Welcome to the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with CommerceNext and presented by CommX.In this episode, we're diving into the fast-paced world of instant commerce with our guide Daniel Folkman, SVP of Gopuff. With a career built on startups and startup culture, Daniel takes us through the brand's origin story and the roadmap to innovation ahead. Next, he shares with us what it takes to be successful in a high-profile and fast-scaling startup and what he looks for in the people he brings into the team to drive continued success and new product development Links: https://gopuff.com/, https://gopuff.com/go/adsAbout DanielDaniel Folkman is currently the Senior Vice President of Business at Gopuff, the go-to instant commerce platform that fulfills consumer's evolving everyday needs. In his current role, Daniel Folkman oversees the company's Global Business functions. Since joining Gopuff as one of the company's first employees, Folkman has been a key member of the executive team, helping the company scale to 500+ micro-fulfillment centers across more than 1,000 cities across the US and Europe. During his more than six years with the company, he has spearheaded the company's fundraising and M&.A efforts, helping to raise more than $4B in funding and leading major transactions such as BevMo!, Liquor Barn, RideOS, Fancy, and Dija. Folkman originated the concept for Gopuff Ads - identifying the power of merging a culturally relevant brand and hyperlocal logistics with the needs of CPG companies. Today, Gopuff Ads commands sizable budgets from brands like PepsiCo,Coca-Cola, Unilever and many other major CPGs. Folkman is also the driving force behind Gopuff's major consumer partnerships with companies such as Chase, Mastercard, Hyatt, Uber, Grubhub, PayPal, Venmo, and celebrities such as Chris Paul, Selena Gomez, and more. ABOUT US: Scott SilvermanAn ecommerce veteran, Scott Silverman has been active in the industry since 1999 and is passionate about digital retail and the innovation driving the industry. Scott Silverman is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. Previously, he spent 10 years as Executive Director of Shop.org where he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit. Scott co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for Shop.org’s scholarship fund.Veronika SonsevVeronika Sonsev is the Co-Founder of CommerceNext. She also leads the retail practice for Chameleon Collective and is a contributor for Forbes on how to grow retail and ecommerce in the age of Amazon. Having spent the last 10+ years working with some of the largest retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, Veronika has intimate knowledge of the challenges facing retail and ecommerce today. She is also an advocate for women in business and founded the global non-profit mBolden, which is now part of SheRunsit. Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.
