Steve Schaffer is an active strategic advisor, investor and board director. His primary focus is technology companies with emerging digital business models and the potential to reach over $100M in revenue. He is a seasoned digital strategy, performance marketing, new business creation leader. He has more than 30 years of experience growing and advising both startups and established companies. Steve is an accomplished serial entrepreneur. He has served on a number of boards and is NACD Directorship Certified.
Steve is currently a strategic advisor and investor to a number of high growth Internet and technology companies. He works with CEO’s, founders, and startups through Capital Factory, Techstars, EO, and referrals. Some of the companies include: yourself.online, LoudCrowd, Fetch Package, Countertop Smart, UpKey, Ceresa, Osano, Rocket Dollar, Bold Metrics, Zen Business, Workify, SubjectWell, b.well, and more.
Steve was previously the founder & CEO/Chairman of Offers.com. Launched in February 2009, Offers.com is a leading coupon & deal website that provides the top offers from more than 16,000 stores and brands. The site connects millions of consumers with coupons and promo codes, deals, and discounts from thousands of leading merchants. Steve bootstrapped the company with his credit cards and later secured a growth equity investment. He was the CEO until he sold the company to Ziff Davis, a division of j2 Global (NASDAQ: JCOM) in December 2015.
Prior to Offers.com, Steve was the founder and CEO of the predecessor to Offers.com, Vertive, Inc., Vertive was a leader in the performance marketing industry. Vertive was the publisher of over 20 vertically-focused websites that connected consumers with information and discounts on online services.
Steve has been an entrepreneur, consultant, and manager at several online and consumer software companies including eRegCard, DayMaker, Power Up Software and Symantec. Steve is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
Personal Attributes
Proactive, tenacious & analytical thinker:
- Start With the Goal — Focus on solving problems and finding new opportunities.
- Vision/Details — Able to connect the vision & strategy to the execution plans needed.
- Action Oriented — Find solutions that move things forward quickly.
- Decide with Data — Tracking, reporting, and analyzing the right data to make decisions.
- No Nonsense — Straight forward and direct communicator.
Industry Focus – Consumer and Small Business Tech/Internet Companies, including:
- Online Marketplaces
- Online Subscription Services & SaaS
- Marketing Tech & Analytics Platforms
- Social Commerce & Ecommerce Tools
Note: Board Resume and Bio
Note: Please message me for a board resume / bio.
Links about Steve and Offers.com
Steve Schaffer and Offers.com were featured in the Austin American Statesman Tech Monday – March 8, 2010. “Offers.com seeks to be a breakout in a crowded field”
Details on the History of Offers.com and Vertive
Steve is an Internet Marketing Thought Leader
Steve was featured by the McCombs School of Business in the BBA 100
Links about the Offers.com Acquisition by Ziff Davis
Susquehanna Growth Equity Linkedin post
Austin American Statesman article on the acquisition of Offers.com by Ziff Davis
Austin Business Journal article on the Ziff Davis Acquisition of Offers.com
DomainWire.com Blog – Ziff Davis buys Offers.com