Greg Shepard is a seasoned veteran in building and running sustainable growth businesses. Greg is also a serial angel investor and startup growth consultant who has spearheaded 12-15 company exits throughout his career. His former company, AffiliateTraction, was acquired by eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions in January 2016 as a part of a cross-brand deal totaling $985M.

The following April, the company was rebranded Pepperjam during a transaction that earned them the prestigious “Tech Deal of the Year Over $250 million” award as well as “Private Equity Deal of the Year Over $500 million to $1 billion,” “Cross Border Deal of the Year Over $500 million to $1 billion,” and “M&A Deal of the Year Over $500 to $1 billion” awards.

The $985-million-dollar deal comprised of the purchase and the selling of more than 14 companies, including AdAssured, another company founded by Greg, and garnered Greg a spot among the elite in performance marketing.

Greg served as Pepperjam’s Chief Strategy Officer during 2016, charting the company’s trajectory for future products and service offerings, before transitioning into the role of Chief Technology Officer in 2017 to execute on the vision and strategy defined during his time as the Chief Strategy Officer.

Prior to AffiliateTraction, Greg was involved with and/or co-founded a number of online retail merchants, online publishers, SAAS affiliate tracking software, and online directories; all of which were acquired. Greg has served on numerous advisory boards, is a regular contributor to industry publications such as; Forbes, Fortune, and Adweek, and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the globe; including the 2017 Annual Tech Summit for Permira.

Most recently, he has been authoring a book titled: ‘Meet the BOSS - The Agile Playbook for Startups slated to publish in Q4 of 2019. Alongside the book will be a TED talk.

However, it's the inspirational story behind Greg's success and his lust for life that will stay with me forever. This episode is a must listen for any startup founder and contains many valuable insights from a hugely successful career.