Darren Hill

Darren Hill General Information

Biography

Mr. Darren Hill Co-Founded & served as Chief Executive Officer at Workarea. He oversees the company's vision, growth strategy, and dedicated culture. An entrepreneur from an early age, Darren was mowing lawns before starting up a mail-order t-shirt business in his parent's basement. When he was a freshman at Drexel University in 1994, his dorm room was one of the first in the country to be hard-wired to the internet. A born innovator, Darren taught himself HTML and began coding. Soon after he co-founded WebLinc with his brother Jason and they were building websites for businesses across nearly every vertical. A constant request from clients determined the company's ultimate focus: websites to sell products. After seeing the tremendous market opportunity, Darren placed 100% of the company's efforts on e-commerce in 2001. At this time, WebLinc was the trusted launching pad for booming global retailers such as Urban Outfitter's Free People, Speedo, and Calvin Klein. Still, Darren saw that the available software wasn't flexible and had a foreseeable shelf life. So in 2003, WebLinc built and implemented the first version of its proprietary platform for customers. Darren's unique journey in digital commerce has kept WebLinc and its customers at the forefront of digital commerce innovations. Ten years before mobile-first design became a philosophy, the company bet early on mobile and launched several sites employing responsive design. To better provide retailers with the performance and speed they need, WebLinc built the first e-commerce platform on Ruby on Rails in 2012. Fast forward to 2014, WebLinc raised $6MM from Safeguard Scientifics to grow R&D plus its sales and marketing, teams. Today, Darren and WebLinc's leadership team transformed the company into a thriving business operating out of the United States and Canada. Darren recently steered WebLinc through its first acquisitions and increased subscription revenue by 490% year-over-year, further cementing the product-market fit. Darren is a regular speaker at Drexel University's LeBow Business College and e-commerce-focused conferences including IRCE. Darren has been profiled in or contributed to Inc. Magazine, Internet Retailer, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Business Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Multichannel Merchant, amongst others. He ranked #3 in Drexel University's Top 40 Under 40 alumni list and was included in the "Top 30 People Under 30 Years Old" list in Philadelphia Magazine. In 2014, Darren was named a 'Most Admired CEO' by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Despite these personal accolades, Darren feels most rewarded through philanthropic efforts and when giving back to the city's booming entrepreneurial scene. A regional entrepreneur - and two-time area finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year - Darren is an integral part of the Old City Philadelphia renaissance where WebLinc is headquartered and owns all three of its historic buildings. He's also a partner in two restaurants. Darren graduated with honors from Drexel University with a B.S. in Business.