Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
Photo Credit
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Mover
New Swaptree CEO Bennett brings user and startup exec experience
By James M. Connolly
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Biotechs lag in social media use
MHT's Galen Moore: Cambridge Innovation Center celebrates 10th anniversary
MHT's Galen Moore: Honoring innovation in New England
It sounds a bit like a commercial. Jeff Bennett considers himself a “digital citizen,” and he liked the idea of using the web to enable swapping music and other media. So he signed up as a customer on Swaptree.com, which led to a seat on the board, and now he’s the CEO.
Bennett, named CEO of Swaptree Inc. last month, has set a goal of growing Boston-based Swaptree to “an eBay-like company, but for swapping.” His relationship with the company may have started when he became a user, but he had established himself in the New England startup community long before that.
“I’ve been part of two successful Internet businesses where my role was building out a strategy and expanding on that strategy,” said Bennett.
Bennett joined Lycos Inc. as director of business development fairly early in that search engine company’s lifespan in 1996, later becoming vice president and general manager e-Commerce and senior vice president corporate development before the company was acquired and renamed Terra Lycos SA. He later helped to found, and served as president and COO of, Internet domain name manager NameMedia Inc.
Active in the startup scene through programs such as TechStars and the new 12x12 initiative, Bennett says he enjoys acting as an adviser to and observer of new Boston-area companies.
That’s how he learned about SwapTree. “I was aware of them as part of the landscape of companies that were being started in the Boston area. I was attracted to the space in general. Swapping is just such a natural thing,” he said.
Now Swaptree is ready to grow, said Bennett, who replaces co-founder and now president Greg Boesel. The company has doubled its staff to 15 people in the past three months, adding Bennett, a marketing executive, engineers and user experience expertise.
And user experience is crucial.
“My style is very open, very collaborative, highly transparent. I want an environment where we can have a team working toward building a big thing. The old-style command and control doesn’t fit in a nimble, fast-growing web company. It’s also important that customers be part of the process,” he said. “When you are building a consumer web company, everyone in the company has to be focused on the user experience.”
With that in mind, Bennett plans to ensure that everyone in the company is aware of how the site is performing and what users are doing on it. He also is bringing users into the office to test the site and then share their feedback with the staff. “Our roadmap emanates from all that work,” he said.
“I learned these lessons over time. I’ve been in the tech industry since I got out of school. I’m a user first. I love technology. I’ve always been interested and adopted gadgets early. I’m always online. So I come to this job as a user,” added Bennett, who cites former Lycos CEO and NameMedia board member Bob Davis, as well as former International Data Group and NameMedia executive Kelly Conlin as mentors.
Like many entrepreneurs, when asked about life outside of work, Bennett noted, “a profession like this is seven days a week.” However he added, “But I love to spend time with my wife and kids. Anything outdoors as a family: cycling, tennis, golf, skiing. You have to break away and have fun.”
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
