Mark Potts is an entrepreneur, executive and consultant who has long been on the cutting edge of the digital revolution. He has been a leader in the development of innovative strategies and products in online media, created and worked for several startups, consulted to some of the nation’s leading digital and media companies, and has taught college classes in entrepreneurship. As co-founder of Backfence and GrowthSpur, Potts was a pioneer in the field of hyperlocal media. He created one of the first electronic news prototypes in the early 1990s, and then co-founded The Washington Post Co.’s digital division. He was Chief Product Officer for Cahners Business Information (now Reed Business Information), the nation’s largest trade publisher, where he oversaw the development and operation of 120 trade-magazine Web sites, including Variety.com. He was a member of the founding team of the @Home Network, where he led the creation of the first consumer broadband programming service. And he was Vice President of Content for the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World. As a consultant, Potts has developed strategies and products for The Washington Post Co., Philly.com, the Los Angeles Times, Cox Communications, Lancaster (PA) Newspapers, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Fora.tv, Classified Ventures, Connecticut Mirror, the Newspaper Association of America, the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association and many other Internet and media companies. He was the founding editor of Journal of Alta California (Alta).Formerly a journalist at The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Examiner, Potts is the co-author of two business books, The Leading Edge and Dirty Money. He has taught courses in Media Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland and provided training and coaching for media clients. He also helped to create and organize the Free State Festival, a popular annual festival of arts, music, film and ideas in Lawrence, KS.