MARKETPLACE 50 - Key Persons
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- Global ECommerce Executive at ComCap
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- Co - Founder & CEO of Balance
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- Co - Founder & CEO of Spryker
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- Investor
- Co - Founder and Director at Thrasio
Carlos Cashman is an experienced entrepreneur and investor in the areas of advertising, marketing, and high-tech. He has been part of several venture-backed and non-venture-backed startups and has started fifteen companies himself. He has an extensive strategic marketing, branding/positioning, and design background and has driven many innovative projects forward. For his career spanning 20 years, he has worked with several successful startups as an executive, founder, investor, and advisor in the US and abroad.
Carlos has been the Co-founder and Director at Thrasio since 2018. Thrasio is a next-generation consumer goods company that reimagines how the world's most-loved products become accessible to everyone. Since founding Thrasio, Carlos has been passionate about bringing products people love to the world and about the talented people who are making this vision a reality. Over the dozen companies he has founded include Thrasio, Asset Performance Technologies (sold 2018), OrionCKB (sold 2017), CourseAdvisor (sold 2007), and Opus360 (IPO in 2000). He is an active angel investor involved with several charities promoting global peace and education.
He recently relinquished his role as CEO and Co-Founder at Thrasio but remains on the Thrasio Board as a Director. He lives in the ‘burbs of Boston and enjoys spending time with his wife and kids.
Job Titles:
- Ex - CEO of ChannelAdvisor
- Operating Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners
David Spitz is the ex-CEO of ChannelAdvisor, where he served for close to 17 years. At ChannelAdvisor, his mission was to connect and optimize the world's commerce. He helped build ChannelAdvisor as the #1 multichannel commerce platform in the world. He joined ChannelAdvisor at $10m in revenue and grew it to $175m and $40m+ in EBIT before selling the business. During his tenure as CEO, he consistently delivered a 13% annualized return for shareholders and a 90% Glassdoor approval rating from employees. CommerceHub acquired ChannelAdvisor in November 2022.
Before ChannelAdvior, David was entrepreneur-in-residence at Aurora Funds, a venture capital firm, from 2005 to 2008. From 2000 to 2002, he was the founder and chief technology officer of WindWire, a mobile marketing company, where he then served as president until its acquisition by Inphonic in 2003. In 1996 David co-founded and, until 1998, served as chief technology officer of, Netsation, a network management software company acquired by Nortel Networks.
David has a B.A. degree in computer science from the University of California, San Diego. He is a past chairman of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Foundation Board and past chairman and a member of the executive committee and board of directors of CED, an entrepreneurial support organization for companies in the southeastern United States. He is also the holder of four U.S. patents.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures
Fred Wilson has been a businessman, blogger, and venture capitalist since 1987. He founded USV along with Brad Burnham in 2004. He is currently a co-founder and partner at Union Square Ventures. This small, collegial partnership manages over $1B with investments in Web 2.0 companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, Zynga, Kickstarter, Etsy, and MongoDB. USV portfolio companies create services that transform important markets fundamentally.
Fred started his career as an associate, becoming a General Partner at Euclid Partners, having worked there from 1987 to 1996. Fred then, along with Jerry Colonna, founded Flatiron Partners, named after the Flatiron District. Soon, it grew into an investment fund focused primarily on follow-on investing, with investments in notable dot-com bubble successes and failures, including Alacra, comScore Networks, Yoyodyne, Geocities, Kozmo.com, and The New York Times Digital.
Fred has been rated as the favorite venture capitalist by TheFunded.com, a social networking site for technology entrepreneurs. He has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Fred is married with three children and lives in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Executive
- Co - Founder & Executive Chair of Marketplacer
Jason Wyatt is the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Marketplacer, a world-leading global technology Platform as a Service (PaaS) company that builds successful and scalable online marketplaces. Jason is one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs and sought-after leaders, who bring with him the financial acumen of a Chartered Accountant with the flair of a seasoned inventor. Jason is one of the most prominent industry voices on the strategy and implementation of digital marketplaces and the more extensive technology and entrepreneurial industries.
Jason founded Marketplacer in 2016, intending to become the most famous, and trusted connected commerce technology. Before, he worked with some of the biggest corporates, including KPMG, Reuters, and General Motors, and co-founded the original online marketplace, BikeExchange. This led him to see the infinite potential of the rapidly expanding Unified Commerce environment.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of Marketplace Risk
- Founder & CEO of
Jeremy Gottschalk is the CEO and Co-founder of Marketplace Risk, the "go-to" resource for startups in the marketplace, sharing, gig, p2p, on-demand, and collaborative economy. Marketplace Risk is an industry leader and offers the most comprehensive source for risk management, trust & safety, compliance and legal strategy education, networking, and information exchange for startups. Jeremy brings many years of experience working with high-growth startups as a cross-functional resource and trusted advisor to key internal and external stakeholder groups ranging from multi-disciplinary teams and management to c-suite, board of directors, and investors.
His 20 years of experience with multinational law firms as an in-house operator and consultant to marketplace platforms led him to develop the Marketplace Risk platform, which has become the leading source of risk management, trust & safety, compliance, and legal strategy education, networking and information sharing for the marketplace and sharing economy platforms.
Jeremy has become an industry-leading voice for legal strategy and risk management. Before starting Marketplace Risk, Jeremy was the founding executive director for Marketplace Industry Association, a go-to organization for the marketplace startup ecosystem. Jeremy holds a JD from Loyola and an MBA from Kellogg and thrives in fast-paced, results-driven environments.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & General Partner of Variant Fund
- Co - Founder and General Partner at Variant
Li Jin is a Co-founder and General Partner at Variant. At Variant, she leads consumer investing for the firm and supports portfolio companies in their communications, community building, and go-to-market strategy. Variant is an early-stage venture firm investing in the ownership economy. It's invested in web3 and believes the next generation of the internet will transform users into owners.
Before joining Variant, Li was a founder and managing partner at Atelier, an early-stage VC fund investing in the creator economy and future of work. In the fall of 2021, Atelier and Variant merged to invest in software that is owned and operated by its users. This alliance was based on the shared belief that the future of consumer software is crypto. Li joined Variant after it merged with Atelier Ventures. Before founding Atelier, Li was a consumer partner at Andreessen Horowitz for four years.
Li is an avid content creator with a Substack newsletter, podcast, and TikTok. Her interest lies in companies enabling individuals to make a living from their unique passions and audiences. She's written some great pieces on the passion economy and services marketplace. She loves skiing.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
Marc Andreessen is the Co-founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. It was founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz invests in both early-stage start-ups and established growth companies. Andreessen and Horowitz were ranked No. 1 on CNET's 2011 list of most influential investors.
In 2012, Andreessen was named in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In March 2013, he was one of five Internet and Web pioneers awarded the first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, recognizing "outstanding advances in engineering that have changed the world."
Marc is best known as the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used Web browser. He co-created the highly influential internet browser and co-founded Netscape, which later sold to AOL for $4.2 billion. He also co-founded Loudcloud, which, as Opsware was sold to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion. He served on the board of Hewlett-Packard from 2008 to 2018. Marc serves on the board of the following Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies: Applied Intuition, Carta, Coinbase, Dialpad, Flow, Golden, Honor, OpenGov, and Samsara. He is also on the board of Meta.
Marc holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- CEO & Co - Founder of the NTWK
Marina Planas is the CEO and Co-founder of "The NTWK" - a platform for a community of digital business model enthusiasts, where venture capitalists, consultants, companies, academics, and entrepreneurs connect and exchange knowledge to better understand what it takes to build and run innovative digital business (platforms, marketplaces, NFTs, Metaverse, DAOs, etc. It is a one-stop place for everything related to digital innovation, where professionals acquire, exchange, and generate knowledge around digital business model innovation through a community experience.
Before founding TheNTWK, she was a partner and advisor at Meetoptics - a firm specialing in optics & photonics search of photonics components and technologies. Before Meetoptics, Mairna was a Senior Business Advisor & Partner at Wallbox Chargers. This firm specializes in creating smart charging and energy solutions to advance electric vehicle adoption and sustainable energy use.
Marina has multiple advanced management programs from MIT Sloan School of Management and an MBA from Esade. She loves helping traditional businesses excel with digital business models. Her mantra is fun and profit, with innovation always in mind.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of Bowery Capital
- Founder & Managing Partner at Bowery Capital
Michael Brown is the Founder & Managing Partner at Bowery Capital. Based in New York, Bowery Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing and building the next generation of business software market leaders. While a Bowery Capital, Michael was instrumental in creating the firm's Acceleration Team - a group of sales, marketing, and customer success practitioners focused solely on helping early-stage founders with revenue-related growth.
Before Bowery Capital, Michael was a Co-Founder and General Partner at AOL Ventures, where he invested in mainly b2b companies. Before AOL, Michael worked for the investment arm of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, where he did many exciting things, focussing primarily on early-stage B2B companies. Michael started his career as an equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley, where he supported coverage of the electronics contract manufacturer and supply chain marketplace grouping of companies on the US equity research team.
Michael is considered a senior and seasoned industry leader in the venture capital space. His skills in business software with a strong understanding of early company revenue generation are unmatched. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Forest Foundation and the Columbia College Alumni Association and holds an undergraduate degree from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Director for Technology at Deloitte Digital
- Leader in the Industry across Areas of User Experience Design
- Managing Director at Deloitte
Oliver Siodmak is a Director for Technology at Deloitte Digital, overseeing the Technology, Media & Telecommunications industry sectors.
Oliver is now an eminent thought leader in the industry across areas of User Experience Design, eCommerce, and Content Management. An industry voice often quoted in Destination CRM and a regular speaker at several technology conferences, including DrupalCon and IBM Connect. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from York College of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, and CEO of Stripe
Patrick Collison is an Irish entrepreneur, co-founder, and CEO of Stripe, which he started with his younger brother, John, in 2010. Stripe is a suite of APIs powering online payment processing and commerce solutions for internet businesses of all sizes. Stripe's products power payments for online and in-person retailers, subscription businesses, software platforms, marketplaces, and everything in between. Millions of businesses of all sizes-from startups to large enterprises-use Stripe's software and APIs to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online.
Stripe received an investment of $2 million from PayPal co-founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel in 2011. By the end of 2016, the Collison brothers became the world's youngest self-made billionaires, worth at least $1.1 billion. This happened after an investment in Stripe from CapitalG, and General Catalyst Partners valued the company at $9.2 billion. In 2019, Stripe raised an additional $250 million, which put its valuation at $35 Billion.
Patrick began learning computer programming at an early age. He attended MIT but dropped out once he started on his own. At the age of sixteen, he won the 41st Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. In 2020, he founded Fast Grants to accelerate COVID-19-related science with Tyler Cowen. Fast Grants is an American charity that provides funding for scientific research.
Marketplace 50 recognizes Patrick Collison as one of the eminent Marketplace Enablers promoting the platform business model and pushing the pace of digital payments industry development from a business and technology point of view. Stripe was one of the first companies to offer a robust payment solution supporting the marketplace model and continues to be one of the best options for handing multi-vendor ecommerce payments at scale.
Job Titles:
- Founder & CEO of Logicbroker, Inc.
- Founder of Logicbroker
- Logicbrokers CEO
Peyman Zamani is the founder of Logicbroker, a premier Supply Chain Experience Management (SCXM) eCommerce platform. Logicbrokers' unique B2B and D2C offerings provide brands and retailers with a single source of truth for their supply chain operations. The platform helps yield real-time visibility and communications, higher compliance rates, and lower transaction costs, providing exceptional customer experiences. Logicbroker provides dropship, marketplace, and supply chain visibility solutions.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder at Mirakl
Philippe Corrot is the CEO and Co-founder at Mirakl, a global leader in online e-commerce marketplace platforms. He began his career as a founder by starting KEYRUS, one of the earliest web agencies of its time that supported major brands in their digital strategies. It got acquired by Progiware Group in 2000. He then started MAYREV, a fashion and accessories brand that operated its own stores and sold through distributors. The success of MAYREV resulted in it getting sold to the Rand Group.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Avalara
- Founder & CEO of Avalara
Scott is the co-founder and CEO of Avalara. Scott is responsible for the vision and strategic direction of Avalara; it is dynamically changing the transactional tax landscape by delivering innovative solutions in the U.S. and abroad. Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right. In partnership with leading ERP, accounting, e-commerce, and other financial management system providers, Avalara delivers cloud-based compliance solutions for various transaction taxes, including sales and use, VAT, GST, excise, communications, lodging, customs duties, and other indirect tax types. It has been recognized as one of America's fastest-growing technology companies.
Job Titles:
- Author & CEO of McFadyen Digital
Tom McFadyen founded McFadyen Digital 30+ years ago and has built a team of several hundred employees across North America, South America, and Asia. The organization is headquartered in the Washington DC area with several offices across the US, Brazil, and India. During 20+ years of digital commerce focus Tom has overseen 250+ large-scale digital transformation projects (many $1 billion+ online revenue) successfully completed, having proven his ability to solve his clients' business needs with innovative technology. Clients include Albertsons / Safeway, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, H-E-B, American Eagle Outfitters, Tesco, P&G, Gordon Food Service, Sony, Conde Nast, IKEA, Newell Rubbermaid, Red Cross, Sephora, Cablevision, US Postal Service, Dow Jones, Hyatt, LEGO, HP, TI, NPR, GE, Cisco, and 200+ other global brands.
Tom is a frequent speaker at industry events around the world such as the NRF Big Show, B2B Online, MIT Platform Strategy Summit, The NTWK Summit, and more. Tom also holds board & council positions at the NRF, YPO, and EO organizations.
Tom has authored two commerce-focused books, including Amazon Best Seller Marketplace Best Practices, a book about transforming commerce in the platform economy with the online marketplace model. "Marketplace Best Practices" has officially sold over 3000 copies across 14 countries on the Amazon bookstore and currently sits in the #1 position in two categories on the Amazon.com store.
Marketplace 50 recognizes Tom McFadyen as one of the eminent Marketplace Enablers promoting the platform business model and pushing the pace of network-based commerce development from a business, strategy, and technological point of view. As the leader of McFadyen Digital, Tom has overseen the creation of dozens of marketplaces over the past 15 years involving some of the industry's best technology stacks. This highly competitive annual distinction accounts for dozens of factors and seeks to recognize those making a meaningful impact on this space.
Tom Wendt is a vision-driven, experienced, and trusted advisor for leading Fortune-500 tech, automotive and mobility-focused companies, and the private equity and venture capital community. Tom is a leader in Bain's Technology and Automotive practices. An expert in the firm's Advanced Manufacturing & Services practice, Tom focuses primarily on the intersection of automotive and tech, venture capital, and corporate innovation. Before Bain, Tom co-led the North American automotive practice of a leading global strategy consultancy.
Tom has a successful track record of creating profitable, growing businesses with industry-recognized expertise. He possesses deep management expertise in the rapid-growth and turnaround environments with demonstrated ability to execute strategy, grow and turn business around. Tom is passionate about the ongoing mobility revolution and the rapidly changing automotive landscape.
Tom also has extensive experience in corporate venture capital that helps startup companies reach their full potential. Besides the client work, Tom is part of the advisory boards of Energy Impact Partners and Next Future Transportation Inc. Tom has an MBA, an MSME, and a BSc from the Darmstadt University of Technology. He has also attended Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program.