Wildfire provides an enterprise platform which enables partners to deploy shopping companions and cashback rewards offerings to their customers. Wildfire’s patented suite of technologies rewards online shopping, delivering enhanced user experiences, consumer loyalty, and new revenue streams for partners such as Microsoft, Samsung, and Acorns.

At Wildfire, we are democratizing the loyalty and rewards space by providing a unique, white-label platform that enables any online service to reward their users’ online shopping and sharing, while at the same time monetizing the e-commerce they enable. Thanks in part to services like Honey and Capital One Shopping, consumers have come to expect shopping rewards form their service providers. The timing is also ideal, given the macro trends in the financial services industry including fragmenting payments choices and the rise of challenger banks.

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As the founder, I sit at the hub of all the stakeholders in the business, and it’s so important, in fact essential, to balance all of those (sometimes competing) priorities. I’ve got to be the advocate and caretaker for the interests of employees, investors, customers, business partners, not to mention my and my family’s best interests. And secondly, it’s a challenge to balance between your optimism for the business vs. worries (after all, only the paranoid survive!).

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Choose your investors wisely. There is greater access to venture investment capital now than at any time in my previous experience, and with that comes the opportunity to pick the exact right investors for you and your business. For those companies seeking funding, I’d recommend focusing on the chemistry/vibe and comfort you have with the team (plus their area of expertise, and demonstrated ability to deliver added value).

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I’ve gotta say, the way the team handled the lockdown and immediate shift to remote working at the beginning of the pandemic – was surprising and inspiring. We’ve always had a high-performance team, but I’m amazed that we are, without a doubt, more productive and in-tune in a remote environment than we were before. The fly-wheel keeps spinning faster and faster.

I got to know Jim over a number of years before I began building Wildfire, and we had great chemistry from the start. I’ve built several businesses, but this is my first enterprise/B2B platform company, and Bonfire’s focus on enterprise B2B, and the experience they bring to the table is so helpful. Also, among the entrepreneurs I know, they’ve got a great reputation - everyone has great things to say about the whole Bonfire team.

I always feel like Bonfire is on the same team, prioritizing the company’s interests first and foremost. When we were embarking on our next fundraising round, I was completely comfortable showing Jim and Mark the earliest (horrible) draft of our pitch deck without fear of judgment over the roughness of the draft. They provided the tough love we needed to help us through the iterative process of honing our message to present Wildfire in the best light. I really appreciate that we have that kind of relationship, and their input was absolutely invaluable.

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, struck a chord with me on many levels. Similar to the protagonist, Christopher McCandless, I’ve also been drawn to adventure, minimalism and journeys of self-discovery. Yet, unlike McCandless, I never let myself get pulled over the edge, and I’ve achieved balance between those passions and the dedication and connectedness it takes to be successful in business, friendships and family.

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