james patrick saadi

I started my first business in the eighth grade after a trip to Sam's Club, where I discovered "wholesale". The very next day I was slinging Charms Blowpops in the bathroom during lunchtime....green apple always fetched the highest markup.

I grew up in a family business, a men's Haberdashery in southern Louisiana. The business was started by my great grandfather in 1916 after immigrating from Juni, Lebanon. I watched my father run the business day to day, and start other small businesses along the way. I was fortunate to learn from an early age.

I attended LSU and worked a couple of entry-level jobs after graduating, then I moved to New York City in 2001. My first job upon arrival was working for one of the oldest italian gourmet specialty food stores in Manhattan. I learned a ton about food and cut my teeth at running my first online business.

In 2003 I joined a little start-up called Google, and 6 years later decided to take a shot at building a software company. What ultimately came of the project was Automato, the first data integration browser app for Google Chrome. We'll just say I learned a lot :)

In 2011 I joined Shazam and spent 2 great years building out operational infrastructure for their emerging TV and mobile display ad businesses.

I enjoy using technology to streamline business operations. Outside of work, I love to drive around the country, fish, snowboard, play tennis and play the guitar. Some of my favorite things in the world are music, the ocean, and chocolate chip cookies.

So that's my story. Let's hear yours.