Tom Denison

Tom Denison is a passionate entrepreneur, mentor, advisor, founder and fund raiser for tech startups.

My passion is mentoring, advising, consulting, funding and founding tech startups. Like many, my digital experience started out with a glamorous yet struggling internet startup, but blossomed into strategy and business development with some of the most recognized digital powerhouses including a top tier affiliate network, a premier SEM firm and a world renowned and award winning full service interactive agency. 

Unlike most, I also spent time on the client side nurturing and growing a top 200 internet retailer and transitioning a B2B publishing company into the digital age. 

Today, I am a Co-founder of Funl, a collection of savvy digital marketing experts who “Provide the expertise and resources needed to drive a large, loyal and profitable customer base.”  I am the Founder of Smatchup, a platform and solution that cultivates relationships — no casual encounters here — between startups looking for someone with some serious entrepreneurial and business chops to provide professional strategic direction in finance, management, marketing, business development or technology and senior level execs who have the time, energy and passion to leverage their experience and expertise to help entrepreneurs realize the great promise behind their ideas. I am a Co-founder of ShareBliss, a solution where individuals can earn cash rewards for sharing stuff they love. I am the Founder of CrowdX, a virtual accelerator for crowd selected and crowd collaborated tech startups.

Founder & CEO at Funl

January 2010 - January 1964 | Chicago, IL

Tom Denison is the Founder of Smatchup, a platform and solution that cultivates relationships - no casual encounters here - between startups looking for someone with some serious entrepreneurial and business chops to provide professional strategic direction in finance, management, marketing, business development or technology and senior level professionals who have the time, energy and passion to leverage their experience and expertise to help entrepreneurs realize the great promise behind their ideas. Tom Denison is the Founder of Funl.it, an ideation and collaboration solution for everyone. Tom Denison is Co-founder of GameDay Now, a game film sharing site for high school coaches. Tom Denison is also a business development mentor and consultant for GeniusRocket, a curated crowdsourcing video solution.

Vice President, eMedia at Vance Publishing

May 2008 - December 2009

With a staff of 25, responsibilities were primarily dedicated to taking a strategic look at the internet landscape and firmly positioning Vance as a leader in the digital world while driving revenue. Under my direction, the eMedia team managed SEM, email marketing, web development, web design, new product development, mobile marketing, custom content development, lead generation and advertising sales for over 60 sites, nearly 100 eNewsletters and eight mobile sites. Developed and executed three year business plan for a new division within Vance Publishing, a B2B publishing firm, that provided digital solutions including SEM, web design, web development, mobile marketing, social media marketing, email marketing and custom content for external clients across four divisions. Responsibilities also included digital sales training for 25 salespeople.

Business Development Director at Agency.com

August 2007 - May 2008

Headed all Business Development with AGENCY.COM - Chicago. AGENCY.COM is a full service interactive agency with 10 offices all around the world.

Director of E-Commerce at Personal Creations, Inc.

September 2005 - August 2007

P&L and management responsibilities for all online and offline marketing efforts for PersonalCreations.com, a top 200 online retailer, including affiliate marketing, email marketing, Search Engine Marketing, partner marketing and offline marketing.

Business Development Director at iCrossing

July 2004 - September 2005

Business Development professional providing SEM solutions to Fortune 1000 companies and Top 400 online retailers. Clients acquired included General Mills, ConAgra, Cintas, Omaha Steaks, Carlson Companies and others.

Partner at Rhinoceros, LLC

2002 - 2004

Managed performance based online acquisitions for a number of clients including Discover Card, Sony, Playboy, Kennedy-Western University, Kidsafe ID, Career Education Corporation, and Veritas. Responsibilities included managing a two person sales team, acquiring new clients, acquiring new affiliates and partners, managing affiliate and partner relationships, managing Search Engine Marketing partners, managing email campaigns and managing ROI for all campaigns. Increased revenue from $0 to over $1,000,000 annually within the first year.

Director of Sales at Performics, Inc.

2000 - 2002

Responsible for acquiring new business for a performance based online marketing firm with services that included affiliate marketing, email marketing and Search Engine Marketing. Clients acquired included Sony, Ann Taylor, Household, General Motors, and AOL.

Sales Director at Ignite Sports Media

1999 - 2000

Responsible for advertising and sponsorship sales across the US for 12 NFL, 4 MLB and 3 NHL official team web sites.

Sales Director at Nielsen Business Media (formerly Bill Communications, BMT Publications and McFadden Publishing)

1990 - 1999

Chicago Chapter Director at Startup Grind

August 2012 - Present | Chicago

Startup Grind is an event series designed to help educate, inspire, and connect local entrepreneurs. Each month we welcome an amazing speaker from Chicago who shares their story with our community and tells us what worked, what didn't, and what they'll do differently next time. It's an amazing opportunity to learn from the best, network with other members of the Chicago startup community, and improve your chances of entrepreneurial success.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

1982 – 1986

Bachelor of Science

Concentration: Advertising

Entrepreneur, tech startups, startups, founders, mentor, advisor, interactive strategy, digital strategy, digital business development, digital consultation, entrepreneur, SEM, email marketing, social media, mobile marketing, affiliate marketing, content marketing, transmedia solutions, integrated solutions, location based solutions, crowdsourcing, executive management