Petra Griffith
Founder of Wedbush Ventures
Petra Griffith
Founder of Wedbush Ventures
Santa Monica, California
Overview
Work Experience
Founder & Managing Director
2020 - Current
Wedbush Ventures invests in visionary problem solvers who are passionate about meaningfully changing the way we live and do business. We focus on early stage venture investments (pre-seed and seed stage companies) across a variety of sectors with a particular focus on southern California and areas where we can add value.
Advisor
2019
Founder
2019 - 2020
Product strategy consulting firm focused on helping early stage business find product market fit, develop engaging products, and scale. Clients included Slingwave, WalletJoy (part of Core Digital Media), and Streamotion (a Newscorp company).
Product Innovation, Originals
2017 - 2018
SVP, Product Development
2014 - 2016
SVP, Technology & Venture Banking
2012 - 2014
Set up and led a division to reach out to the start-up community in southern California and focus on the unique needs of early stage, high growth companies and their investors.
Sr Product Manager
2006 - 2012
• Led monetization products for new consumer initiatives in the media experiences division. Developed first native ad product. • Developed advertising products to focus on social and local marketing needs. • Part of initial launch team for Y!'s new display advertising system - APT. Directed product prioritization and requirements for user interface framework, exchange quality management, and contextual targeting. Earned 3 patents for new interaction features. • Led the international roll-out of Domain Match, a $700M business line distributing paid search listings to investment portfolios of domain names.
Brand Manager
2004 - 2006
• Launched the first wearable device for the fitness and weight loss market - bodybugg. Directed consumer research, positioning, naming, and product strategy for the integrated weight management software. • Led brand strategy for complete line of Apex nutritional products (7 product categories, 15 product lines, 84 SKUs); launched 2 new product lines, and re-positioned energy bar line. • Launched new nutrition & fitness site (myApex) and new monthly subscription platform (apex to your door).
Analyst, New Media Group
2002 - 2003
Directed new media (mobile and online) strategy, and opportunity assessment. Negotiated content licensing and application development relationships with key mobile operators.
Product Manager
1999 - 2001
Employee #2. Product lead for launch of outdoor sports enthusiast platform. Took the site from idea to launch and managed the 20 person launch team (across 2 agencies plus internal team). Site won PC Magazine Award for Overall Excellence in May 2000.
Product Marketing Manager
1998 - 1999
Part of team that launched the first online printing software. Managed business development, marketing, and product development as company grew from 15 to 110 employees.