
Product-focused Internet Software Entrepreneur
Greater New York City Area

Product-focused Internet Software Entrepreneur
Greater New York City Area
I am part of an internet startup in NYC creating a peer-to-peer gifting community for college savings. Check us out at:
http://www.freshmanfund.com/
If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Content Production, Web Design Management, 2yrs experience Wordpress Blogging Software, Pitching, Fund-raising, Business Development, Project management... Startups! (a little bit of everything)
(Internet industry)
November 2007 — Present (1 year 1 month)
Founder at an early-stage startup.
Customer Service, Product Development & Operations
Primary customer service contact for our users. Turn customer problems into improvements to our website and/or our internal systems and procedures. Key role in the design of our disbursement system. Design and product management for both internal and consumer-facing products and features. Endless QA for all of the above.
Marketing
Up in the clouds: Market research to inform business plan, company strategy.
On the ground: Focus groups, surveys, blogging, search marketing and one-on-one usability sessions. Design specifications for the consumer app UI.
Business Development & Fundraising
Seeking win-win partnerships that expand our userbase or introduce value-added products, services or advertising. Networking, messaging and conversation-ing in pursuit of partnerships and investment.
(Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)
August 2006 — Present (2 years 4 months)
Are you part of a technology-based startup or business in the NY metro area?
Are you facing a significant operational decision or trying to get your head around a thorny issue?
If so, I'd like to invite you to share the problem with a small group of entrepreneurs and members of the NYC tech and digital media community. We provide a small (9-12ppl), non-public forum where ideas can be shared and critiqued honestly in a 60-75min focused discussion.
We solicit entrepreneurs and business people like you because, outside the boardrooms of startups and their VCs, few people have access to the real-world problems confronting entrepreneurs "in their own words."
If this sounds interesting, or if you know someone who might be interested, please contact me or forward this message. We ask only that our guests represent operating businesses or startups with funding and bring a meaningful issue (not a sales pitch) to the table.
We meet on the last Monday of each month
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Retail industry)
October 2005 — Present (3 years 2 months)
Together with my partner Matt Clark (Gorges Website Design - http://gorgeswebsites.com/): conceived and implemented custom retail website targeting bloggers. Site allows bloggers to create a custom t-shirt, mousepad or coffee mug decorated with a word cloud based on the most-frequently-used keywords in their blog. Bootstrapped site (conceived 10/05, launched 1/06) with less than $1,200 upfront capital. Profitable on operations since launch and net profitable since February 2006.
(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)
October 2006 — November 2007 (1 year 2 months)
Conduct market research pertaining to the evolution of Right Media's open, transparent exchange for advertising yield management. Develop methods and tools to improve Media Guard, the company's internal ad taxonomy product.
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Online Media industry)
April 2006 — September 2006 (6 months)
Continually evaluating our progress, striving to meet the goals set for our company and keeping a close eye on the numbers. Maintain composure, determination and leadership in a startup environment where things do not always go "exactly according to plan." Managing/Editing/Publishing contributions from over 30 freelance contributors and two technical developers.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Financial Services industry)
August 2005 — March 2006 (8 months)
Edited independent biopharmaceutical investment research for copy and content. Drafted research notes for the company's institutional and retail products. Responsible for weekly retail investment newsletter, Sturza's Medical Investment Letter. Designed and edited marketing strategies for increasing retail subscriber base.
(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Higher Education industry)
June 2004 — June 2005 (1 year 1 month)
English instructor in Tokyo, Japan.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Biotechnology industry)
January 2001 — January 2004 (3 years 1 month)
Business Development
Wrote Competitive Analysis and modeled financial projections for business plan ($1M raised); modeled financials for deals with several major US Pharmaceutical firms.
Operations
Trained and managed three technicians in all aspects of laboratory usage. Wrote production protocols and co-designed/managed R&D efforts. Trained technicians in equipment use & research protocols.
Named Inventor on U.S. Patent Application "Ladder Assembly and System for Generating Diversity" 11/271,562; Filed: November 11, 2005
M.A., Medical Sciences, 1999 — 2001
Bachelor's, Chemistry, August 1994 — June 1998
Education, Child Development, Social Gifting, Social Software, Search, Productivity Gaming, Photography, Music, Writing, Design
NYCE, nextNY, BarCampBank, BarCampMoneyNYC