Seth Kravitz

Expertise: Startup investing. Internet trend tracking and thought leadership.

Seth has spent the last decade building and selling technology companies. In 2004, when he was 21, he co-founded a company called InsuranceAgents.com, which was ranked #24 on the 2009 Inc. 5000 and #68 on the 2010 Inc. 5000. In four years, Seth was able to lead InsuranceAgents.com to $12 million in revenue by 2008 and eventually grow the business to 65 employees in two cities, before being acquired by Bankrate (NYSE: RATE) in 2012. At the same time, he also co-founded DebtHelp.com, which with its early revenue growth, was acquired after only 20 months by Quinstreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST). 

Seth is heavily engaged in Chicago’s start-up community via founding a publishing and events company called Technori, which directly supports and has been instrumental in growing the Chicago startup community since 2010. This has also allowed him to take a very active role in the direction and development of many of the local city-sponsored entrepreneur programs, facilities, university programs, and other non-profit initiatives. 

Seth is the youngest member ever selected to the Emerging Leaders Program at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a member of the Youth Committee of the Economic Club of Chicago, and Board Member at The Experience Institute.

Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. - Elbert Hubbard
Hits:

Wrote an "open letter" called A Million Cups in 2012 that called for more meaningful startup community building. Inspired the world's largest entrepreneurship foundation, The Kauffman Foundation, to launch a program called 1 Million Cups that has become the foundation's most successful program in its history. The timing of the article was perfect for what entrepreneurs were craving in communities coast to coast.

Misses:

Even though I was a big early fan of "the sharing economy", I didn't predict the rise of so many "on-demand" startups (for example, Uber, Luxe, Instacart) in a post recession economy because they are more expensive premium services in an economic environment where people are increasingly more cash strapped than ever. Who would have thought!

No reports available for this expert.

Expert Information

Sample Reports

Resources

Expertise

Startup investing. Internet trend tracking and thought leadership.

Location

Chicago

Experience

Current Experience

Founder of Technori

Past Experience

  • Founder of Internet sites including InsuranceAgents.com and DebtHelp.com

Education

  • Ohio State University