Meet the Team

Meet the team behind the MN Cup vision, strategy, and operations.

Kailin Oliver

Associate Director - MN Cup

Kailin Oliver is the Associate Director of Minnesota Cup, leading strategy, operations, and partnerships for the competition. Kailin joined the Holmes Center in June of 2022 as a Marketing and Events Manager, before moving on to focus on MN Cup in January of 2023. Prior to joining the Holmes Center team, Kailin spent her time working for a multitude of nonprofits around the Twin Cities. This included managing Minnesota's local chapter of Camp Kesem, a nationwide organization focused on providing support to children who have been impacted by a parent's cancer diagnosis. Kailin moved to the Twin Cities several years ago from Portland, Oregon, and holds a BA from the Carlson School of Management in Nonprofit Management and Marketing.

Malik Samuel

Malik Samuel

Program Coordinator - MN Cup

“Stand for something or you'll fall for anything,” a quote attributed to Alexander Hamilton reminds me every day to stay true to what I believe and be firm on my word. I am a very resilient individual who has failed and came short many times in life, but it is all a part of my testimony and makes me strive harder each day to be better than I was in the previous.  My name is Malik Samuel, I graduated from the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities with a major in Political Science and two minors in Afro Studies and Career Readiness. I  am very passionate about contributing to our society and community development while reaching a status of socioeconomic equality.

Headshot of John Stavig

John Stavig

Director - Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship

Mr. Stavig holds a BS in Business from the Carlson School of the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has over 15 years of experience in management consulting, private equity and industry. John has served as the Professional Director of the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management since 2005, where he leads the development and delivery of experiential curriculum and programs. Most recently, he served as the CFO and board member for an early-stage communications firm acquired by Verizon. As a founding principal of a $100 million private equity fund, he sourced and managed investments in early-stage communications firms. John also served as CEO, CFO and board member for several start-up and early-stage technology firms. In these roles, John raised more than $300 million in capital and led numerous investments, acquisitions and divestitures.  As a Principal at Gemini Consulting and Arthur Andersen, he provided strategic and financial consulting services to senior executives in Fortune 1000 firms in the United States, Europe, Asia and South Africa.  John resides in Long Lake, MN with his wife and three children.

Scott Litman

Scott Litman

Co-founder, Managing Partner, & CRO - Lucy

Scott Litman is an entrepreneur in search of new ways technology can advance the mission of chief marketing officers, advertising, and media agencies. From the early days of the Internet and the first websites, to business portals of the dot-com era to the latest generation of 1:1 marketing — integrating sales, service, and marketing — Litman and his business partner Dan Mallin have a broad history of building businesses that help clients, including Fortune 1000 marketers and large ad agencies, take advantage of cutting-edge digital transformation. 

Litman and Mallin have also contributed to the local community.  To encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship they founded the Minnesota Cup, the largest statewide business planning competition in the country. The competition provides mentorship, encouragement, and financial resources to would-be entrepreneurs have raised more $200 million to spur innovation in Minnesota.

Awards include:

  • Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year
  • University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement
  • The Business Journal's Titans of Technology
  • Twin Cities Business 200 Minnesotans You Should Know
  • The Business Journal's 40 Under 40
  • Finalist for the MHTA Tekne Award

Dan Mallin

Co-founder, Managing Partner, & CEO - Lucy

Dan has been using the internet for the last twenty years to help business leaders resolve problems and drive growth. Dan spent his early years at 3M, where he was awarded the Pyramid of Excellence and Circle of Technical Excellence Awards and was the recipient of several Alpha Grants. Later, Dan founded Imaginet, a regional leader in web development services, and became the North American COO of connect@jwt (now called RMG Connect). Besides spending his time as Managing Partner for Magnet 360, Dan serves on the board for several well-known agencies and other organizations.

Dan's awards include:

  • Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year
  • The Business Journal's Titans of Technology
  • The Business Journal's 40 Under 40
  • Twin Cities Business 200 Minnesotans You Should Know
  • Finalist for the MHTA Tekne Award

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