How to Become the Apple, Google or Uber of Your Industry | Steve Messner

Thinking “out of the box” is a gift of a true, pioneering entrepreneur, but developing and bringing to market something absolutely new can be either very risky or incredibly rewarding. Learn the ins and outs of becoming that billionaire unicorn.

About Stephen Messer

Stephen Messer has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the digital economy since the commercialization of the Internet. He currently serves as co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Collective[i]. Collective[i]’s global network and application that applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable sales and other functions that support revenue growth to leverage their social networks, customer contacts along with intelligence that optimizes all of their sales activities and processes.

Prior to Collective[i], Mr. Messer and his sister, Heidi Messer, co-founded LinkShare Corporation, host to one of the world’s largest online affiliate networks representing the world’s premier publishers and merchants on the web. The company is widely considered to be a pioneer in the world of SaaS, digital advertising and the sharing economy. Under Mr. Messer’s leadership, LinkShare was recognized by Deloitte and Touche for two consecutive years as the fastest growing technology company in the New York Region. Mr. Messer served as Chairman and CEO of LinkShare until its sale to Rakuten (4755:JASDAQ) for $425 million in 2005.

Mr. Messer was awarded the Best Service to the Industry award, recognizing his contributions to the development of the affiliate marketing industry. In 2005, Mr. Messer was awarded the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the New York Region. He has been cited in various publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nikkei, and Internet Retailer Magazine, and he has appeared on national business programs such as CNBC, CNNfn, and the Fox News Channel.

Mr. Messer is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world and universities on artificial intelligence, machine learning, enterprise technology, entrepreneurship, modern sales and marketing and the future of work including the WSJ CIO Network’s Annual Meeting, Aspen Ideas Festival, The Montgomery Summit, Internet World, and Harvard University CyberSymposium, and appeared as a guest lecturer at prestigious business schools such as Columbia Business School, New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Wharton
Mr. Messer is an active angel investor and serves on the board of Spire, which operates a constellation of satellites that provide weather, tracking and other data and as an advisor to Tribeca Venture Partners. Mr. Messer received a bachelor of arts degree from Lafayette University and his juris doctorate from Cardozo School of Law.