Casey Haakenson

Bestie, here’s what’s good with Casey Haakenson, this guy is the real deal in tech startup land. He’s been grinding for over 20 years, jumping into all kinds of roles and companies, and honestly, he’s kinda like the Swiss Army knife of product and tech.

Started out doing freelance web stuff, then moved through a bunch of companies, from SchemaLogic and F5 Networks, where he was deep in the UI and architecture game, to BlackBoard Mobile and Creative Merchandise. Basically, he’s been in both the big public company world and the wild startup scene, which gave him a crazy good mix of skills.

But what really puts him on the map? His time at Y Combinator, he rolled with the S14 batch, which is no joke. That’s where a lot of the coolest startups get their start, and Casey crushed it. He co-founded Roost, a YC company, where he was the Head of Product. Think about that, he basically built the original vision for this web push notifications platform, led a team of 10, and totally shaped the product’s direction. That’s some serious product leadership, no cap.

Then he jumped over to Marco Polo, where he was VP of Product, Revenue, and Growth. And man, he took that thing to the next level. He drove crazy growth, new signups, retention, revenue, the whole shebang. He’s all about rapid experiments, testing, learning, and scaling what works. That’s his vibe, planned, super user-focused, always looking for the future trend.

What’s his story telling us? It’s clear he’s all about building stuff that actually matters, not just for the sake of it. He’s motivated by pushing boundaries, figuring out what users want, and making it happen fast. Starting companies, growing products, that’s his game. And he’s not just jumping in to tinker; he’s there to crush it, to make an impact.

Long story short, Casey’s the guy who’s been around the block, knows how to build and scale, and has a knack for turning ideas into real, sustainable products. If you’re looking for someone who’s been through the trenches, understands both the technical and the business side, and can take anything from zero to hero, that’s Casey. No bullshit.