| Birthplace | Columbus, OH |
| Birthdate | 11/26/79 |
| Ohio University, BBA | 2003 |
| Finance, Summa Cum Laude | |
| Ohio University, BBA | 2003 |
| Economics, Summa Cum Laude | |
| Ohio University, BBA | 2003 |
| MIS Minor, Summa Cum Laude |
Sean O’Brien is an entrepreneur who has co-founded & advised numerous startups.
Upon graduating summa cum laude from Ohio University’s top ranked undergraduate business program in 2003, Sean’s first startup was InnovativeRental.com, the first website to offer real-time quotes for laptop & projector rentals online. At the time, other companies manually quoted via phone or email based on inventory levels & availability. Sean sold InnovativeRental.com to Innovative Technology Rentals of New York City only a short while after founding it. The basis of the acquisition was for both the technology & domain name.
In 2005, Sean co-founded Columbus Web Design with West Point alumnus & US Army Ranger Joe Bruggeman, using $15K in seed money. In their first full year of operations, the company grossed $188K & landed notable clients such as Ohio Governor John Kasich, & Jennifer Massey, runner-up on Donald Trump’s The Apprentice on NBC. CWD was acquired by Distant Horizon Inc. of Chicago.
In May 2007, he was featured as part of a cover story for Entrepreneur magazine, for co-founding CanopyChair.com, which sold the patented “Original Canopy Chair” co-invented by Paul Robinette & Dave Reeb. According to the article, CanopyChair.com had anticipated revenues of $10MM for 2007. In June 2007, the patented technology & retail distribution rights were sold to Swimways Corporation, & the chair can now be found at Walmart, Target, & many other big box retailers.
In late 2009, Sean formed Elastic Ventures to build apps for the iPhone/Android platforms. The portfolio experienced over 1 million downloads within its first full year of operations. Many are among the highest grossing in their respective categories. One of their most popular is Deer Sounds, allowing hunters to pair an external battery-powered speaker to their device to trigger calls loud enough for outdoor settings. This reduces the burden of carrying manual call horns, while simultaneously allowing hunters access to far more sounds.
In the summer of 2010, Sean was featured in the “Elevator Pitch” column of a special July/August double issue of Inc. magazine. The column featured the company’s pitch to raise $1MM & the company subsequently received offers from investors in several states. Sean serves on the board of directors at DivotCard as an advisor in the areas of marketing & raising capital. DivotCard currently has a presence in several major Midwestern cities.
In the fall of 2010, Sean became marketing director for ResortGems.com, a booking site that connects timeshare owners with renters. ResortGems.com features more than 27,000 hotels & resorts via a partnership with World Choice Travel, a division of the Travelocity Network, in addition to 5000+ units listed by individual timeshare owners. ResortGems.com raised $1.1MM in its initial seed round, with backing from State of Ohio funded initiatives, Ohio TechAngels, & other high net worth individuals. The company has received press in USA Today, Travel+Leisure, Peter Greenberg, Fox 28 News Columbus, & The Columbus Dispatch. Resort Gems tied for first place in an international startup competition held by former Sequoia Capital entrepreneur in residence (EIR) Jason Calacanis, on his show This Week in Startups, Meetup #55.
Sean is also a search consultant for WPP Group plc, & is a former Harvard research assistant in the lab of world renowned professor Dr. Jim Sidanius, pioneer of Social Dominance Theory.
