Our Team

Meli James is cofounder of Mana Up. She is also president of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. Previously, Meli brought her Silicon Valley startup experience to Hawaii venture accelerators Blue Startups and the University of Hawaii’s XLR8UH. James founded her first company, Nirvino, a #1 ranked wine app, an Apple Platform Top 100 App, and Top Ten Lifestyles App in 2007. In 2016, she was recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of five Women to Watch. In 2017, she was recognized again by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of eight Women Leaders Who Are Disrupting Entrepreneurship. Meli is a graduate of The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

Brittany Heyd is cofounder of Mana Up. She is also General Counsel at Union, a software company based in Washington, D.C. Before Mana Up, Brittany was cofounder and Managing Director at 1776 and worked on economic policy at the Obama White House. Heyd holds a Juris Doctor / Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's of Arts from the University of San Diego.