My career has included a few amazing jobs, a handful of entrepreneurial endeavors and a whole bunch of freelance work. It’s safe to say I keep busy. Honestly, it’s what I live for. Sure, monetary gain is a decent barometer but for me, it’s about the pursuit of disruption and impact.
City Center
My first real-world, grown-up job was with a prominent performing arts venue in Midtown Manhattan known as New York City Center. I can’t say Dance and Musical Theater are passions of mine by any stretch. However, this position has allowed me to establish and maintain a highly-effective website department for the organization. Working in collaboration with several departments from Education to Marketing, I have led 3 major website redesigns, 10 high-demand on-sales and countless digital marketing projects. Additionally, I oversee the publication of all online content, multimedia and SEO efforts on a daily basis.
Main Stage Theater
DashCrowd
In early 2012, I started DashCrowd, LLC with a few professional contacts of mine. Our mission was to address the plight of hideous websites in the restaurant space. With my trademark attention to detail and our team’s superior level of service, we quickly became one of the Hospitality Industry’s foremost online marketing agencies. DashCrowd’s client list includes some of the most prominent dining brands in New York City and beyond. Although our scale was rather small, my time with this company has given me priceless experience in project management, client relations, sales, design, coding, branding and business in general.
How DashCrowd Retains Clients & Increases its Service Offerings
SinglePlatform / ConstantContact, June 2015
Is Your Bar Mobile Friendly?
Bar Business Magazine, May 2012
DashCrowd Responsive Website Product
BarChannels
My love for sports wasn’t present until my early twenties. Maybe it was moving to the world’s best sports town or perhaps it was letting go of the skateboarding rebel piece of my youth. Either way, watching games with my friends is one of my all-time favorite activities. Luckily, New York City has over 1,000 sports bars – a handful of which host a contingency of dedicated Bills, Sabres and Syracuse fans. It wasn’t long before my roommate and I turned this pastime into a business with BarChannels. The concept was simple: a website and mobile app for displaced sports fans to find the best bars to watch their favorite teams. It was an instant success in terms of organic and social popularity. I highlight BarChannels among my many side-project ventures because it ultimately led us to a higher understanding of the Bar & Restaurant Industry. Soon after the site was acquired by private investors in TriBeCa, DashCrowd was born.
A Sports Bar for Every Fan
Blood, Sweat & Cheers, February 2011
Happy Sports Fans
ACEFEST
My college roommate and I parlayed our love for cinema into ACEFEST, an independent American film festival. Held each year in Manhattan, this passion project quickly gained the attention of both industry and mainstream media outlets. In the span of just 5 years, we received over 3,800 submissions for consideration, sold 2,450 screening tickets, hosted 9 sold-out networking parties and were named on MovieMaker Magazine’s “Top 25 Film Festivals in the World” list. We forged lasting partnerships with major players in the new media world such as BackStage Magazine, New York Foundation for the Arts, The Onion, Village Voice and River-to-River Festival. This was easily the most glorious and fulfilling time in my life.
Passion for Film Spurs New Festivals, but Grueling Work Keeps Them Going
The New York Times, August 2007
Alumni-Created Film Festival to Debut in NYC
The Daily Orange, May 2007
Within an ACE of…
The Post-Standard, April 2007
The New Angle
Our Town Downtown, February 2007
ACEFEST 2010 at Tribeca Cinemas
Fiverr
Stumbling upon Fiverr.com in 2011 changed the way I think about freelance work. Instead of large-scale, long-term projects with a handful of clients, this marketplace facilitates several orders per day for a variety of creative services. Initially, I offered the world my graphic design skills. In that first year, I delivered 280 logos, 320 website headers, 755 banner ads and 67 Facebook cover photos. For me, the experience was priceless but the profit wasn’t worth it. I then decided to start selling business writing services instead, which afforded me a much more efficient creative process and faster delivery per order. As of today, I’ve developed over 4,400 corporate slogans, written 1,120 articles and helped 315 companies with their public relations campaign. My stellar reputation on the platform has transformed into a wonderful relationship with Fiverr corporate offices. I attend their events, execute institutional projects and consult with the NYC headquarters throughout the year.
Tom and Susan, a Fiverr Love Story
Official Fiverr Blog, February 2014
Fiverr Networking Event