Leadership

MICHAEL JANES CEO, President, Co-Founder

Mike is responsible for team leadership, business strategy, operational execution, and delighting fans. Prior to co-founding FanSnap, Mike was Chief Marketing Officer of StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace. Mike led StubHub’s aggressive customer acquisition and brand building initiatives, resulting in the company being named Inc. magazine’s #8 fastest growing private company in 2006, and the acquisition by eBay. Mike was the first VP/GM of Apple Computer’s online Apple Store, growing direct channel revenues 8x and expanding the site from the U.S. to 20+ countries, with the site named Consumer Reports’ #1 computer manufacturer website three years in a row. Mike spent fourteen years at FedEx in a variety of marketing roles, the last four as their first VP of Electronic Commerce and Logistics Marketing, with responsibility for the pioneering internet site, fedex.com. Mike began his career as an investment banker at regional firm Morgan Keegan. Mike received a BS in Business Administration and a BA in Economics from NAIA powerhouse Central Washington University, and an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Mike attends more live events than anyone you know, and his passion for Duke basketball can only be explained by his back-to-back appearances at the (Coach) K Academy fantasy camp.

RISHI GARG VP Business Development, Co-Founder

Rishi is responsible for strategic partnerships, customer acquisition deals, corporate development, and delighting fans. Rishi co-founded FanSnap during his first year of Harvard Business School while serving as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at General Catalyst Partners, and took a leave of absence from HBS to launch the business. Previously, Rishi worked at Google, where he built the business model and helped launch business development for the Google PrintAds B2B advertising exchange. Rishi was Director of Strategy and Business Development for MTV Networks, where he focused on acquisitions, strategic investments, and new business development in the online community, video sharing, and online music spaces. Rishi also was an investment professional at Highland Capital Partners, a leading Boston-based venture capital firm, where he focused on enterprise software and digital media. He began his career as an investment banker in the Corporate Finance Division of the Morgan Stanley Technology Group. Rishi received a BA in Economics and MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. He remains a die-hard Cardinal fan, while keeping it real as a long suffering fan of teams from the great state of Texas - the Rockets, the Longhorns, and even the Texans.

MARK TOWFIQ CTO, Co-Founder

Mark is responsible for technology and product development vision and execution, and delighting fans. Prior to co-founding FanSnap, Mark was VP of Engineering and Product Development at Flock, where he led the team building their innovative web browser optimized for the social web. Before that, he was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Shasta Ventures, where he helped evaluate early-stage companies for potential investment. Mark was VP of Engineering for NexTag, a leading online shopping comparison company, and also VP of Engineering at Walmart.com, the online division of the retail giant. He would also like to give shout-outs to his former colleagues at HomeWarehouse.com, mPower, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Microdyne Corp., FTP Software, and Racal InterLan. Mark holds several patents. Mark received a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University and therefore reps the Tigers. Being from Boston, Mark couldn’t possibly be happier with his world champion Red Sox and Celtics, and wishes the Pats would get their act together.

KATHLEEN PHILIPS General Counsel

Kathleen is responsible for company legal matters, and delighting fans. Prior to joining FanSnap, Kathleen served as General Counsel for StubHub, where she worked with Mike and got hooked on the event ticket business. Kathleen also served as General Counsel for Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of the Flip Video camcorder, and for Hotwire, where she led the legal team from the company's launch through its acquisition by IAC. Kathleen also led a thriving consulting practice where she counseled consumer-focused internet companies including TripIt and Linden Lab (Second Life). Kathleen began her legal career at Cooley Godward in San Francisco, and Stoel Rives in Portland, Oregon. Kathleen holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a JD from the University of Chicago. Kathleen loves attending Broadway musicals with her son and husband. She never misses the chance to see any live music to which she can dance.

Board of Directors

JOEL CUTLER Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners

Joel, a Managing Director and co-founder of General Catalyst Partners, invests early and growth stage venture capital focused on the internet, media, consumer and travel spaces. Joel and General Catalyst co-founded travel search site Kayak.com, where he is currently a board member. He is also a board member of ChoiceStream, GameLogic, ITA Software, OLX, Reveal Imaging and Roost.com. Joel has co-founded and operated numerous businesses as an entrepreneur prior to his work in venture capital. Joel is a graduate of Colby College and Boston College Law School. Being from Boston, Joel roots for the Red Sox, Patriots, and the Celtics - because it's the law.

RICHARD DE SILVA General Partner, Highland Capital Partners

Richard is a General Partner at Highland focused on digital media investments. He invests in early stage companies as well as later stage opportunities. Richard serves on the board of Affine Systems, Digg, FanSnap, Metacafe, NameMedia and US SEARCH, and is or has been actively involved in Highland's investments in Fastclick (IPO, sold to ValueClick), Going (acquired by AOL), Quigo (acquired by AOL) and Turbine. Before joining Highland in 2003, Richard was co-founder and President of SiteBurst Inc., a channel marketing software company. Prior to SiteBurst, Richard was part of the team that founded IronPlanet.com, a venture-backed marketplace for used heavy equipment. Richard enjoys watching his hometown team, the Washington Redskins, and also is a fan of the Boston Celtics. In his spare time on the weekends, he is an avid tennis player.

MICHAEL JANES CEO, President, Co-Founder, FanSnap

Mike is responsible for team leadership, business strategy, operational execution, and delighting fans. Prior to co-founding FanSnap, Mike was the Chief Marketing Officer of StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace. Mike led StubHub’s aggressive customer acquisition and brand building initiatives, resulting in the company being named Inc. magazine’s #8 fastest growing private company in 2006, and the acquisition by eBay. Mike was the first VP/GM of Apple Computer’s online Apple Store, growing direct channel revenues 8x and expanding the site from the U.S. to 20+ countries, with the site named Consumer Reports’ #1 computer manufacturer website three years in a row. Mike spent fourteen years at FedEx in a variety of marketing roles, the last four as their first VP of Electronic Commerce and Logistics Marketing, with responsibility for the pioneering internet site, fedex.com. Mike began his career as an investment banker at regional firm Morgan Keegan. Mike received a BS in Business Administration and a BA in Economics from NAIA powerhouse Central Washington University, and an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Mike attends more live events than anyone you know, and his passion for Duke basketball can only be explained by his back-to-back appearances at the (Coach) K Academy fantasy camp.

ANDREW PAYNE Private Investor and Co-Founder

Andrew is an investor and/or advisor with several companies including Lookery, care.com, Digium, HubSpot, and SmartFlix. He is currently working on several entrepreneurial projects. Previously, Andrew was CEO and Founder of Revenio, which built an innovative engine for executing sophisticated, interactive, long-running multi-channel marketing programs. Revenio's patented flagship product is now shipping as Vignette Dialog. Andrew also co-founded Open Market (one of the first eCommerce IPOs) in 1994, where he co-invented and co-designed the company's commerce architecture, and led the company's first product development efforts. Andrew worked at Digital Equipment Corporation in the late 80s and early 90s, on the research staff at the Digital's Cambridge Research Lab. He was also part of the DEC team that designed the Alpha architecture and built the first processor implementation. Andrew holds 8 patents, and received a BS with distinction in Electrical Engineering from Cornell. Andrew brings diversity to FanSnap by forcing our team to listen to his favorites: Alabama, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, and Tim McGraw.

Board of Advisors

EDDY CUE VP, Internet Services, Apple

Eddy is responsible for the iTunes Store - the number one online music store in the world, the App Store – the revolutionary application store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and MobileMe - a new way to keep everything in sync. Eddy was instrumental in the creation and launch of the iTunes Music Store in 2003 and now leads the team charged with driving the growth of the digital music, tv and movies by providing consumers with an easy way to legally discover, purchase and download their media online. He brings extensive experience to the position, having worked at Apple for over 19 years and leading the development of the Apple Online Store, as well as the engineering and management of Apple's award-winning iLife application suite. Eddy earned a bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Duke University.

MICHAEL DEARING Founder, Harrison Metal Capital

Michael is the founder of Harrison Metal Capital, where he leads investment in early stage technology-driven businesses. Michael also teaches at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University, where he co-developed and co-taught courses including Creating Infectious Action and Creating Mass Market Experiences. Before joining Stanford, Michael spent nearly seven years at eBay serving most recently as Senior Vice President & General Merchandise Manager for eBay North America. In that role, Michael led category management, product marketing, seller development, eBay Stores, and direct-to-consumer marketing. Prior to eBay, Michael held leadership positions at Bain & Company, Filene's Basement, The Walt Disney Company, and Industrial Shoe Warehouse. Michael holds an AB in Economics from Brown University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. Michael rocks to Nine Inch Nails, Joni Mitchell, CSN, and ZZ Top.

PAUL ENGLISH CTO and Co-Founder, Kayak.com

Paul is responsible for product strategy and design for Kayak.com. His work includes intensive customer involvement at all stages of design, and with active participation by all Kayak employees. Paul is also an advisor to LinkedIn. Paul was previously VP of Technology for Intuit, where he drove small business product strategy technical recruiting, and innovation. Paul landed at Intuit after selling them his company Boston Light Software. He also helped his brother Ed English start Intermute, a company whose products worked to eradicate spam and spyware. Paul's prior experience includes SVP of Product Management and Marketing, and SVP Engineering at Interleaf. His coding career began with stints at Data General, Haemonetics, the US Air Force, and also included video game development. Paul received his BA and MS in computer science from University of Massachusetts in Boston. He often lectures at Boston-area universities on startup topics such as innovation, hiring, team management and customer-centered product design. Paul is also involved with several social justice and health organizations, including Partners In Health, CIDRZ, Village Health Works, and Baobob Health Partnership.

STEVE HAFNER CEO and Co-Founder, Kayak.com

Steve drives company strategy and commercialization efforts and brings extensive knowledge of marketing, e-commerce and online travel to Kayak.com. As a member of the original start-up team of Orbitz, the online travel agency site, Steve helped develop and implement the company's business strategy. During his stint with the company, he was EVP of Consumer Travel, among other roles, and led the Company's business development, advertising sales, marketing, and product marketing activities. Previously, Steve worked as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, where he managed case teams focusing primarily on healthcare, e-commerce, and industrial goods. Steve began his career at the Marketing Corporation of America, now a unit of Interpublic Group, where he contributed to strategic planning, target marketing and new product development for key pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Steve received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.