I’m a technologist and entrepreneur. I think about, build and execute on strategies that help create and scale companies. Drawing from established markets, sub-cultures, global trends, and exciting new technologies, I seek to understand how these can all impact and benefit a group of users, distilling this information into product, marketing, business development, and growth strategies.I'm always interested in & exploring how to build better product experiences, how new technologies will help empower more people (making complex tasks and the tools we use to accomplish them simpler), testing and creating innovation frameworks, scaling business growth, leveraging different business models, and more!Highlights:- 15+ years experience with startups;- Interdisciplinary focus: growth, product, strategy, BD, community;- Launched several products (marketplaces, B2C, eCommerce, B2B SaaS);- Managed $1M+ budgets;- Assisted in raising $5M+ in funding;- Featured in: Forbes, Business Insider, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Good Morning America, & others- Consumer mobile app Popkey: acquired 1M+ downloads, developed ad program with Starbucks, RedBull, MLB, Universal Studios, Viacom (MTV) & more;- Marketplace platform: generating $100k revenue;- Podcast host & creator: reached 100K downloads in 4 months;- Director of CEO/Founders Mastermind Group 2+ years;Follow me @FrancoVarrianowww.francovarriano.com
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Head Of PartnershipsGadget Feb 2024 - PresentOttawa, Ontario, Ca -
Head Of Growth & Business R&DMasterpiece Studio Pro Oct 2021 - Feb 2024Ottawa, Ontario, Ca -
Head Of GrowthCreative Layer Aug 2020 - Oct 2021Ottawa, Ca -
Product Innovation & DiscoveryWorkshop X Jan 2019 - Jul 2021Ottawa, Ontario, CaAcquired by H.I.G. Capital July 2021.Workshop X’s mission is to empower the world to create.I led Product Innovation & Discovery at Workshop X - focused on spearheading the implementation of a platform driven, product innovation strategy that’s exploring emerging hardware and technologies like: XR, AI and ML.I'm always interested in & exploring how to build better product experiences, how new technologies will help empower more people (making complex tasks and the tools we use to accomplish them simpler), testing and creating innovation frameworks, scaling business growth, leveraging different business models, and more! -
DirectorFresh Founders Jun 2018 - Oct 2020Ottawa, Ontario, CaDirector for Fresh Founders - an exclusive club of amazing entrepreneurs who are running awesome companies. In Ottawa, we are the founders of over 100 companies, including Fluidware, CanvasPop, Spartan Bioscience, and Shopify.Our vision is to create a community of fresh entrepreneurs that achieves greater success by helping each other. -
Head Of Partnerships & GrowthRarelogic Inc. Oct 2017 - Dec 2018Ottawa, Ontario, CaRareLogic is focused on accelerating ecommerce growth for merchants across major platforms.The flagship app is Rare.io - a smart email marketing platform that leverages ecommerce data to create more personalized email marketing campaigns that makes sales! Rare.io is available on Shopify, BigCommerce & Ecwid.Here I focused on:- New Product Development & User Testing- Existing product marketing & growth- Identifying, managing & growing strategic partnerships with a variety of industry stakeholders- Internal reporting- Managing key contractors and projects -
Founder, Co-Host & ProducerHack To Start Sep 2014 - Sep 2018Hack To Start is a podcast focused on interesting people and the innovative ways they achieve success.Launched in October 2014, Hack To Start was quickly featured by Apple as "New & Noteworthy". Over the next 4 months, it received over 100,000 downloads on iTunes alone and was rated #1 podcast in Business News & #1 in Business, among other categories.In March of 2016, Hack To Start has more then 80 episodes, a quarter million downloads (on iTunes alone), and is listened to in more than 151 countries!We've featured amazing people from all types of businesses and backgrounds, including:- Meng To - Founder, Designer & Developer - Design + Code - Brittany Gorevic - General Manager - Union Square Ventures- Cristina Cordova - BD & Partnerships - Stripe- Matthew Hartman - Director of Seed Inventments - Betaworks- Ben Brown - CEO & co-founder - Howdy.ai- Niv Dror - Community - Product Hunt- Jorge Soto - Sales Hacker - ex-Mopub (acq. by Twitter) - Andreas Izquieta - CEO + Co-founder - Five Four- Kim Bost - Designer - Dropbox- Poornima Vijayashanker - CEO - Femgineer- Atlee Clark - Head of App Store & Third Party Development - Shopify- Zack Onisko - VP Product & Growth - Creative Market- and many, many more!Find Hack To Start on your favorite podcast app. -
Head Of Partnerships & GrowthFullscript Jan 2017 - Oct 2017Ottawa, Ontario, CaFullscript is the #1 platform for dispensing supplements and nutraceuticals. It's used by over 10,000 practitioners across North America.While previously having focused on building and managing the Sales & Marketing team, the Partnerships & Growth role enabled me to place and increased focus towards:● Experiential Marketing - develop and execute on a multi-tiered approach to scaling brand awareness and user acquisition from a variety of physical events (from webinars, to community driven meet-up, to large trade shows)● Referral Partner Program - created the strategy and foundation for enabling a scalable referral program to drive user acquisition from a variety of partners;● Identified, developed, and managed relationships with key stakeholders. From industry influencers, to professional organizations, and more. The objective was to identify ways that Fullscript could support these stakeholders and provide more value back to them. -
Head Of Sales & MarketingFullscript Jan 2016 - Jan 2017Ottawa, Ontario, CaFullscript is the #1 platform for dispensing supplements and nutraceuticals. It's used by over 10,000 practitioners across North America.At Fullscript, I'm building and manage the Sales & Marketing team, which helps Fullscript: (1) effectively grow and scale practitioner adoption, (2) develop resources to help our practitioners scale their own operations through the use of new technologies and marketing tactics, and (3) build strategic partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and industry thought leaders.My team and I also work cross-functionally across the company with our product, engineering, and customer support teams to launch products and large scale campaigns including: Fullscript's Point-of-Sale product (http://fullscript.com/pos), Fullscript's Integrated Inventory (http://fullscript.com/inventory), and Fullscript's Kiosk (http://fullscript.com/kiosk) launch among others.Beyond these responsibilities, I’ve worn multiple other hats (typically at once), as is custom in a startup setting, including:● Digital strategy & Paid acquisition - decreasing those costs on average by up-to 35%;● Developing, managing and executing on internal sales process design - resulting in more than 2X our monthly sales volume and increasing our qualified leads;● Generated awareness and increasing brand profile or product adoption through the implementation of internal and external communications strategies, marketing strategies, sales process design, and more;● Developed, managed and executed quarterly sales & marketing plans to align with strategic company initiatives;● Crafted presentations, collaterals, videos, and more to support the CEO, other teams, and strategic partners;● Liaised with product, engineering and operations teams to promote product launches and support existing initiatives. -
Head Of Growth & PartnershipsPopkey Sep 2014 - Jan 2016Popkey is the world's first iOS8 GIF messaging keyboard.My 3 primary areas of focus were: 1. Helping to shape product roadmap (specifically for user acquisition, publisher reporting and based on user testing)2. Driving user acquisition (1M+ downloads) & growth through a variety of tactics including: PR, ad buys, influencer campaigns, partnerships and more.2. Business Development & Partnerships - working with publishers, agencies, and brands like: Starbucks, Viacom, MTV, MLB, VEVO, RedBull, Universal Studios, Sony Music, and more.
Franco Varriano Education Details
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University Of OttawaInternational Development And Globalization -
International Baccalaureate DegreeInternational Baccalaureate Degree -
Franco-Ouest Catholic High SchoolOntario High School Diploma
Frequently Asked Questions about Franco Varriano
What company does Franco Varriano work for?
Franco Varriano works for Gadget
What is Franco Varriano's role at the current company?
Franco Varriano's current role is Product. Partnerships. Growth..
What schools did Franco Varriano attend?
Franco Varriano attended University Of Ottawa, International Baccalaureate Degree, Franco-Ouest Catholic High School.
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