Empowering clients with unique combinations of our financial instruments, expert consulting, strategic partnerships, and innovative growth solutions.
Our Team | Expertise in Action
Merging Traffic's team consists of investors, researchers, geeks and entrepreneurs with decades of experience building, scaling and selling companies. They understand what it takes to succeed in the new economy. Merging Traffic is equipped to integrate consultants to serve our clients or leverage our extensive network for expansion and scaling needs.
Max W. Hooper
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Max Hooper is responsible for the management and growth strategy of Merging Traffic, serving as the corporate liaison to multiple industries and various capital formation groups. Prior to starting Merging Traffic, Max was co-founder of Equity Broadcasting Corporation -- a media company that owned and operated more than one hundred television stations across the United States. Dr. Hooper was responsible for activities in the cable, satellite, investment banking and technology industries, , and during his tenure, it grew to become one of the ten largest broadcasting companies in the country. Dr. Hooper has started multiple businesses in the technology, lodging, internet and service industries. Additionally, he served as President of Mergers and Acquisitions for a national financial services company. Max has served on the investment committee of several venture capital and angel funds, and has completed "work out" transactions as a Certified Debt Arbitrator representing banks and private transactions. A lifelong learner, Dr. Hooper has earned five doctorate degrees, Ph.D, D.Min, Th.D, Ph.D, D.Min, from a variety of institutions. As an avid runner, he has completed more than one hundred marathons, an additional twenty ultra-marathons, which are fifty or one hundred mile runs, and the Grand Slam of Ultra Running. Dr. Hooper is committed to his family and is a husband, father to five children, and grandfather to seven grandsons. He is active in many organizations and serves on various boards of directors, and works globally with several ministries and non-profit aid groups. Max had the honor of speaking at the United Nations in New York in 2015.
Wilson Ariza
President
Mr. Wilson Ariza is an experienced Fortune 500 C-level Executive with an extensive record of successful management of multiple multi-billion programs in healthcare services in the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an expert authority with 30+ years of experience in the development and implementation of Disruptive Innovations in the US & the Globe:
Information Technology, Electronic Medical Record, Virtual Care, Telemedicine, Simulation-based Medical Education, Cybersecurity & Mixed Reality (VR+AR). He has extensive International Experience (NATO & United Nations) and served in the U.S. Army as a Medical Service & Acquisition Corps officer for 24 years on Active Duty.
David S. Metcalf
Chairman
David Metcalf is the Director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) at University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training. Dr. Metcalf has more than twenty years of experience in the design and research of web-based and mobile technologies converging to enable learning and healthcare. His approaches have saved companies millions of dollars while guiding business transformations for learning organizations. Specific areas of Dr. Metcalf's focus include learning business strategy, performance measurement, operational excellence, outsourcing, blended learning and mobile learning. His current research topics include simulation, mobilization, mobile patient records and medical decision support systems, visualization systems, scalability models, secure mobile data communications, gaming, innovation management, and operational excellence.
Al Weiss
Director
Al Weiss had a 39-year career at Disney. His last position was President of Worldwide Operations for Disney’s $10 Billion+/95,000 employee Walt Disney Parks and Resorts business. He serves on multiple boards and has been a crucial part of many mergers and acquisitions across industries. He was named “Most Influential Businessman in Central Florida” by the Orlando Business Journal in 2005.
A.J. Ripin
Chief of Staff
A.J. Ripin has more than a decade of experience in research, design and implementation of mobile/social technology convergence. He has a deep understanding of global data privacy and protection requirements. Mr. Ripin brings experience in entrepreneurship, business, development, marketing, product management, instructional design, mobile learning and emerging technologies. He is active in the South Florida technology space. A.J. is a committed husband and is a father to two daughters. He participates in many organizations and serves on a board of directors.
Matthew Tang
Chief Operating Officer
Matthew specializes in delivering innovative solutions with an intense focus on bottom-line results. Matthew spent 15 years leading and delivering complex technology projects in academic institutions and corporate enterprises. He has worked across multiple industries where he translated executive vision into strategies that drive business performance. Matthew holds a B.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University.
Griffin D. Hooper
Director of Platform Operations
Mr. Hooper has spent the past twelve years in project management and system design within the entertainment industry. He joined Merging Traffic after a career change that had led him to Partners Advisory Group, where he managed the back office systems and support processes. Earlier in his career, Griffin was a warehouse lead and Show Technician for CTS Audio. He was later recruited by Vision360 to become the Technical Director and Facilities Manager of their National and Global Headquarters located in Central Florida. After traveling extensively with Seabourn Cruise lines across the Americas and the Mediterranean, where he was the sole Audio Engineer aboard, Mr. Hooper took on a Lead Technician role and functioned as a Project Manager for PSAV®, a leading company that provides event technology services for the hotel, resort and conference center markets.
OUR PORTFOLIO
Represented below are some of the companies that Merging Traffic has directly invested in, co-invested in, indirectly invested in through its limited partnership interest in FAN Investors Fund I, LP, as General Partner in Global Blockchain Venture Partners, or has posted its issuer managed offering for investment on our website.
Merging Traffic is a web-based crowdsourcing portal for capital formation, and an investment pool targeting earlier stage companies. Merging Traffic is a first in kind combination of targeted fund raising and diversified fund investments.
Global Blockchain Ventures (GBV) is a blockchain technology focused venture capital fund, specializing in blockchain enabled application within synergistic technology platforms including Internet of Things, MedTech, and Artificial Intelligence.
Inveniam Capital Partners is an innovative, digital marketplace that aims to transform the structure and operations of middle market corporate finance and substantially increase the availability of capital for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Inveniam has built a powerful technology platform that combines its proprietary Workflows for Investment Services Engine (“WISE”) and the distributed ledger technology of the blockchain to effect that transformation.
Merging Traffic International is a private company formed to catalyze Global Capital Markets through strategic relationships with targeted, large-scale engagements.
Simplicity Esports is a North American esports organization with a unique approach to ensure the ultimate fan friendly esports experience. Our mission is to increase gamer and fan involvement at a grassroots level, and foster a sense of community as we compete with top class talent
Mercury Cash is a specialized and secure platform that has its own Ethereum wallet and market exchange for ETH/USD. Mercury Cash is a project that will lead people in the investment, adoption and usage of cryptocurrencies with a series of innovative strategies and solutions.
Intecrowd is an authorized Workday Services Partner with the expertise and technology to offer best-in-class integration solutions between Workday and other 3rd Party systems worldwide. Its technology simplifies even the most complex integrations and ongoing systems management. Intecrowd has been critical in several of the world's largest deployments.
RealView Imaging, an Israeli start-up company, is pioneering the field of interactive live holography, creating a new dimension for medical imaging applications. The company’s proprietary Digital Light Shaping™ technology provides physicians with a unique natural user experience, creating the only accurate, three-dimensional holograms within hands reach.
StartUp Nation Ventures LLC (SUNV) is a global, crowd-backed equity investment vehicle that funds early-stage Israeli tech companies and world-nation start-up companies that can benefit from establishing a U.S. subsidiary or division. We are founder-friendly, entrepreneur advocates providing strategic, operational, and financial support and partnerships through a next-generation, equity-based crowdfunding framework.
REMOVE - Imperative is a leading provider of employee development training tools and programs that boosts performance by aligning personal purpose with that of the organization.
Innosec measures Cyber Security Risk Expose and provides the technology framework to perform real-time GDPR Privacy Impact Assessments. Innosec's framework, STORM, provides four primary service offerings: enterprise cyber risk management, cyber due-diligence for M&A companies, data to determine pricing based on risk for cyber insurance companies, and GDPR privacy impact and risk assessment.
Through a patented technology ULT is working to solve some of today's trade and governmental permitting and record keeping problems. ULT is solving software challenges, GIS and non-GIS record keeping, legal and jurisdictional issues.
PikMyKid is making school dismissal smarter, safer, and cheaper. It’s the best system for keeping your kids and school staff safe during the dismissal process and is designed for Parents, Administrators, and Teachers.
HypGames is a non-cash fantasy sports game platform with a deep multi-sport game play model. Unlike many other fantasy sports platforms that pay out cash and skirt the line of gambling, HypGames rewards players solely with virtual goods. This approach allows the company to tap into the market segment of fantasy sports players who cannot or prefer not to play with real money while still utilizing in-game purchases, in-game advertising and other well understood monetization strategies.
One app. Endless possibilities. Explore businesses in Main Street shopping and entertainment districts across the country. Visit your favorite districts, and receive valuable offers and promotions via your mobile device.
Global Safety Management (GSM), a SaaS-based compliance company that provides tools for companies to easily create, manage, and deliver mandatory product safety information and labeling. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the main federal agency charged with the enforcement of safety and health legislation, has the potential to issue significant fines dealing with failure to adequately communicate safety information.
On-demand home servicing app that provides instant access to service providers in the immediate area including: plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning (HVAC), and general handyman. The company provides on-demand access to these services from a vetted service providers that are available for hire in the local area. Homee currently operates with over 1,100 service providers in seven metropolitan markets.
Fattmerchant exited in 2020 and was rebranded as Stax by Fattmerchant. Fattmerchant is a next-generation merchant services provider offering significant cost savings to its members. Fattmerchant provides a no-contract, transparent, wholesale payment processing platform.
Blockchain Consortium's Managed Fiduciary Model ( “ MDF “ ) identifies and pursues the most promising applied blockchain solutions positioned for leading Digital Transformation . We focus in high growth markets . Healthcare , Enterprise Applications , Deep Space , Education , and Fintech .
WealthBlock's white label platform integrates essential capital raising tools (CRM, data room, investor verification, e-signature, etc.) in an all-in-one solution to 10x fundraising productivity. Our product is leveraged by broker dealers, venture capital, private equity, private placement, investment banking firms and crowdfunding portal operators, marketing private offerings to investors including Reg D, A+, S, CF, debt, equity and funds across various asset classes (real estate, farmland, technology, cannabis, etc.).
KoreConx brings the tried-and-true infrastructure of the public markets to streamline the chaotic global private markets. Their secure, all-in-one platform gives the private market ecosystem the ability to compliantly manage corporate records, captable, funding activities, shareholders, and investors —while efficiently taking advantage of innovative capital-raising opportunities.