Left Tackle LLC formed in the winter of 2009 with the goal of revolutionizing the fantasy sports industry. Inspired by online poker’s popularity and applying similar concepts to fantasy sports, the team sought to create a destination where fantasy users could participate against anyone in the U.S., getting instant gratification on the various leagues they join. No longer would fantasy sports users have to play only against their friends and co-workers in private leagues, or go out and collect money if they had won a particular league. No longer would an injury to a first round pick ruin the whole fantasy season. Left Tackle has solved all of these and other shortcomings with DraftStreet.com. With a team heavily experienced in fantasy sports, web development, online marketing, and web analytics, all of the pieces were in place to take over the world of fantasy sports.
After doing due diligence on the legalities of the concept, the Left Tackle team hired some developers and brought their idea to life. In the summer of 2010, the team officially released DraftStreet.com. With a Series A funding round behind them, the team is focused on continuing to drive the fantasy sports world in new, more user-friendly, directions.
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Founders
Brian Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer -
Brian is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Brian has over 5 years of online marketing experience, including 3 years as the Vice President of the Content Network at Atrinsic. While at Atrinsic, he managed the division of the company which built multiple successful websites from the ground up, thereby generating hundreds of thousands in monthly profit for the company. Brian has a wide array of experience in all areas of building and growing websites, as he oversaw the development, media buying, monetization, and customer service of all properties he was involved with while at Atrinsic.
With an extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for fantasy sports and the experience of building many successful and profitable websites, Brian is the ideal fit to lead the Left Tackle team. His relentless work ethic and devotion to the success of Left Tackle and DraftStreet ensure that the company will always be at the top of the industry.
Jeremy Elbaum, Chief Marketing Officer -
Jeremy is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has over 5 years of online marketing experience which included being a Sales Executive at Traffix, Inc. and VP of Distribution at Epic Media Group (formerly Azoogle). As VP of Distribution he was a key contributor to the exponential growth in revenues that eventually totaled nine figures in revenue per year. He also helped expand the total number of publishers to over 50,000, as well as built out the distribution platform which culminated in Epic Direct Network’s status as the largest performance-based ad network in the world.
Jeremy carries with him a digital marketing expertise and sensibility that is unmatched and has yielded business and revenue growth at each of his career stops. He has in-depth knowledge of marketing strategy on every digital platform currently utilized today including online display, search, mobile, social media and video. For most of his career, he has overseen flawless campaign execution and is considered by many of his colleagues to be one of the top managers and motivators of people in the industry.
Mark Nerenberg, Chief Product Officer –
Mark graduated with a finance degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. Due to his high quantitative, analytical and risk assessment skills, Mark pursued a career in derivatives trading. He spent two years as an options trader at Citigroup and then at Sallerson-Troob LLC before pursuing his passion in his current position at Left Tackle LLC.
Mark created the original plan for what would eventually become DraftStreet.com. In 2009, he pitched his idea to the rest of the current DraftStreet team. Mark’s clear vision for the site was invaluable for Left Tackle LLC as he took on the role of designing much of the site layout and functionality that is seen on DraftStreet.com today. The combination of his passion for fantasy sports, statistical and analytical skills, and understanding of web development enable him to continue contributing to the constant improvement which DraftStreet.com requires to be at the top of the fantasy sports industry.
Michael Kibort, Chief Operating Officer -
Michael graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he majored in Economics with a Business concentration. A true entrepreneurial spirit, he has spent the last 5 years working on a number of start-ups in ecommerce, storefront retail operations and now online gaming.
Michael has extensive experience with all aspects of operating a small business. At DraftStreet, he oversees all accounting operations including tax and external regulatory reporting. His experience in operations, corporate structure, and contract negotiations are critical in the success of DraftStreet.
Denis Bastarache, VP of Technology
With over 10 years experience in web application development, architectural database design, and project management, Denis has developed a solid understanding of business imperatives behind various technology solutions. As a Web Application Manager at Traffix Inc., he developed numerous mobile and web properties that produced significant monthly revenue streams for the company. One of his more significant achievements was as co-developer of an email generating system (Auto-responder) that generated millions of dollars in annual income. He also played the role of Lead Developer while at Traffix for a dating website that yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit per month at its peak. His career also includes leadership roles on projects for the Atlantic Canada’s Opportunity Agency that consisted of building dynamically driven portal for their staff across Canada. His passion for the IT industry is second to none and he has the rare combination of superior technical knowledge to go with a business sense and the ability to manage developers.
Where is DraftStreet located ?
