Jonathan Chizick
Founder of SmartPath
Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area
Overview
Work Experience
CEO, Co-Founder
2024 - Current
• Building AI-powered platform that simplifies home education research and decision-making for parents • Secured multiple accelerator acceptances and grant funding within first six months of launch
Mentor
2018
• Advise early-stage founders on GTM strategy, channel development, and scaling operations • Specialize in helping technical founders translate innovation into market-ready business models
Capital Factory is a venture capital firm and an accelerator that seeks to invest in seed-stage, early-stage, and later-stage companies.
Strategic Business Development, Office of the CTO
2018 - 2024
Led strategic OEM partnerships delivering $160M+ revenue in first year through innovative joint solutions showcase and pre-sales integration with global technology partners. • Spearheaded development of joint-engineered solutions with premier global OEM partners, strengthening VMware's enterprise market position • Created and implemented first-of-its-kind VMware+Global Technology Partner Solutions Showcase, fully integrated into partners' pre-sales processes. Generated $160M+ in attributed deal value within the first year
VMware Cloud allows users to run, manage, connect and secure an entire portfolio on any cloud to any device.
Head of Marketing and Business Development
2016 - 2018
First business hire: built marketing team from scratch, drove 20x ARR growth, sourced $1M+ deals with Amazon/Salesforce, and secured transformative partnerships worth millions. • Joined AppZen as employee #4 and first business hire, scaling from 5 to 50+ employees while building marketing team and growing enterprise customer base from single to triple digits • Personally sourced AppZen's two largest deals (Amazon and Salesforce), each worth over $1M in ARR, which helped catalyze the company's $13M Series A funding and positioning for a $35M Series B • Negotiated and implemented strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including SAP Concur's first-ever reseller agreement, generating tens of millions in first-year revenue • Established comprehensive marketing infrastructure driving 500%+ year-over-year revenue growth, leading to AppZen's recognition as #171 on Inc5000, Gartner Cool Vendor, and Forbes Cloud 100 Rising Star • Coined key brand names, such as ReceiptIQ and ABI (AppZen Behavioral Index)
AppZen is an artificial intelligence platform for modern finance teams.
Raised $100,600,000.00 from Empede Capital.
VP Sales & Business Development
2014 - 2015
First business hire at Series-A mobile startup, built US sales team from scratch, driving 45+ contracts with top publishers & massive revenue growth, later acquired. • Built Drippler's US sales team, operations, and marketing from the ground up as first business hire, leading to successful acquisition by Asurion • Secured 45+ contracts with major publishers including Big Fish, Zoosk, NY Times, and Scopely • Delivered significant growth metrics: 10x increase in outbound lead generation, 12x increase in qualified inbound leads, and 138% LinkedIn follower growth in 6 weeks • Established industry presence, speaking on panels at GMIC Silicon Valley and "The App Guy" podcast Drippler was selected as one of Google’s “Must-have Apps” of 2015 and was backed by Titanium Investments, Silicon Valley's Upwest Labs and a handful of well-known Angel investors.
Drippler is a personalized tech assistant, helping people make the most of their technology
Raised $5,650,000.00 from iAngels, Christian Gaiser, Yanki Margalit, Reuven Agassi, Titanium Investments, David Assia and TMT Investments.
Consulting CMO & Growth Advisor
2012 - 2015
Oct 2012 - present • Connecting startups with customers and partners to grow their business • Provide startups guidance and hands-on assistance with business model & growth strategy, product & customer development, business development, and all aspects of Marketing • Experience working with companies from the US, Europe, Australia, and Korea • Mentor at leading startup accelerators and advisor to multiple seed-stage to Series-A startups • Advising clients include: flareAI and PulseJet Studios
Business Development, New Ventures
2012 - 2014
Business Development, New Ventures: • Established on-going relationships with prominent startup accelerators, including 500 Startups, Boost.vc, and TechStars • Identify and enable business partnerships, focused on bringing innovations from startups to Samsung: Evaluated 250+ startups in 6 months and introduced 18 to the Samsung Open Innovation & Business Unit teams. Navigated startups through the Samsung organizational maze of 20+ Biz Dev & Venture Fund teams in Silicon Valley • Produced hi-quality deal flow with strong hit rate for Samsung engagement: (1) signed partnership, (1) active due diligence, but acquired by competitor, (3) in active due diligence, and (3) continue under active investigation
Group Manager, Product Planning
2011 - 2012
• Delivered MemCon 2012 presentation to 200+ attendees: "Navigating the Post-PC World" • Led Product Planning team for DRAM products: covering PC, Server, Data Center, Cloud, Graphics, High Performance Computing (HPC), Digital TV, and Networking applications. Aligned future product portfolio with emerging technology trends and end-device user needs • Drove industry-first non-[major CPU mfg] supported memory solution to be adopted by multiple OEMs. Developed product-market fit, established customer relationships, and identified & connected appropriate resources to enable productive discussions
The main role of GSG is to enhance Samsung’s business performance and global reach, while simultaneously developing a pool of talented
Co-Founder / CMO
2012 - 2013
• Co-founder of this first-of-its-kind Un-conference • MarketingCamp's mission is to bring together innovative Marketing thought-leaders at full-day conferences around the world. Our inaugural conference, MarketingCamp Silicon Valley, attracted over 250 attendees, 36 presenters, and $10K in sponsorships. • Led team to develop the MarketingCamp brand strategy, including positioning, logo, and creative guidelines. My team created and ran all marketing & social media activities before, during, and after each event. The Marketing efforts attracted over 500 registrants in under 6 weeks with zero budget. • Built social media presence from scratch with zero budget, growing to 260 Twitter followers and 90 LinkedIn Group members in under 3 months. Generated over 1000 tagged tweets on day of event.
Sr. Marketing Manager
2008 - 2011
Directed Brand Management team accountable for growth of $560M Gaming PC business. Responsibilities spanned all channels (eCommerce, Phone, Retail) and full Marketing Mix, including assortment, messaging, pricing, promotions, and integrated marketing campaigns AWARDS: • "Vice-President Award" for outstanding performance • "Manager of the Quarter" • MarketingSherpa Gold Award: "Best Opt-In / List Growth Campaign" SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: • Chosen to lead Global Marketing team for expansion of acquired Alienware business from 6 countries to 75. Project spanned all global regions and 20+ functions, culminating in the largest global product marketing campaign ever for Dell Consumer: a 7-month, multi-phase, integrated global campaign, including a number of “Dell first” marketing innovations, 10+ partnerships, and global events at E3, Tokyo Game Show, and CES. Campaigns achieved growth targets and exceeded margin forecasts • Led team in planning & execution of 10 product launches, including integrated advertising, eCommerce, social media, partnerships, PR, sales training, and launch events • Spearheaded expansion of Gaming PC business into Retail channel EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTS: • "outstanding people manager" • "achieved strong results...he and team have been responsible for several innovative campaigns that drove this success" DIRECT REPORT FEEDBACK: • “Jonathan’s biggest strengths were his strategic focus, results-oriented leadership, and ability to motivate others in a difficult & ambiguous business environment. Having been at Dell for 10 years, it’s my belief that Jonathan is the standard by which other managers should be measured.” • “Jonathan's best trait is his ability to optimize performance of his team members. During my MBA internship, Jonathan struck a much appreciated balance between providing strategic guidance, paving roads when assistance was required, and giving me the autonomy that empowered me to produce at my top level.”
Sr. Marketing Brand Manager
2007 - 2008
Promoted to manage team in formulation and execution of integrated marketing strategies for $400M+ premium-brand laptop portfolio. Owned all aspects of Marketing Mix, including product positioning, price/promotion roadmaps, and marketing and advertising plans SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: • Led cross-functional go-to-market teams for six new product launches. Delivered integrated marketing, advertising, eCommerce, social media, PR, sales training, and launch events • Grew unit sales 94% y/y and drove brand portfolio's unit mix from 8% to 27% EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTS: • "Jonathan and his team delivered amazing results for the XPS notebooks business...achieved these results in the right way by consistently delivering new marketing tactics and creative execution." DIRECT REPORT FEEDBACK: • "Jonathan is a solid people manager who truly empowers his direct reports to maximize their potential. He has a diligent almost obsessive work ethic, which allows him to stay on top of the financials and the competition, while also planning the next move. Jonathan always inspired me to do the most I could, and to be proud of what I accomplished. He cared about my career advancement and made an effort to make sure I knew of all opportunities"
Marketing Brand Manager
2006 - 2007
Owned development and execution of all integrated Marketing, eCommerce, and Merchandising strategies to exceed sales forecasts for $840M premium-brand PC portfolio AWARDS: • Department "MVP Award" for outstanding performance SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: • Led launch of all-new flagship premium PC. Developed and executed multi-vehicle integrated marketing campaign, including pioneering Dell’s first "teaser" social media campaign and CES launch with Michael Dell keynote. Resulted in sales 3x above forecast EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTS: • "Jonathan’s efforts around our recent H2C launch deserve further explanation. The XPS 710 H2C product was a key launch for the business – as this exemplifies Dell’s commitment to delivering leading edge technologies, directly targeting the gaming industry, and was the first system that we ship out of factory over-clocked. This was a highly visible effort, given the strategic impact outlined above, and that Michael Dell himself was launching the product during his keynote speech at CES – so there was no room for error. Jonathan coordinated the entire launch effort with all x-functional teams, including: a very successful teaser campaign (both internally and in print and online marcom) to generate buzz for the product leading up to the event – a first for Dell, online launch of the product on Dell and CES sites, an integrated marcom plan – presenting consistent positioning of H2C across all vehicles and channels, sales training and launch event. Throughout the 3 month effort, Jonathan was very effective in over-communicating across the organization, providing internal education and setting clear expectations around all launch-related events. He coordinated the CES announcement with both our site launch and marcom drop, with no major issues. This was exceptional work, and demonstrates the organization and leadership that Jonathan brings to the table."
Global Marketing Manager
2005 - 2006
• Directed global cross-functional teams to define, develop, and deploy new technology and IT services for Consumer and Small Business markets • Orchestrated department’s first-ever market research roadmap & process, resulting in effective prioritization and management of $800K research budget
Dell transforms computing and provides high-quality solutions for people and businesses to be ready to move forward.
Consumer Marketing Associate Manager
2003 - 2005
• Conceived and implemented annual Marketing strategies for multiple Consumer Electronics categories; managed $3.5M budget and executed integrated retail marketing campaigns across all consumer touch points and advertising & eCommerce vehicles. Campaigns drove sales lifts of 16% - 39% and all-time high market shares • Led development of consumer-friendly, usage-based, PC rating system; including, managing consumer insights, program naming/logo, and Marketing across all communication channels • Awarded "Best Buy Pillar of Excellence" for leading team of ten Associates in creation of orientation, training, and mentoring programs for new MBA Marketing Associates • Press mentions for innovative use of Social Media within an integrated campaign: "Best Buy wins 2.7M hits on movie trailer/Web site synergy"; "Basketball Cheerleader – Viral Marketing at its Best" • Managed business intelligence analysts to identify consumer, competitive, and technology insights to drive Marketing strategy, advertising messaging, and merchandising decisions • Promoted to Strategy Manager to lead development of a new strategy for selling technology based on customer usage models