Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CEO’ operating in the DIY space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Nikhil Arora
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Back to the Roots
Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez are the co-founders of Back to the Roots (Oakland, CA). Back to the Roots is on a mission to reconnect families to food through its innovative and award winning Ready-to-Grow line (Mushroon Mini Farm, Water Garden, Garden-in-a-Can) and a new Ready-to-Eat line (Organic Stoneground Flakes breakfast cereal, Breakfast Toppers). The products are sold in over 8000 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target, The Home Depot, Costco, Nordstrom, Petco, and Amazon. Nikhil & Alejandro have also been recognized for their leadership in social entrepreneurship and food innovation by Forbes 30 Under 30, INC 30 under 30, BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs, INC 500, CNN’s 10 Next Gen Entrepreneurs to Watch, Martha Stewart’s Top 10 American Made, and President Obama’s Champions of Change. The company was founded by the duo during their last semester of college at UC Berkeley.
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About Back to the Roots: Back to the Roots offers gardening kits to grow organic and gourmet mushrooms at homes.
Ivan Marandola
Chief Executive Officer of iWABOO Inc.
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About Brinc, Indiegogo, iWABOO Inc., Salesforce, West Midland Shoe: First Maker 2 Market platform. ETSY for indie tech vendors and disruptive electronics
Nadav Goshen
President and CEO of MakerBot
Nadav Goshen is the Chief Executive Officer of MakerBot, oversees MakerBot’s corporate direction and strategy for global operations, including sales, marketing, technology, and products. Goshen has over 15 years of experience leading turnarounds at tech companies, and his expertise lies in defining new products and business models, as well as growing digital ecosystems. Prior to joining MakerBot, Goshen led private equity investments and served in various C-level roles at tech companies in Israel. Nadav’s experience comprises a unique mixture of profound customer understanding and overpowering technological talent. Added with proven expertise in brand and marketing management for both B2C and B2B. This unique blend enables him to drift easily between business, marketing, and technology to successfully manage companies in the ever-evolving technology business environment. Nadav is an angel investor in different startups. He currently serves as an advisor and board member for various fast growing companies in Israel and abroad. Nadav studied Cinema and Television at Tel Aviv University. He likes to swim, photograph and build electronic embedded music gadgets.
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About MakerBot: MakerBot Industries creates open source 3D printers.
Caroline Strzalka
CEO and Co-Founder of It’s By U
Entrepreneur, Co-Founder
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About It’s By U, Overplay, Overplay: It’s By U is a do-it-yourself arrangement kit with farm-fresh blooms, by subscription.
Yao Zhang
Founder & CEO of ROBOTERRA, Inc
Yao Zhang is the founder and CEO of RoboTerra. Yao is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in ed tech-related endeavors. Prior to founding RoboTerra, Yao co-founded Minds Abroad, providing SRM (student relationship management) software and curriculum solutions to American and European colleges and graduate schools in offering better study abroad programs to their students and faculty. She also gained valuable experience at McKinsey and EdisonLearning on innovation-related projects. Yao received a BBA from the Central University of Finance and Economics. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Education from Columbia University, where she has completed all dissertation requirements towards her Ph.D. Yao’s research includes ed tech and market innovation, computational models in assessment and big data in education. Yao has been recognized as a 2016 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for her innovative work in robotics and AI applications in education; she is also recognized as a “Top 25 Women in Robotics in 2015” by RoboHub, and most recently honored as an Innovation Ambassador by the United Nations (UNCTAD), a Global Future Council AI & Robotics Committee member and one of “7 Women in AI & Robotics” by major tech media.
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About ROBOTERRA, Inc: RoboTerra Inc. is a robotics company aiming to inspire creativity & innovation via AI & Robotics education to everyone worldwide.
Mika Kayt
Founder & CEO of Take & Make
Mika comes from a diverse background of business development. In the past, she co-founding a start-up called Farmbow – gamifying the vegetable gardening experience through providing users with vegetable garden kits and an accompanying application helping users grow their gardens. As well, she has founded the first Debate Company for Elderly in Israel and directed International Business Development in the realm of aquaculture. Mika is a Zell Entrepreneurship Program alum, graduating her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the RRIS, IDC with honors. In her spare time she likes to dance, cook, debate, and learn new things.
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About Outgage, Take & Make: A platform for DIY craft workshops.
David Brown
CEO of Omnia Media
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About Omnia Media: Omnia Media is a digital studio that creates original content with its talent network which does 2B+ views/month in Gaming and DIY.
Christopher Lee Evans
CEO/Founder of NeedInstructions.com
Chris Evans is an entrepreneur that has extensive expertise in digital transformation services, data science and proven track record for developing technologies and services for B2B and B2C.
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About NeedInstructions.com: NeedInstructions.com provides instructions on how to do just about everything, as well as helps to obtain missing instructions and manuals.
Dale Dougherty
Founder & CEO of Maker Media
Dale Dougherty is the founder and CEO of Maker Media, Inc. in Sebastopol, CA. Maker Media produces Make Magazine, which launched in 2005, and Maker Faire, which was held first in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006. MAKE has been the catalyst for a worldwide Maker Movement that is transforming innovation in industry, hands-on learning in education and the personal lives of makers of all ages. MAKE invites everyone to become a maker, and integrate creative goals with technical skills. Dougherty was a co-founder of O’Reilly Media, where he was the first editor of their computing trade books, and developed GNN in 1993, the first commercial website. He coined Web 2.0 in 1993. MAKE started at O’Reilly Media and spun out as its own company in January 2013. He grew up in Louisville, KY.
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About Make Community, Maker Media: Maker Media is a global platform that connects inventors of products and services with one another.
Marshall Stokes
CEO of Uvumi
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About Sprux, Uvumi: Uvumi is a website that provides free tools to assist musicians and artists in promoting their work.
Patrick Weir
Founder & CEO of Fulcrum Labs
Patrick Weir is CEO at Fulcrum Labs.
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About Fulcrum Labs: Fulcrum Labs is a full-service learning and development agency for organizations tired of DIY instructional tools and death by PowerPoint.
Emily Taylor
Founder, CEO of Pattern Jam, Inc.
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About Pattern Jam, Inc.: Providing tools to make quilting more accessible to all.
Kate Bradley Chernis
Co-Founder and CEO of Lately
Kate Bradley Chernis is the Founder & CEO of Lately, which re-purposes longform content using AI to generate high-performing social posts in your unique brand voice that are customized to target any audience.
As a former rock ‘n’ roll dj, Kate served 20 million listeners as Music Director and on-air host at Sirius/XM. She’s also an award-winning radio producer, engineer and voice talent with 25 years of national broadcast communications, brand-building, sales and marketing expertise. What she learned in radio about the neuroscience of music helps fuel Lately’s artificial intelligence.
Prior to founding Lately, Kate also owned a marketing agency which got Walmart a 130% ROI, YoY for three years.
In addition, Kate’s appeared as a guest speaker on hundreds of sales, marketing and entrepreneurial podcasts and has led presentations for Walmart, Ericsson, SAP, National Disability Institute, IRS, United Way Worldwide, SaaStr, SXSW, Content Marketing Institute, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Harvard University, Columbia University, NYU and others.
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About Lately: Lately is an AI-powered content generating, social publishing and employee advocacy platform that re-purposes longform text, video and podcasts into social posts. Our AI learns any brand or individual voice and pinpoints the ideas, words and phrases that will convert any target audience.
José Antonio Gonzalez
Chief Executive Officer of Infolink-EXP
Computer Science and MBA grad from UT Austin. Passionate about starting and growing companies that create value for all involved. Have split professional career between native Juarez, Mexico and San José, California. Singer and Opera lover.
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About Infolink-EXP: Infolink helps technology companies deploy data-driven CX that helps them scale.
Steven Reubenstone
Founder, CEO of Collaborizm
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About Collaborizm: Online tech incubator & collaboration community for technically skilled millennials & aspiring entrepreneurs.
Kelsey Pytlik
CEO & Co-founder of Gild Collective
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About Gild Collective, Gild Collective, Kent State University, MOJO: Gild Collective is a platform for creative experiences for women, with in-home craft parties with DIY project kits and detailed instruction.
Jaimee Newberry
Founder, CEO of Picture This Clothing
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About Picture This Clothing: Picture This Clothing is a startup that allows kids to design their own clothes.
