
ACCESS
EXPERIENCE
INTEGRITY

Software-only startups in the US and Israel
Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A




Society is experiencing dramatic disruptions in many markets and geographies. Talented entrepreneurs are nimbler and better suited than incumbents to take advantage of rapidly changing market conditions.
Our founders target emerging opportunities and design their ventures with the rules of new paradigms in mind.
Team
JOHN HARTHORNE
Founder & Managing Director

As the Founder and decade-long CEO of MassChallenge, John is obsessed with entrepreneurship and has worked with thousands of startups since 2010. MassChallenge is the most-startup-friendly and largest startup accelerator on the planet and has graduated over 3,000 startups which have cumulatively generated billions of dollars of revenue and have created over 200,000 jobs.
While launching and running MassChallenge, John generated a vast network of new and established founders, corporate partners, investors, and innovation talent. Furthermore, John gained unrivaled experience working to support startups as an advisor and connector, learning which teams, models, and partners create sustainable success most consistently. John left MassChallenge in 2019 to launch Two Lanterns in 2020.
John holds a BA from Bowdoin College, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an Honorary Doctorate from Suffolk University, and certificates for Leadership and Innovation from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.



Partner

MICHAL GILON-YANAI
Michal Gilon-Yanai has been the founder and director of multiple entrepreneurship programs in the US and in Israel. She founded the MBA Innovation & Entrepreneurship track at IDC, directed two programs at MIT’s entrepreneurship center and, most recently, founded and led the Biomedical Entrepreneurship Program at the NYU school of medicine. Through this work, she developed a keen understanding of technology and science commercialization and supported dozens of innovators and entrepreneurs over the course of two decades. Michal began her career at a healthcare IT startup where she filled several roles and served as a member of the company’s management team.
Michal also played a critical role in launching the MassChallenge Israel program, joining its advisory board for several years. She has outstanding access to deal flow, and contributes deep startup experience to Two Lanterns. Michal served in the IDF Intelligence corps, received computer science and law degrees from Tel Aviv University, and earned her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2007. She joined Two Lanterns Venture Partners in 2020.
Lily Toto
Associate

Lily Toto is a startup enthusiast with a strong desire to support entrepreneurs. She brings a wealth of experience from her time in strategy consulting at L.E.K. Consulting, where she worked on projects spanning the life sciences, consumer retail, and technology sectors.
In addition, Lily has gained invaluable experience working for various early-stage software startups, where her work spanned marketing, business development, and strategic operations. Her combined experience in consulting and start-ups has given her the ability to understand complex business challenges and identify growth opportunities.
Lily received a BA in Economics and Government from Georgetown University, where she served as the CEO of Georgetown Collegiate Investors, an undergraduate equity investment fund. She joined Two Lanterns Venture Partners as an Associate in 2023.

Advisors
DESH DESHPANDE
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Founder Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks, etc
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Serial mentor, investor, philanthropist
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Life-member of the MIT Corporation
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Founding Board Member, MassChallenge
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PhD Queens University
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B.Tech. IIT Madras


ZOHAR GILON
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Israeli Super Angel with extensive experience as an investor (over 200 investments) and investment advisor
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Transaction manager for some of Israel’s most recognized exits, managing each from inception to exit
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Pivotal advisor for creation of MassChallenge Israel
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MBA Tel Aviv University
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BS EE/CS Technion University
PETER PARKER
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Managing General Partner at Mission BioCapital
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Founder and Director, LabCentral
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Life Sciences Champion, MassChallenge
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President and CEO, Cequent Pharmaceuticals
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General Partner Ampersand Capital Partners
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BS, MS Columbia University

SATISH TADIKONDA
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Executive Fellow in Entrepreneurship at
the Rock Center, Harvard Business School -
Executive Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures,
a growth equity fund based in NYC -
Entrepreneur in life science and healthcare
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Active early-stage investor; member of
TiE Angels, TBD Angels, and Sky Ventures -
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus on medical imaging

Portfolio
Knox is the first automated wealth advisor and management company for property investors delivering superior investment outcomes end-to-end – from payments to banking, leasing to insurance, financing to tax, vacancy avoidance to maintenance. Knox is democratizing access to preferred rates of return via the $1.25T/yr residential investment property market. Founder sold prior real estate startup to Private Equity firm.
Co-Investors include G20, Pillar, TBD Angels, and Greycroft.
