The Phanfare Story
We started Phanfare back in 2004 because there was no online destination where we wanted to store all our family photos and videos. Existing solutions were too print-focused, or too focused on public sharing with strangers. We wanted high quality private sharing with great collaboration tools and better workflow. Our first solution combined the power of network connected desktop clients with synchronized per-family websites. Over the years the system has evolved to include more community and collaboration features and now combines world class photo and video sharing with the best aspects of social networking, tuned for the needs of families. We have always been focused on creating a sustainable system that takes its responsibility to preserve the media seriously and follows the golden rule of treating others as we ourselves would like to be treated. All our friends and family use Phanfare and we hope you will too.
Management Team
Andrew Erlichson (andrew@phanfare.com), Founder, CEO, member of the Board
Prior to Phanfare, Andrew Erlichson was CEO & co-founder of Flashbase, which was acquired by DoubleClick in 2000. At DoubleClick, he was Vice President of Technology for the Research and Development Group. He has worked at Mips Computer Systems, Silicon Graphics and BlackRock Financial Management. Andrew Erlichson received his AB from Dartmouth College and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Mark Heinrich (mark@phanfare.com), Founder, CTO, member of the Board
Mark Heinrich is an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a founder of its Computer Systems Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1998 and was a principal designer of the FLASH multiprocessor under his advisor, John Hennessy. Dr. Heinrich also received his MS from Stanford in 1993, and his BSE in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University in 1991. His research interests include parallel computer architecture, high-throughput computing, scalable cache coherence protocols, and active memory and I/O subsystems. Dr. Heinrich was also the co-founder and Chief Architect of Flashbase, Inc. He is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, an IBM Faculty Award, and is a member of the ACM and a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Matthew Solomon (matt@phanfare.com), Vice President, Marketing
Prior to Phanfare, Matt Solomon was a Vice President of Marketing at priceline.com responsible for all marketing-related website development including product merchandising and CRM initiatives. Matt joined Priceline in 1999 after working as a business analyst at American Management Systems, a large systems integration consulting firm. Matt Solomon received a BS and MBA from Cornell University
Ben Gottesman (beng@phanfare.com), Director, Product Management
Before joining Phanfare, Ben Gottesman worked at PC Magazine for 14 years, where he served in many roles including Executive Editor, Technology Editor, and Technical Director, steering the magazine's coverage of digital photography, internet services and software. He also worked at National Software Testing Laboratories. He has always been an avid amateur photographer and has a voracious appetite for all things photographic. Ben received a BS in Economics with a concentration in Actuarial Science from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Shannon Walters (shannon@phanfare.com), Director, Customer Support
Prior to joining Phanfare, Shannon worked as the Director of Development and Marketing for a North Carolina nonprofit. She previously served as the Director of Public Relations at Flashbase, Inc., before moving into account management at DoubleClick. Shannon started her career as a news editor at America Online. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and MPA from North Carolina State University.
Outside Board Members
Dwight Merriman
Dwight Merriman is an Internet entrepreneur in New York City. He is cofounder of DoubleClick and served as the company's Chief Technology Officer for approximately ten years. Mr. Merriman was architect of the DoubleClick ad serving infrastructure known as DART. Previously, Merriman served as a software developer in the R&D group at DCA/Attachmate in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his B.S. with honors in Systems Analysis from Miami University of Ohio.
Fabrice Grinda
Mr. Grinda is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully transposed and adapted business ideas between the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Most recently, Mr. Grinda was the Founder & CEO of Zingy Inc. Zingy is the largest mobile media company in the Americas, selling ringtones, wallpapers and games to carriers, media companies and consumers. The New York-based company has 130 employees and generates over $130 million in yearly content sales. Prior to founding Zingy, Mr. Grinda was the founder and CEO of Aucland, one of the largest auction sites in Europe and co-founder of Deremate, the largest auction site in Latin America. Until founding Aucland in 1998, Mr. Grinda served as a consultant in the New York office of McKinsey & Company, where he worked for large financial institutions. Mr. Grinda received his B.A. in economics from Princeton University.
Jeff Samberg
Jeff Samberg is the Managing Member of Acadia Woods Partners, LLC, a New York based investment partnership that focuses primarily on early stage technology companies. Jeff lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years where he held a number of high-tech management roles, including Vice President of Corporate Strategy for PeopleSoft Inc., Vice President of Business Development for Wily Technology, and Entrepreneur in Residence for Greylock Partners. Jeff received his MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and his B.A. with high honors in Economics from Princeton University.
Paul Ferris
Paul Ferris is a founding General Partner with Azure Capital Partners, an early stage venture capital firm with over $650 million under management and focused on communications, consumer, enterprise and Internet technology segments. Prior to Azure, Paul worked at several investment banks, including Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was the Global Head of the Communications Investment Banking Group, and at Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley. Over the course of his career, Paul has provided strategic and investment advice to numerous leading technology companies. Paul received his B.A. degrees in Computer Science and English from Amherst College, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Jobs
Phanfare is hiring! More information.
Contact Information
Phanfare is a Delaware Corporation.
Phanfare, Inc.
11 New Street
Metuchen, NJ 08840
By Email:
| Sales: | sales@phanfare.com |
| Support: | support@phanfare.com |
| Business Development: | bizdev@phanfare.com |
| Privacy Questions: | privacy-matters@phanfare.com |
By Phone:
| Main Number: | 732-494-9449 |