Energized by organizing people and machines to deliver solutions with exponential outcomes
25 Years
Founding engineer & product engineering leader across multiple successful technology companies
Inc 500
Technology executive for fastest growing startups, venture funded scaleups and people first rollups.
$100M+
Scaled products from pre-revenue to over $100 million
Values First Leader
Impact
Fostering curiosity and continuous learning, creating award-winning teams recognized by executive peers and re-enforced by industry exceeding tenures.
Humanity
Coaching value prioritized, diverse and innovative teams who have capitalized on partnerships with cross-industry leaders like Synchrony, Nike, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Clarity
Scaling rooted in entrepreneurial habits that create clear alignment between business deliverables and technology implementation. Highlighted thought leadership on dozens of panels, keynotes and publications - from established business groups to international startup conferences.
Industry Expertise & Career
John's career spans diverse industries over three decades, marked by strategic leadership and technical innovation.
Fractional CTO (Consulting)
GenAI, Mobile, Web3, E-commerce, LeanUX, AI Solutions, M&A, Team Scaling
CTO, Clarus Technology
Pet Health, Insurance/Finance, Identity Resolution, Multi-Party Data Platforms, AI Agentic Memory
SVP Engineering, Outside, Inc
Media/Ad Tech, Mobile, Web3, NFT Creator Platforms, AI Vector Semantic Search
CTO, Choozle, Inc
Marketing/Ad Tech, Marketplace, Programmatic Advertising, AI Regression DMP
CEO & Co-Founder, NextStep.io
Health Tech, Mobile, Wearables, Digital Health, AI Regression Diabetes Reversal
CEO & Co-Founder, RecBob
Sports Tech, Social, Community Platforms
CTO & Co-Founder, Ovation Networks
Hospitality, AI Regression Energy Management, Large-scale WiFi Solutions
Engineer, Various Roles
IT Infrastructure, Software Development, Network Engineering, Systems Architecture
Recent Leadership Highlights
2024-2025: CTO, Clarus Technology
Pet health intelligence platform.
Multi-party data platform with temporal graph for agentic AI memory across US and UK product launches.
- MVP to launch while navigating complex IP acquisition and establishing foundation of multi-party payment functionality with $30b credit partner.
- Built from inception to 50+ engineers in 12 months, using a blended model of inside expertise leading offshore resources.
2020-2023: SVP Engineering, Outside
World's home for active lifestyles (250M users).
Domain-driven design incorporating proprietary authentication at the edge, vector embedded recommendations and NFT creator platform.
- Participated on Executive Team that raised $300+ million and completed 15+ acquisitions.
- Cultivated a values based culture, recruiting 50+ new hires in < 6 months alongside 50 acquired hires.
2017-2020: CTO, Choozle
Programmatic advertising platform.
Scaled to 5+ billion impressions annually through purpose-built DMP and self-service campaign management tools.
- Led SAAS Product Strategy that shifted to a profitable business model while tripling $10M+ revenue.
- Developed an inclusive, apprenticeship culture across Product, AdOps, Engineering and Design teams.
Engineering Scale
Built teams from 0 to 100+ engineers, including AI agentic developers. Proven track record scaling startups through rapid growth phases.
Product Innovation
Domain-driven design, LeanUX strategy, and Product Shaping methodology to increase delivery exponentially.
Team Health
Strengths coaching and values-based leadership that creates diverse, high-performing teams.
Foundation & Learning
Nike+ Accelerator powered by Techstars
#DoMoreFaster — Elite startup accelerator experience, 2013
Iowa State University
Electrical Engineering & Management Information Systems — Technical foundation for leadership
Entrepreneurial Journey
- CEO & Co-Founder: NextStep.io (digital health, diabetes reversal)
- CEO & Co-Founder: RecBob (sports community platform)
- CTO & Co-Founder: Ovation Networks (hospitality wifi, 20M+ users)
- Founder: Technology Solutions (1996-2001)
What Others Say
John's leadership, technical expertise, and collaborative spirit are consistently highlighted by colleagues, clients, and industry leaders.
Josh Allan Dykstra
The Futurist Who Makes Tomorrow Feel Exciting 🚀
"John is one of my absolutely favorite people to work with! Over the past few years, he served as an early advisor for our tech startup... Before #lovework, I also had the pleasure to work with John as a client when he brought me in to work directly with his teams, whom he cares for deeply. Bottom line: however you get to work with John, I highly recommend it!!"
Jennifer Voss
VP of Engineering
"John was a driving force behind our engineering team's success... He spearheaded a strategy to manage and share data using a federated graph. This innovative approach allowed us to launch several new products... Working with John was a real pleasure, and I'd recommend him to any company in need of a top-notch engineering leader—and just an all-around great person to work with."
Spencer Brydon
Product Director | Novo Connection
"John is an incredible asset to any team... We gained a ton of great insight from John’s thought leadership... He has a great ability to lead diverse individuals while turning them into a cohesive team. All around, John is someone anyone would love to work with."
Christopher Quartier
Senior Embedded Software Engineer at Cardinal Peak
"John understands how to cultivate connections that are vital to sustaining a startup. His drive is awe inspiring... With an engineering/IT background, John also brings a strong analytical mind to any team, and keeps his eyes forward technologically. John's passion will bring out the best in everyone, and his well-rounded skill-set can compliment just about any team."
Let's Connect
Ready to Scale Your Vision?
Whether you're a startup founder, hiring executive, or investor — let's explore how proven leadership can accelerate your technology outcomes.
Years Leading
Technology teams and startups
Users Impacted
Through platforms and solutions
Engineers Scaled
Teams from 0 to 100
Organizing people and machines to deliver solutions with exponential outcomes — one partnership at a time.
John Schnipkoweit, CT0