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Draft:Isaiah Steinfeld

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Isaiah Steinfeld (born January 23, 1983) is an American digital product executive and design leader known for his work in the startup and corporate innovation sectors..[1]. With a career spanning over 20 years, Steinfeld has worked at companies like Lyft, Nike, and Intuit where he focused on the peer-to-peer marketplace, gig economy, and the intersection of sneaker culture, social commerce and advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain.

Early Life, and Early Career

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Isaiah Steinfeld grew up in various locations due to his father's military service. He is of mixed heritage, being half white and half Filipino, and was raised mostly by his mother in a predominantly Filipino household. This upbringing influenced his cultural perspective and values.

Before venturing into the startup world, Steinfeld played as a bassist in several punk bands and founded a small independent skateboard company that produced decks, soft goods, and accessories. Steinfeld credits his early exposure to punk rock, skateboarding, and hip hop during his middle and high school years to have a significant influence on his creative approach and professional ethos. Steinfeld states [2] that these cultural influences directly contributed to his focus on creativity, innovation, and a DIY mindset in his professional endeavors.

Career

Lyft

At Lyft, Steinfeld held a leadership role within Operations during company's expansive growth period in 2013 and 2014. During Steinfeld's time at Lyft he was responsible for leading teams that launched, maintained and grew Lyft's presence during this period, growing from less than 10 cities to launching the entire US market (70+ cities) with a focus on driver acquisition, launching new markets, digital products, and managing market supply and demand-side needs. Later on, Steinfeld moved to Special Operations and led teams focused on piloting new markets, programs, and processes, that helped drive Lyft's face paced growth across new market expansion, driver, and passenger acquisition numbers [3]

Intuit

Steinfeld joined Intuit as an Entrepreneur in Residence for a year long residency in 2015 to lead a newly acquired company [4] to product-market fit and help drive the strategy and internal integration that would prepare it for scale and launch [5]. During his time at Intuit, Steinfeld was responsible for developing business plans, partnering and leading cross-functional teams, and creating scalable programs for onboarding and training new two-sided marketplace startups.

Nike, Inc.

At Nike, Steinfeld held various leadership roles from 2017 to 2021, including Advanced Innovation Global Senior Director at Nike Valiant Labs and Entrepreneur in Residence [6]. Here Steinfeld was responsible for steering the execution of Valiant Labs' overall mission, vision, and strategy as an innovation function within Nike. Steinfeld also led the development of new businesses, helped drive the strategic direction and growth of the organization, and managed partnerships and joint ventures. He also oversaw the ideation, design, technical development, and launch of innovative digital products and Nike-backed startups.

VF Corp

Steinfeld served as Entrepreneur in Residence at VF Venture Foundry[7], where he identified, developed, and commercialized new business models for VF Corp in 2021. He drove the process for discovering and testing new concepts, created business plans, and collaborated with senior executive VF brand leadership (across Vans, The North Face, Dickies, Supreme, and more) to align opportunities. In addition to his role as an Entrepreneur in Residence, he also founded an outdoor activity discover startup called WildScout [8] aimed to help families spend more time outside.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Currently, Steinfeld is an executive inside Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he joined their Startups organization in 2022 and serves as their GM of Startup Acquisition and Customer Experience (ACE) [9]. In this role, he leads an organization focused on designing, building, and managing programs[10], services, and digital products [11] for early-stage startups worldwide.

Professional Involvement and Volunteer Work

In addition to his professional pursuits, Isaiah Steinfeld is actively involved in the design, tech and startup communities. He serves on the national board of directors [12] for AIGA[13], the professional association for design, where he contributes to advancing the value and impact of design across all disciplines. Steinfeld regularly speaks[14] and writes about innovation, design [15], and technology [16], and serves as a mentor, advisor, and investor to various startups and early-stage companies in the software and emerging tech space.

Steinfeld is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel since 2020, and has been a mentor with Techstars since 2017. He has also been involved with the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator as a mentor since 2020[17], providing guidance to startups in the blockchain space. In 2019, he began mentoring with Built Oregon, supporting local startups in the region [18]. Additionally, Steinfeld has been a mentor for the University of Oregon’s Sports Management Program since 2020, and for Alley Powered by Verizon's Forward For Good Accelerator, focusing on Climate Justice and All In Fellowship, since 2019.

As a Program Leader for SmartCityX since 2020, Steinfeld has worked on initiatives aimed at creating smarter and more sustainable urban environments[19]. He became a Fellow of the RSA in December 2021, engaging in projects centered on Regenerative Futures, which include themes of Circular Economy, Climate Change, and Climate Justice, as well as the Future of Work, which encompasses Web3, Social Innovation, Work, Automation and Generative AI.

Steinfeld’s involvement in these various roles reflects his commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the growth and development of new technologies[20] and design practices [21]

Personal Life

Isaiah Steinfeld currently resides in Portland, Oregon, by way of San Francisco and New York City. Steinfeld is married and has two daughters.

References

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  1. ^ Warp Speed Ideation: All the Ways Founders Are Harnessing Generative AI to Build Startups Faster
  2. ^ "Thank You for Listening! · Rich Tu".
  3. ^ https://www.humansynergistics.com/blog/constructive-culture/2017/04/12/culture-and-hyper-growth-ron-storn-on-keeping-lyft-s-values-alive/
  4. ^ https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2015/03/intuit-buys-recent-startx-grads-playbook-hr-in.html
  5. ^ Inuit Launches Workforce
  6. ^ Nike Blog: Unusual Jobs at Nike
  7. ^ "VF Corp's Venture Foundry Selects Isaiah Steinfeld as Entrepreneur-In-Residence".
  8. ^ Isaiah Steinfeld Joins VF Venture Foundry to Promote Diversity Outdoors
  9. ^ "Isaiah Steinfeld | GM, Global Head of Startup Acquisition & Experience - Amazon Web Services (AWS)".
  10. ^ "Get AWS Activate Credits - AWS Startups".
  11. ^ "Build Your Startup - AWS Startups".
  12. ^ AIGA Welcomes Seven New Members to the National Board of Directors
  13. ^ "American Institute of Graphic Arts".
  14. ^ SXSW Isaiah Steinfeld 2023
  15. ^ Design Adjacent Podcast with Isaiah Steinfeld
  16. ^ https://www.fastcompany.com/90994736/15-ways-to-keep-your-product-or-service-relevant-after-the-launch
  17. ^ UC Berkeley - Advisors, Mentors, Educators + Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR)
  18. ^ "2024 Winterim".
  19. ^ 15. Smart City X Program Leaders
  20. ^ "2023 AIGA Design Conference Schedule | AIGA".
  21. ^ First Generation Burden Podcast with Isaiah Steinfeld
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