ARI KAUFMAN
VISIONARY GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE AND LEADER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS

- Early-Stage
- Turn-Arounds
- Platform/Roll-ups
- Exits / IPO
- Corp Dev / M&A
- Structured Finance
- Strategic Selling
- Market Development
- Executive Management
- Leadership
- Coaching
- Partnerships
- P&L
- Team Building
- Account-Based Selling
- Culture Development
- Technology Development
- Demand-Based Marketing
Ari has served in various CXO capacities to start and acquire companies, lead turnarounds, and substantially grow technology companies to create maximum shareholder value. As CSO, he drove IssuerDirect [NYSE: ISDR] to IPO, established a platform and acquired four additional companies. As founder, he grew interactive lead-generating advertising firm ThinkAcquisition to $100M in billings before exit. As President of InfoNow, Ari engineered the management buy-out of LocationInsight with private equity financial support and as CEO sold Placeable to a strategic buyer. As General Manager for LookSmart [NYSE: LOOK], Ari grew the paid search platform responsible for $250 million in revenue. As CRO, Ari increased first-party ad serving revenue at TruEffect (f/k/a MatchLogic) by 340% over three years. Ari was a founder at Zacks.com, where he launched the first ad-supported financial web site, achieved $120M topline in four years, and pioneered the online advertising industry.
TRANSACTION AND CAPITAL EXPERIENCE
- £135M IPO for WILink.com plc
- Completed four acquisitions for WIlink plc – fintech roll-up platform
- Sold Placeable to Ignitetech for 5x return to private equity investor United Communications group
- Sold ThinkAcquisition to Performance Bridge for 10x return
- Sold LocationInsight to United Communications Group at 5x EBITDA
- Sold RealHousing to First American Title
- Secured $16M series A for Sojern
- Secured $8M series B for Pixorial – Acquired by Lifelogger
- Secured $6.5M series A for Placeable
- Executed $5M management buy-out for LocationInsight
- Raised $4M series seed for Spout
- $4M series A for RealTremds and 5x multiple exit
- 5x EBITDA exit for ThinkAcquisition
GROWTH AND TURN-AROUND EXPERIENCE
- Increased Placeable top-line revenue by 25% and reduced customer churn from 16% to below 4% over 2 years
- Shifted LocationInsight revenue composition from 75% one-time fees to 85% recurring
- Increased InfoNow average contract length from 12 to 20 months
- Launched LookSmart private label SaaS solution and increased company revenue by 40% in one year
- Increased TruEffect revenue by 300% to exceed $50M over three years
- Grew ThinkAcquisition to $100M billings
“Ari has led startups, turn-arounds, and early-stage growth companies for 25 years and has made a career out of successfully anticipating the future of growth sectors.”
Denver Business Journal
EXPERIENCE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SPOUT
Denver, CO – 2017 to 2023
- B2G/C device and SaaS solution for locating lead contaminated water
- Secured $4M Series Seed
OPERATING PARTNER, NEXAQUIRE
Denver, CO 2017 to 2018
Operator-led investment team sponsored by Insignia Capital Group to acquire digital media, martech and adtech companies. NexAcquire Search Fund was sponsored to acquire up to $100M of assets.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PLACEABLE – ACQUIRED BY IGNITE TECHNOLOGIES
Denver, CO 2012 to 2017
- Enterprise SaaS location-based Martech platform – $25M P&L
- Acquired by Ignitetech – 5x return for private equity investor, United Communications Group
- Increased top-line by 25% and reduced customer churn from 16% to 4% over 2 years
- Secured $6.5M series A
PRESIDENT, MODEL N (f/k/a INFONOW) – LOCATIONINSIGHT ACQUIRED BY UNITED COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
Denver, CO 2010 to 2012
- B2B digital enterprise location marketing solutions – $5M P&L
- Acquired (MBO) LocationInsight in partnership with PE investor, United Communications Group
- Pivoted commoditized legacy web locator business of 75% one-time fees into local search marketing SaaS platform with 85% recurring revenue
- Increased average contract length from 12 to 20 months
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PIXORIAL – ACQUIRED BY LIFELOGGER
Denver, CO 2010
- Facebook / social media video chat platform – $10M P&L
- Acquired by Lifelogger
- Secured $8M Series Increased average contract length from 12 to 20 months
GENERAL PARTNERS, TRAILBLAZER VENTURES
San Francisco, CA 2008-2009
- SearchForce: Leadership of SEM automation and bid optimization company
- Sojern: $16M Series A and GTM development for online publisher of air-travel profiles
- All.com: Funding advisor to peer-to-peer online media file sharing and social network
GENERAL MANAGER, LOOKSMART – ACQUIRED BY PIXIS
San Francisco, CA 2007-2008
- B2B enterprise SaaS search advertising network platform – $100M P&L
- Launched private label SaaS solution Increased revenue from $150M to $250M
- Acquired by Pyxis Tanker, Inc.
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, TRUEFFECT (f/k/a MATCHLOGIC)
Denver, CO 2005-2007
- SaaS publisher ad serving platform
- Catapulted first-party ad serving revenue by 300% to exceed $50M over three years
Chief Revenue Officer/Vice President of Business Development, Innovative Driven (f/k/a Integro eBusiness Consulting)
Denver, CO 2003-2004
Established Microsoft partnership and doubled company revenue pipeline in first year
VENTURE PARTNER, TRAILBLAZER VENTURES
Denver, CO 2001-2003
ThinkAquisition:
- Grew digital lead-gen agency to $100M billings on top of $1M series A
- First American: Secured $4M series A and sold for 5x revenue after two years
RealTrends:
- Secured $4M series A
- Business sold for 5x revenue after two years
Chief Strategy Officer, WILink plc [FTSE:WLK] – ACQUIRED BY ISSUERDIRECT
London, UK 2000-2001
- $135M IPO on London Stock Exchange [FTSE:WLK]
- Fintech platform – data, online trading and information services
- Four acquisitions/integrations – $100M P&L
- Acquired by PrecisionIR and subsequently acquired by IssuerDirect [NYSE:ISDR]
- Knutsford Group PLC private equity 3x return on original investment
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER / EVP INTERNET OPERATIONS, ZACKS.COM & ZACKS INVESTMENT RESEARCH, INC.
Chicago, IL 1996-2000
- Founder – spun-off Zacks.com from Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
- Bootstrapped business from zero to $120M revenue in four years
- $100MM+ valuation on the public market prior to the internet bubble-bust
TECHSTARS MENTOR AND BOARD ADVISOR
Denver, CO 2010-present
- RideIQ (funded)
- Chainstarters
- DataNerds (acquired)
- Attentive
- Blank Slate
BOARD MEMBER, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT
Denver, CO 2015-present
EDUCATION
PURDUE UNIVERSITY, Bachelor of Science
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, Veterinary Science
LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION
SOMMELIER – Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. 2022