We believe potential outweighs pedigree.
Opn CoLabs is a platform that connects under-resourced innovators with peers, mentors, and mission-aligned organizations to co-create real solutions. We built it on a simple belief: the value of an idea should never depend on your job title, your degree, or the size of your network.
THE PROBLEM
Traditional innovation ecosystems privilege pedigree and location. Aspiring founders, students, and creators say they don't know how to pursue their ideas — they lack mentors, collaborators, and a trusted place that connects opportunity, people, and learning in one space. Meanwhile, organizations seeking diverse perspectives have no efficient way to tap authentic, community-driven thinking. The result: wasted ideas, unequal access, and underutilized human potential.
Our Founders
ROBERT FAMILIA
Co-Founder & CEO
From restaurant kitchens in New York City to the halls of the U.S. State Department, Robert’s path has been anything but traditional. He grew up in the Bronx with a single mom and three sisters, and became a single dad at 21. Over the last five years, he rebuilt from the ground up—completing his undergraduate degree online and earning admission to Harvard for graduate school.
Through his journey, Robert has seen how too often the worth of an idea is judged by the title you hold or the school on your résumé. At Opn CoLabs, he believes ideas should be measured by their potential, and that anyone, anywhere, can have one worth pursuing.
KIRSTEN VON REINHOLTZ
Co-Founder & President
Kirsten began her career in journalism, covering everything from politics to sports ... but what stayed with her was a love for problem-solving. That instinct has since guided her into ventures as varied as co-founding a company developing low-cost cancer diagnostics for underserved regions, and serving on boards supporting unhoused youth and survivors of trafficking.
Through her work around the globe, Kirsten has seen that lasting change doesn’t come from titles or résumés, but from people seeking solutions together. She envisions Opn CoLabs as the space where those ideas can finally take root and thrive.