Jeff Kurtzman

Jeff Kurtzman General Information

Description

Mr. Jeff Kurtzman is a Co-Founder of Better World Books. He is also an Angel Investor. And, previously he served as Chief Financial Officer at Better World Books. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Mavin Ventures. He helped it grow to $25+ million in annual revenue and 250+ employees within 5 years without taking any outside investment. Jeff was also very instrumental in the development of a cutting-edge enterprise-level software platform that was developed for internal use and then licensed to other large volume e-commerce companies. The software was eventually spun out and was later sold to a company that still licenses the software today. The company later raised $5 million in venture capital to accelerate growth, hired experienced executives, and is forecasting $70+ million in 2017 revenue. Jeff is still one of the largest shareholders and is in regular contact with the CEO and Board of Directors as the company. From 2008-2012, Jeff co-founded numerous ventures since then including a non-profit called Operation Incubation (sends infant incubators to the developing world), a price comparison website in the financial services industry, a Cleantech/Green Building Materials venture capital fund, and a digital media startup. He also consulted for several startups or small businesses as temporary CFO/COO and/or Strategic Consultant. From 2012-2014, Jeff took on the role of CEO at Aid Through Trade, a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation that produces handmade goods in Nepal. In 2.5 years, he turned around the struggling company (updated all internal technology, replaced most of team, established a sales team, revamped entire product line, etc.), increased the number of artisans employed from 50 to 125, increased the number of wholesale customers from 400 to 750, and grew top line revenue by over 125%. Since the beginning of 2015, Jeff has become an active angel investor and supporter of startups in the Mid-Atlantic region. He is on the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Angels and an active advisor (on pro bono basis) to several startups in the Baltimore/DC area. Jeff has made angel investments in several startups including the following: Suitehop, SportsShares, Sandboxx, Gold Lasso, Yet Analytics, Send Money Cheaper, Tanager Holdings, Saranac Holdings, In Haus Entertainment, and Huvi. Jeff graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of Notre Dame in 2001 with a double major in Finance/Business Economics and Computer Applications.