Inkbench for Franchises

Chief Product Officer & Founder

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” This is as true today today as when I began my career 30 years ago at Ogilvy & Mather. Start-up life is intense; Big things come from high-performing teams.  My role as a leader is to unleash the strength of the team and to make sure everyone knows that I have their backs at all times. This creates an environment conducive to taking intelligent risks — it has to be when we’re blazing a new trail and doing something no one has done before.

Although I’ve started two successful companies, I consider myself a “reluctant entrepreneur.”  I’ve never wanted to start a business for the sake of starting a business.  I did it to because it was the best way to achieve a goal. The common thread through both companies I’ve founded is that they support my passion for bringing technology solutions to marketers and brand stewards at organizations that understand that a strong brand is critical for success. An organization’s brand is one of its most valuable assets and should be nurtured and protected.

My wife Sandy and I have two great kids who are just finishing college and our dog, Buddy.  We are also restoring our 110 year-old house that we’ve lived in for more than 25 years, to its former glory, which has been  a fun and rewarding diversion.  I’m now learning how to restore a forty-year-old car which reminds me every day how much technology has advanced in my lifetime!

Chief Executive Officer

My passion is to make the community where I live and work, a better place for my being there.

I also love working at Inkbench, because when I’m contributing to the marketing technology ecosystem, I help make the future happen. I have spent 20+ years in the tech industry as an entrepreneur, founder of a Venture Capital firm and a successful consulting business, Board member, and intermediary.

I am excited to bring my background to Inkbench. I especially enjoy working with my colleagues and helping our users be better at their jobs. When asked about the special talents I bring to this role, I’d have to say dogged tenacity and an ability to see the big picture from smaller parts.  I am as determined to see my clients succeed as I am to see myself succeed. I also know I am memorable. A couple of years ago I was talking on the phone with a very buttoned up prospective client. We finally did a video call and when he saw me, he visibly paused for a few seconds and then said “You are a bit like an animal!” I closed the deal. But seriously, I can toggle between being very professional and buttoned up, to rolling up my sleeves and getting deep into the weeds (and, you know, let my hair down) to get the job done.

I am a mountain biker and skier in NJ and Vermont. If you’re passionate about either, I invite you to join me!

Director of Marketing

Hands down, marketing is my passion. At age six, I was setting up my lemonade stand, formulating the perfect lemonade, and promoting it at the right price to all the neighbors.

My career has been grounded in helping businesses succeed. I’ve also spent most of those years in an industry I adore–franchising. And I’ve had the privilege to market such iconic brands as Coldwell Banker, Ramada and Howard Johnson hotels, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Huntington Learning Center, among others.

As the newest member of Inkbench, I am honored to join a team of execs who are so passionate, caring, and talented. It is truly a team effort. We have each other’s backs and we have our clients’ backs. It’s fun coming to work, even if I’m just walking downstairs to my home office for a Zoom call!

As a franchise community veteran. I understand the nature of the business, the branding and the beauty of it all. One of my roles at Inkbench is to help our dev team customize the platform for the franchise industry, so it is client-friendly and productive for the franchisors and franchisees to be even more successful.

When I’m not trying to scale our platform, I’m spending time with my family and friends usually hiking or checking out new places—or promoting the best new lemonade concoction to them.

Chief Relationship Officer

My name is James and I’m the sales guy. I love people! Whether it’s hanging out, grabbing a bite, playing sports, or working with others, being with other people makes me happy. What I enjoy more than anything else is helping others: seeing the smile on someone’s face when an obstacle is removed and the gratitude, when clients we supported, are successful. That experience gets me up and excited to go to work in the morning.

I love my job at Inkbench for two reasons: 1. because clients are happier after they’ve joined and rolled out the platform to their teams; and 2, because, when I hit my quota, I get to go skiing with my ski-buddy – who also happens to be our CEO, George Abraham.

I’m a compulsive entrepreneur. I can’t help myself. If I see a new thing that works, I gravitate towards it. People like working with me for my rampant enthusiasm and optimism. I’m also a tech nerd. I can dive into a tiny detail and get geeky or talk about the future of humanity.

I’ve had three careers–as a musician, an entertainment executive and a tech entrepreneur. My diverse life experience is what I bring to the table. I’ve been around long enough that I can pattern match and figure out how to solve whatever’s holding you back.

A little bit of trivia? I took my family sailing for a year: we left NYC, sailed down the Caribbean, across The Atlantic, all the way to the Aegean Sea. If you know of an adventure, please sign me up.