Matt Blumberg
Founder of Bolster
United States
Overview
Work Experience
Co-Founder, Chairman
2020 - Current
Along with seven of my colleagues from Return Path, I started Bolster as a next-generation AI-driven platform to disrupt the executive search market: - Raised $25mm in venture capital from top-tier investors including Union Square Ventures, Foundry, Costanoa Venture Capital, High Alpha, and SVB - Pivoted from initial marketplace model to AI-copilot model for recruiters - Innovated pricing and service models - Have placed 400+ senior executives in full-time, part-time, and board roles
Chief Executive Officer
2020 - 2024
Bolster helps startup CEOs scale themselves, their leadership teams, and their boards.
Raised $21,953,074.00 from Alumni Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Capital Factory, Costanoa Ventures, High Alpha, Alumni Ventures, Foundry Group and SVB Financial Group.
Board of Directors (Chairman, member of Audit Committee and Nom/Gov Committee)
2021 - 2023
Founder, CEO, Chairman
1999 - 2019
Understanding the disruptive power of email technology along with a number of its limitations from my work at MovieFone, I founded Return Path in 1999 and scaled the business as CEO for 20 years to over $100mm in revenue, profitable, with 500 employees in 12 locations across 7 countries. - Ran business through the ups and downs of the dot-com bubble and collapse, 9/11, 2008 global financial crisis; sold company for $250mm in 2019 - Created groundbreaking email SaaS products with numerous patents based on a proprietary data moat with millions of nodes reporting email metrics from across the internet. Products included change of address, filter monitoring, certification, anti-phishing, and consumer insights - Raised over $100mm in venture capital from top-tier investors including Flatiron Partners/Union Square Ventures, Softbank VC/Foundry, Sutter Hill Ventures/Costanoa Venture Capital, Sapphire, Vista - Scaled and led complex organization across multiple business units and geographies; created and drove extensive management and leadership training programs; won numerous employer-of-choice awards; 12+ former employees have gone on to become CEOs - Acquired a dozen companies over the years, from competitive consolidation to technology tuck-in; completed four spin-outs/divestitures of non-core assets in a rapidly evolving space, including one business unit still intact today within Proofpoint that has scaled to almost $500mm in revenue
Return Path is the expert in deliverability, helping marketers drive revenue through email.
Raised $126,364,712.00 from Employee Stock Option Fund.
Board of Directors
2014 - 2018
Board of Directors (2 years as Chair)
2009 - 2015
Chairman
2004 - 2009
Board of Directors
2006 - 2007
FeedBurner is a feed management service that allows blog owners and podcasters to share and track their feeds with powerful tools.
Raised $8,000,000.00 from Union Square Ventures.
General Manager, VP Marketing/Product
1995 - 1999
MovieFone was a $30mm small cap public company with 175 employees, pioneering interactive movie guides and ticketing services through local phone numbers (e.g. 777-FILM) and on the Internet at moviefone.com. I was hired to put the company’s services on the Internet. By 1999, at least 150 million consumers used our services. - Built and led MovieFone’s Internet business from concept, through five product cycles, as a top-25 property at the dawn of the commercial Internet - Introduced disruptive new products and developed new revenue streams including voice recognition, reserved seating, market research, and email - Had P&L responsibility at division level; managed staff of 30; also had company-wide functional leadership roles running Marketing and Product - Reported to CEO; on deal team which sold company to AOL for $585 mm
Associate
1994 - 1995
General Atlantic is a private equity firm that provides capital and strategic support for growth companies.
Consultant
1992 - 1994
Education
AB
1988 - 1992
High School
1983 - 1988