Jim Francis is the CEO and Co-Founder of ConceptVines Ventures (CVV), where he mentors founders, invests in startups, and provides board advisory services. He has an extensive background in technology consulting and engineering, having helped two organizations cross the $1 billion revenue mark and achieve successful exits. Jim has worked across all industries, including Banking & Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, and Life Sciences. He is a technologist with experience in various advanced technology areas such as AI/ML, blockchain, IIoT, and data analytics. Jim is a proven business strategist with experience running global business units, sales and marketing teams, alliance/channel partner relationships, and large deal teams. He has a global network of relationships at Fortune 500 accounts.

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​ConceptVines Ventures aims to improve startups' success rates by adding a higher level of active engagement with portfolio companies, providing capital investment, advisory services, and value-added services in product strategy, design, and engineering. Prior to starting ConceptVines, Jim held various leadership roles at Virtusa, a billion-dollar global technology firm with over 30,000 consultants and engineers, where he ran various business units, sales and marketing organizations, alliances, and formed the company's strategic deals group. He was also an executive at American Management Systems (AMS) in the Corporate Banking industry group and gained international experience and relationships as an expat living in London, Frankfurt, and Australia. Jim has an MBA from Binghamton University and a BS in Business Economics from Oneonta College.