ron braunfeld

Strategic accounts/partnerships dealmaker for VC‑backed companies

ABOUT ME

Relationship-driven business development leader with 20+ years of experience landing company-defining partnerships. Background spans sales, business development, strategic partnerships, and executive leadership—from venture-backed startups to established consumer brands—with a consistent ability to build internal alignment and external trust to close market-making deals. Performs best by deeply understanding people, taking smart risks, and building what’s next in collaborative, high-trust environments.

Experience across Adtech, location, SaaS, fintech, health & wellness, real estate, and AI. Partners closely with product and engineering to bring new products to market. Whether launching new initiatives or renegotiating existing agreements, leads with clear, honest integrity that earns trust on both sides—especially when situations get complex.

Proven track record of launching new digital experiences through strategic partnerships for both high-growth companies and established brands.

Seeking an individual contributor role at a VC-backed startup or a company launching a new product line.

PROVEN TRACK RECORD

Enterprise Value Creation

Co-founded and scaled WHERE Ads (2009), North America’s first location-based mobile ad network, to 250+ distribution partners and 10+ multimillion-dollar deals in 22 months, acquired in a $137M PayPal acquisition
Drove innovation and revenue at PayPal by optimizing remnant inventory and publisher agreements (Drove 10–12% margin lift); built PayPal’s first location-based RTB platform, scaling revenue from $0 → $25M annually; Expanded monetization across PayPal and eBay properties with innovative product launches (eg eBay/PayPal’s LifeStyle Deals)
Closed $10M in new forecasted ARR for Xpoint within the first 14 months at the company
Key MapQuest executive who helped turn a $10M loss on $40M in annual revenue into $40M profit on $85M revenue
Launched Capsule’s first health-system wide partnership - the blueprint for future enterprise healthcare collaboration

Complex Deal Leadership

Throughout career, have established the trust needed to lead cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders through ambiguous markets to close landmark, multi-year enterprise agreements (eg. AT&T Wireless, Google, Apple, Chase, Visa, Weather.com, Fanatics, Rush Street Interactive, etc. )

Product Innovation

Co-inventor, US Patent 20130085860 – systems for context-sensitive dynamic mobile advertising

CORE EXPERTISE

Enterprise Sales, Business Development, Strategic Partnerships
Complex Deal Structuring & Negotiation
Executive Stakeholder Management (C-suite)
Account Strategy & Expansion (Land & Expand)
Cross-Functional Deal Leadership (Product, Legal, Finance)
New Market Entry, Category Development, Pipeline Creation
Sales Process & Forecast Discipline
Customer Value Realization & Success Alignment
Competitive Positioning & Storytelling (Narrative + Proof Points)

PROFILE OF TARGET COMPANIES

Post-Series A with Product Market Fit (or at a tipping point)
Established company launching a new product line
ARR: ~$1M - $20M+
Average deal size: $100k - $1M+

PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENTS

STARTUP ADVISOR + INVESTOR

Angel advisor/investor in multiple successful outcomes, including Proprly (acquired by Airbnb), NthParty (Magnite), SnipSnap (Slyce)

INTERESTS

Ultra trail marathons, Hiking, CrossFit, Yoga, real estate development, any adventure with my three kids.

Education
- University of New Hampshire, BA
- Temple University, MA