About John Koetsier

The best way I’ve found to describe what I do is this:

I learn. And then I share.

But there’s more to tell, of course.

What I do today

I’m a journalist, analyst, author, and founder.

I’ve interviewed 11 billionaires, chronicled the rise of the mobile economy, joked with former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, been stalked by Apple CEO Tim Cook, climbed a pyramid in Cairo (allegedly legally!), broken more bones playing ice hockey than I can easily count, and laughed at every single meeting I’ve ever been in, except the one where I got canned when a startup I was with shut down.

I write for Forbes, host way too many video podcasts including my personal passion project TechFirst with John Koetsier, and consult with tech companies in Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and around the world. (See current clients in my disclosures statement here.)

I’m also a pretty brand-spanking-new angel investor, and have invested in two early stage startups so far: Rapchat, a social music creation startup, and Admix, a game monetization startup. I invest as part of the MDM syndicate; please do not contact me for individual investment opportunities.

I’ve written a few books, and I’m (very slowly) writing a book of future history: Insights from the Future. And I’m the CEO of my consulting company, Sparkplug9.

What I used to do …

In terms of history … I was TUNE’s mobile economist and Singular’s VP of Insights (but still consult with Singular now), built the research team at VentureBeat and managed teams creating software for partners like Intel and Disney. In addition, I’ve led web development teams, built social sites and mobile apps, and consulted on mobile, social, and IoT projects.

(So yes … I can code … but not well!)

I have helped raise multi-million funding rounds, and I have both raised and returned a $25,000 angel investment into a personal startup (but not with interest!).

In 2014, I was named to Folio’s top 100 of the media industry’s “most innovative entrepreneurs and market shaker-uppers.” Folio no longer really exists, and I can find absolutely no internet evidence for this claim, so I really regret not buying that $150 commemorative plaque when they offered it to me.