In a recent blog post on the company’s website, Smartwaiver announced a new round of investment and new CEO. Mark Silliman, a father of four daughters, wrote that he will be stepping down as CEO, “Both parenting and running a startup also require one to accept the fact that someday you will need to “let go” in order to see them reach their full potential and get to the next level.”
Along with the investment, at least two new executives will be coming onboard. Tod Bloxham, who owns Edgeworks Climbing in Tacoma, Washington, will take over as CEO of Smartwaiver, according to Silliman’s blog post. Ted Knudsen, who according to the post has handled programming for a mix of startups and established companies, will take over as chief technology officer. Andy Laakmann, who founded the company with Silliman, will stay on as a technical and business adviser.
Laakmann, along with Silliman founded Smartwaiver in 2012. Laakman also founded the ever popular check-in software, Rock Gym Pro, which utilizes the Smartwaiver digital waiver system.
No details of the investment deal were released. However, Bloxham told the Bend Bulletin:
That he [Bloxham] had worked with Laakmann for more than six years, and became Smartwaiver’s first beta user when the company was starting out.
He added that the company will be staying in Bend for the foreseeable future, and that it will be focusing on new features that customers have requested and infrastructure upgrades in the coming months.
“In addition to my intimate familiarity with the Smartwaiver product, I have extensive experience in business management and growth, particularly within product planning on both the technology and business side of things,” Bloxham wrote.
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