, customer acquisition and retention, corporate positioning, corporate communications and investor relations, and competitive technology and corporate analysis.
He is currently the Sr. Associate in San Antonio for the venture team at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. He serves as a startup mentor with Geekdom in San Antonio, TX; the Pioneer21 Venture Mentoring Program in El Paso, TX; Capital Factory in Austin, TX, and globally with MassChallenge and Techstars. He was previously on the Executive Advisory Board of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).
Dr. Martínez was the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Trinity University where he taught courses in entrepreneurship and innovation; mentored student startups; and facilitated connecting Trinity students and faculty with entrepreneurs and accredited investors. He's facilitated the launch of over 65+ Trinity student ventures that have raised over $60M in external funding. In 2021, Dr. Martínez led Trinity in receiving the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence award, the highest global honor that a University Entrepreneurship Center can receive.
He's served on the faculty of Rollins College, Eastern Florida State College and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where he taught Organic Chemistry and as a Senior Scientist at the Scripps Research Institute-Florida. Dr. Martínez’s research effort was focused on the synthesis and application of small molecules to probe and study the biology of infectious disease, cancer, immune response, oxidative stress and cell cycle control. His research program was supported by the Welch Foundation, the NIH, and the Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar program. He holds two patents in organic synthesis.
Dr. Martínez also served as a senior account executive with Feinstein-Kean Healthcare, an Ogilvy PR Worldwide Company, and as a consultant with Kendall Strategies, the agency's consulting practice. He also founded Students+Startups co-founded BGV Strategies.
