Jesse Jimz

Currently Advising Engineer @ModoPayments. Previously co-founded properties: @TastemakerX (cofounding engineer), @ShotStrip, @ClientVoice, @TasteBudApp, and others. Ex-cofounder of @AgaveLab, a company focused on providing R&D and strategy services to startups in the high-tech space. My pleasure has been to personally bring to life sweet products like Overstat, MeMeMe, ClientVoice, Tastemakerx, PuppyTime, LuckyPeach, ShotStrip, Pretarget, PaperClp, Range Rover Pulse... and many others! Most have been brought to market, some are now VC-funded -- and a few have crashed and burned.

Some things you probably didn't know about me:
While studying at Pratt Institute (NYC), I ate more White Castle than I have ever eaten at McDonalds (gross, I get it). To make ends meet in college, I worked as Assistant Mgr for Mr. Davidoff's Madison Avenue location, where I got to kick-it with the biggest film stars and other celebs of the time... you name them, I've had to emotionally baby-sit them.

I've breathed life into five companies thus far, the first of which opened its doors when I was 23yo. After my first startup, I went on to help lead TIAA-CREF's online strategy, an effort for which I hold credit (and useless awards) to more than a billion USD in investments-under-management -- ask me how much of that I kept! While at La Jolla Elementary school, my pants ripped at the most inopportune spot and had to live with it for a whole day while kids laughed at me. I hold a black belt in Hap-Ki Do and still love to create art.

I cook with a passion for feeding friends and family. I've always wanted to be a film director and my favorite movie of all time is Blade Runner. I'm totally into electronic, bulgarian neo-folk, flamenco and arabic pop music. My biggest influence in business have been people like John Carmack, Dan Kennedy, Andy Kieffer, Jim Harkness, Gary Stanton, Mario and Anthony Renda. I'm a [total amateur] quantum physics and AI nerd yet love a great comic book. If I was stranded on an deserted island with some one, it would have to be Nikola Tesla or Cantinflas. Unbeknownst to them, I'm most indebted to the lovely Wagoner family. There is virtually NOTHING that can come between me and a killer video game, book, movie or crazy tech idea.

My motto is borrowed from my father, "If you should find yourself earning a living making toothpicks, you'd best make damn sure they are the best toothpicks the world has ever seen!"