USA +01.206.719.1420 | marcstrauch-at-gmail.com | https://marcstrauch.co

LinkedIn | Media Website | Resume | Bio | Core Skills | Microsoft Bio 

With more than 30 years of strategic planning, marketing and executive leadership experience working with Fortune 500, Global 2000 and early stage technology companies, my passion is growing innovative thought-leading companies from product development to commercialization and market traction.

 I work with Boards, CxOs and founding teams of software, climate-clean-green tech, fintech, ag/foodtech, proptech and media companies as well as values-aligned family offices, venture funds, and green real estate developers as a master problem solver and business builder, subject matter expert, executive advisor, startup mentor, team builder, and sustainable regenerative economy and futures visioneer seeing from a holographic 360-degree perspective to crystallize thinking, clarify vision, hone business and go-to-market strategy, and optimize business processes to find the optimal path to revenue, profit, and exit. 

I am a co-founder of CLODE, a blockchain and decentralized R&D lab, and a Founding Partner of Arch River Advisors, the advisory arm of Arch River Capital a private investing company focused on early stage and middle growth companies. I am a Founding Partner of Malidan Capital an investment fund and business consulting and performance management company focused on assisting early and mid-commercial stage angel and venture-backed companies accelerate revenue generation, profitability, and successful exit. Both Arch River and Maldan Capital have successfully exited our portfolio companies.

For more than two years I was a Partner in Living Economy Advisors an impact investment advisory focused on accelerating the global transition to a regenerative life supporting and sustainable economy with special emphasis on our Food Shed Project. Complimenting my activities in LEA, I was the co-chair of the Regenerative Agriculture committee of Blockchain for Social Impact which held its inaugural meeting at the United Nations based on meeting the SDG goals; another in regenerative agroforestry using GIS in breakthrough applications for Great Green Wall initiative in sub-Saharan Africa.

I am a co-founder and CEO of JustTagIt, the world’s first company with proprietary and patented technology that enables brands, agencies, content creators, and social influencers to: (1) Own their hashtag like a domain name, (2) Give the Hashtag Domain website and smartphone app functionality such as audience surveys, photo galleries, video channels, live video streaming, e-shops, encrypted P2P video chat and SMS txts, IoT interfaces, AR/VR, and more, (3) Track their hashtag with real-time notifications and validated data from real verified people across all social networks, all websites and search engines, (4) Use the Hashtag Domain in email and text messages, and (5) Use the Hashtag Domain on physical objects, such as products, packaging, hang tags, t-shirts, billboards, graffiti, etc., and scan it with a user’s smartphone camera like a QR code or bar code and have it redirect to a website, thereby helping fulfill the goal of true integrated analog-digital marketing. Hashtag Domains act like hyperlinks and can be redirected to any website or social media site. Users can measure their hashtag social reach with five levels of real-time metrics and analytics.

JustTagIt is the first company to commercialize hashtags and extend hashtag tracking (monitoring) to every social media channel and website. JustTagIt technology is based on a proprietary decentralized platform and uses PKI encryption technologies to ensure user privacy and security in a cloud SaaS based business and distribution model.

JustTagIt technology is readily applied to validating crowd-sourced data that comes from real people thereby giving greater accuracy to large language models

I am also a co-founder and CMO of Forensic Scan, a market-leading cybersecurity company with a patented hardware-software and cloud (SaaS) solution that radically accelerates time-to-discovery of cyber threats such as malware, viruses, Trojans and Root Kits, in enterprise environments helping lower IT recovery costs and minimize loss of data assets while protecting revenue, customer loyalty and shareholder value. Forensic Scan was sold to private legal firm.

As an founder, entrepreneur, CxO and full-stack digital marketer well versed in nurturing start-up and early-stage companies and a media producer and creator (writer, director, photographer, editor and producer)  firmly grounded in using all the tools of modern digital and analog marketing communications to tell persuasive stories for business and entertainment I fully embrace the exponential power of business and storytelling as a tool for transformation.

I love working with innovative and break-through technology and new media companies endeavoring to solve the world’s biggest environmental, social, financial, energy and agricultural challenges, either directly or as an executive coach, Board advisor or director, to do powerful, pioneering and r/evolutionary work.

A business value driven marketing communications strategy consultant to Microsoft from 1996 to 2014 I helped create the Microsoft Business Value team which developed a financial modeling and business alignment process that enabled IT professionals to make credible, finance-based business case to C-level executives before technology deployment.

As the go-to business value marketing communications professional at Microsoft I helped launch four versions of Windows Server and Client, five versions of Office, as well as Tablet PC, SharePoint and SharerPoint Server, Forms Server, Small Business Server, Enterprise Project Management and Project Management Server, Azure and Windows Phone 7 & 8, Microsoft Academy and other enterprise applications.

I was the first person at Microsoft to write a series of twenty-three enterprise CXO-focused articles on why enterprises needed to adopt the web for business (1996) and was the first person to write about and standardize total cost of ownership (TCO) modeling tools which eventually morphed into the development of business value financial modeling and stakeholder alignment tools that became an essential component of Microsoft sales strategy for Enterprise License Agreements. I also helped develop a business value selling curriculum for in-person training to Microsoft’s sales and consulting organizations and presented this two-day training at Microsoft offices throughout North America over a two-year period. We then adapted this curriculum to an online interactive training of which I was the writer and executive/creative producer. I also wrote the business plan for the relaunch of Microsoft Academy, a Microsoft internal online video education portal.

Marketing communications clients include Cisco, Intel, Tata and Wipro and through Microsoft nearly 400 of the world’s leading business and consumer brands where I helped them navigate the decision process of identifying and financially valuing Microsoft technologies to solve specific business challenges. 

I have co-founded seven software startups – decentralized hashtag ownership, media and e-commerce, comprehensive cyberthreat discovery, video-on-demand and digital rights management, search+social, enterprise middleware, social ccommerce and green-clean tech – where I successfully performed CEO, CMO and COO/CFO roles as well as being CMO of a small cap publicly traded software company that developed break-through VOD and DRM technology.

I have consulted on market and competitive analyses, business plan development, capital formation, organizational development, values alignment and purpose-driven business, product design and development, commercialization, marketing and go-to-market planning and execution with many early-stage software, cloud, clean-green tech, transformational media, ag/food tech and consumer companies. Most recently I have been directly engaged by early-stage companies using blockchain technology as the foundation for their applications, especially IoT.

With both the organizational and operations capabilities of “left” brain thinkers and the innovation of “right” brain creatives I excel in advisory, executive management, leadership and creative roles. Selected examples include:

• As C-level and co-founder, developed and executed metrics-driven strategic, business and GTM plans and business alliances.
• As in-the-trenches marketing exec and copywriter built GTM teams and metrics-based marketing and social media strategy and developed marketing communications collateral in all media.
• As business value-oriented executive and marketing and communications consultant helped companies optimize their market positioning and messaging to drive revenue, increase operational efficiencies and reduce or avoid costs all leading to improved margins and greater returns on shareholder value.
• As business and marketing coach and advisor helped build and implement successful business and GTM plans.
• As creative producer designed and built marketing communications collateral (print, electronic, online, video, animation) to achieve business goals.

Experienced in applying online video and online video advertising technology platforms to drive business, develop video content and design and implement social media strategy to drive traffic, increase conversion ratios and improves sales.

Selected personal qualities include: Driven problem solver | Excellent and flexible communicator | Embraces new ideas, people, and circumstances with passion | Thrives in challenging and creative environments | Dynamic, positive personality | Natural teammate, leader, teacher, public speaker, and group facilitator | Dedicated to my own personal growth and global transformation through growth in collective consciousness.

Master’s degree in Urban Public Policy (MUP) with emphasis on strategic planning, cities of the future, housing and economic development, and urban environmental planning. Graduate study in Water Resources at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy, Princeton University. BA in Economic Geography with emphasis on urban economics, location theory and geographic information systems. BSc in Environmental Science and Public Policy with emphasis on earth and biological sciences  and a science-based carrying capacity approach to land-use and environmental planning. Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) in Narrative filmmaking at the David Lynch Film and Cinematic Arts.

Focused on B2B with experience with B2C.

Civic / Volunteer

• Blockchain for Impact [NYC]
• David Lynch Foundation [Los Angeles]
• Wonder Women Tech [Los Angeles]
• Institute for Responsible Technology [NorCal]
• International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers [NorCal]
• Community Representative [NYC, Seattle, WA]
• Contender for Public Office [Commissioner of Public Lands, Washington State, 1992 and 1996]

Advisory Boards

• Sacred Capital [blockchain reputation management]
• Hazel Henderson’s Ethical Markets [regenerative economics]
• Renewable Food Group [regenerative agriculture]
• CREWFund.com [crowd-sourced solar energy]
• BlissSuperfoods.com [natural foods manufacturer]

• Managing Director, Spirit Gateways, educational courseware for personal and professional development.
• Financial Advisor, Paradigm Datacenter.
• Founding Partner, Arch River Advisors, Arch River Capital, mid-stage company investment and advisory.
• Award-winning filmmaker and photographer.
• Founding Partner, Malidan Capital, angel investment fund and performance management consultancy.
• Co-Founder and CEO, JustTagIt, the first company to monetize hashtags by enabling them to be registered in a peer-to-peer decentralized registry and owned like a domain name.
• Business architecture and white paper author for M2e ICO.
• ICO marketing for Sheltercoin.io
• Co-CEO of Aytopia, a business incubator of innovative community media companies and Aytopia Brands, a disruptive interpretation of social commerce.
• Co-founder and CMO of Forensic Scan, an innovative cybersecurity company with patented cyberthreat detection and identification solution that accelerates time-to-discovery by more than 50 percent.
• Co-founder and CMO of TagLikeMe, a cloud-based search+social company that we sold to private equity group within 18 months of startup.
• Co-founder and CEO of Topaz Bridge, middleware software company that developed the first enterprise application integrating Microsoft SharePoint with SAP.
• Co-founder and CMO of NS8, an online digital media distribution platform with integrated DRM for independent musicians and filmmakers four years ahead of market window.
• Built boutique marketing consultancy that counted amongst its clients Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, Tata, Wipro and a wide range of early stage software, clean-green tech and consumer product companies.
• Co-founding member of Microsoft Business Value Team that enabled technologists to make pre-deployment financial-driven business cases to CXOs; closed many multi-million dollar sales based on pre-deployment value analysis and contributed too multi-billions of dollars in Microsoft Enterprise Agreements.
• First person at Microsoft in 1996 to write publicly about the business value of the web for enterprise CXOs; 25 articles published on MSDN.
• First person at Microsoft in 1997 to write publicly about TCO and business value methodology and its direct application for financially assessing the value of implementing information technologies before deployment.
• For Microsoft, authored more than 60 business value white papers and more than 300 customer case studies, directed and produced video case studies, and built and produced marcom collateral, animated product demos, executive presentations and sales trainings all based on business value principles, positioning and messaging for Microsoft Windows Server and Client, Office, SharePoint, SharePoint Server, Tablet PC, Small Business Server, Enterprise Project Management, Enterprise Project Management Server, Windows Forms Server, and more.
• Worked with nearly 400 leading companies throughout the world on behalf of the Microsoft Business Value team as well with senior analysts at Gartner, Giga, Forrester, and IDC.
• Co-founded Oregon Green Expo B2C trade show and created business and revenue model and GTM plan; produced 25 speaker and 25 roundtable discussions, showcased 15 environmentally-oriented films and got personal friend, humanist, and social visionary Jean Houston to present the keynote address.
• Recognized emerging US Hispanic market in 1989 and produced broadcast commercials in Spanish for Chevron and Quaker Oats for Young & Rubicam broadcast on Univision and Telemundo.
• Wrote, directed and produced an environmental documentary in 1993 using Video Toaster, first PC-based NLE editing system.
• Won first Ford Foundation grant of $1.0M for a low-income solar housing project in Seattle in 1980.
• Co-authored NYC Coastal Zone Management Plan as part of the Environmental Planning Group at the NYC Planning Agency.
• Co-authored and co-developed first NYC natural resource database.
• Contender for public office as the Washington State Commissioner for Public Lands in 1992 and 1996.