executive, John Waller has proven his acumen for recognizing promising investments and
developing nascent opportunities into multi-million dollar corporations. He established his reputation by leading business growth, building management teams and managing cash flow at a variety of enterprises. Mr. Waller and his companies have been profiled in media outlets such as CNNfn, Bloomberg, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Business Week, MSNBC, The New York Times, Advertising Age, and Craine’s New York. Among his most notable accomplishments are Interactive Imaginations, Resume.com and Green Thumb Ventures.
In 1998, Mr. Waller founded Green Thumb Ventures, where he currently serves as CEO. Green Thumb is an incubator and investment company that funds and develops seed level internet and technology enterprises. The firm’s charter is to finance ideas of early stage companies and facilitate the bringing on of professional management and funding. To date, Green Thumb boasts an exceptionally high success rate, with over ninety percent of portfolio companies having been purchased, received follow-on financing or achieved profitability. At Green Thumb Ventures, Mr. Waller provides active and passive investment for select enterprises. He oversees and conducts due diligence, financial modeling, creation and negotiation of term sheets. Mr. Waller is integral in moving the portfolio businesses from mere ideas to viable operating companies by leading business development, marketing, and financial processes.
In 1999, Mr. Waller co-founded Resume.com and became the company’s CEO and President. He built the company from a three-person startup into a multi-million dollar business, and oversaw a team of 15 managers and editors as well as a network of more than 100 career specialists. Mr. Waller grew revenues to over $160,000 per month during the period of the ‘dot-com’ crash and developed strategic partnerships with The New York Times, Boston Globe, Kinko’s, Hot Jobs/Yahoo!, McGraw-Hill, and over 100 other publishers and Internet-based employment sites
In 2002, Mr. Waller negotiated the sale of Resume.com to Adecco S.A. (NYSE: ADO), the largest staffing company in the world. For the first year following the sale, he served as President, spearheading the transitional period and facilitating a smooth synthesis of the two companies.
In 1994, Mr. Waller co-founded Interactive Imaginations, whose game show, Riddler, and advertising network, The Commonwealth Network, were both highly successful web properties. As President of Interactive Imaginations, Mr. Waller developed the firm’s business plans and financial models, and was instrumental in raising more than $40 million in venture financing from sources such as Random House, General Electric, and Travelers Insurance. He grew the company to substantial revenue with over 120 employees in less than five years and directed the growth of over 10,000 member web sites, delivering two million ad impressions each day. In 1998, Interactive Imaginations merged equally with two other companies to become 24/7
Media (NASDAQ: TFSM).
Mr. Waller began his career on Wall Street, joining Bull and Bear in New York City in 1993. He was promoted to Assistant Vice President within the first six months of employment for this mutual fund, and received his Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Mr. Waller has been a participant in numerous industry and start up company seminars and panels, most recently as a judge for the UCLA Anderson School of Business MBA Program’s business plan review panel. He received his BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1993.