Drew Hanson · Selected career stories

Beneath the surface.

The decisions, relationships, and opportunities behind the outcomes.

Explore the work
UC BerkeleyB.S. Environmental Economics & Policy · Technology & EntrepreneurshipCalifornia Alumni Association Scholarship Recipient

What the work demonstrates

01Customer relationship · Google + Popfly

One customer.
Three deals won.

First at Google. Twice at Popfly.

  1. 01Google

    Won the Google Ads investment.

    Drew’s action

    Convinced Zpacks to fund a Search + YouTube plan; helped design and optimize the campaigns.

    Buying decision

    Zpacks chose to invest in Google Ads.

  2. 02Popfly

    Sold the creator-content solution.

    Drew’s action

    Re-engaged the same marketing relationship and closed a second sale: outdoor-creator content for those campaigns.

    Buying decision

    Zpacks bought creator-content services from Popfly.

  3. 03Popfly

    Won the affiliate-platform switch.

    Drew’s action

    Built the case to replace a working affiliate-management system with Popfly; won the third deal.

    Buying decision

    Zpacks moved its existing affiliate creator network to Popfly.

ADS IN ACTION TODAY

A current Zpacks ad in Drew’s personal YouTube feed.

Matthew Favero
Matthew Favero

Director of Marketing · Zpacks

Customer relationship across Google + Popfly

LinkedIn Customer reference available on request.
Ryan Heck
Ryan Heck · creator champion

Existing Popfly creator + high-earning Zpacks affiliate; strengthened the creator-side business case.

LinkedIn Instagram

DREW’S STORY

Read the Zpacks story
02Swift Solar diligenceVenture internship · later ad hoc advisory research

Evaluated startups.
Advised venture investors.

Researched startups, conducted diligence and wrote recommendations to fund partners, who controlled investment decisions. Swift Solar, 2021 — perovskite solar.

2021 Diligence

Drew’s recommendation
PASS — AT THIS STAGE
Further de-risking

2024 The fund later invested.

03Product Marketing Manager

Opened a new market. Helped generate $2.4M ARR.

Drew identified real estate as a new market, won executive backing and built the go-to-market strategy that helped AppDirect close Keller Williams and RE/MAX.

  1. Market signalSpotted the opportunity
  2. StrategyDefined the growth thesis
  3. C-suite pitchRallied leadership
  4. GTM buildoutTurned strategy into execution
  5. Helped win dealsStrategy supported signed revenue
Outcome
$2.4M
ARR · within 3 months
Select deals

PUBLIC CUSTOMER OUTCOME

Public AppDirect customer story: Keller Williams delivers cloud services to agents with Marketplace.
View Keller Williams customer story ↗
04Account Executive

Championed an API platform.
Won internal backing.

Shaped the scope and pitch, contributed some Python, and helped a five-person team win a ~3-day hackathon and earn dedicated engineering headcount—not code today’s production Developer Platform.

FEATURE?
PLATFORM.
  1. SHAPED THE IDEA
  2. ALIGNED FIVE PEOPLE
  3. SCOPED ~3 DAYS
  4. BUILT A PROTOTYPE
  5. WON BACKING
HACKATHON WINNER
DEDICATED ENGINEERING HEADCOUNT

CURRENT PRODUCT LINEAGE

Current Carta API Platform page: Build with equity, together, beside the API-platform illustration.

Carta’s API Platform today — current-product reference, not Drew’s 2021 prototype.

View Carta’s current API Platform ↗
05Enterprise Account Executive

Sold complex technology to global brands.

Turned imperceptible watermarking into customer-specific business cases.

A Fanatics collectible card being scanned by a phone

$300K

/ 3 years

Authentication + digital engagement

A Driscoll’s berry package

$277,500

TCV / 3 years

Traceability + package intelligence

06Account Executive

Built the case. Earned the trust.

Sourced new opportunities, won advertising investment and stayed involved through campaign performance.

Pat McGrath Labs

Pat McGrath Labs beauty product visual
  • $450KGoogle Ads investment
  • 5× ROASPat McGrath Labs campaigns
  1. Sourced
  2. Diagnosed
  3. Built strategy
  4. Executed
  5. Learned
$360K

Google Ads growth plan · enterprise software · CMO strategy

Some customer relationships lasted longer than the job.

Zpacks
07Account Executive

Turned risk into opportunity.

Used executive discovery to expand Regard to Slack Enterprise+ and retain ReNude through an Agentforce investment decision.

Salesforce / Selected customer work

AI clinical insights platform · $61M Series B

  1. Lower-tier Slack
  2. Enterprise+

Won a six-figure Slack + AI agreement.

AI beauty / skincare platform

  1. Churn risk
  2. Agentforce investment

Saved the account and secured an Agentforce investment.

Salesforce / Local enablement

ARTIFACT — BUILT + PRESENTED BY DREW

Deal Review

Irvine office interview series, conceived, recorded and edited by Drew.

Watch on Vimeo

Local Irvine series — not Salesforce-wide.

08Founding Account Executive

Led a team. Launched a new GTM motion.

Managed and coached three direct-report sellers, built early commercial systems and helped launch Popfly’s affiliate product, website and go-to-market motion.

Photo: Ryan Heck for Paka

~2×

Company revenue approximately doubled during Drew’s tenure; Drew was primary closer, not sole cause.

Victorinox customer expansion

Won the account.
Expanded the partnership.

  1. Identified accountPriority target
  2. Reached outLinkedIn + Apollo
  3. Led discoveryCustomer needs
  4. Built demo + caseCreator-content trial
  5. Closed Run$499/mo · trial → paid
  6. Expanded Fly$1,999/mo
  7. Added affiliate pilotFurther account expansion

Helped launch a new affiliate product

See the Popfly Affiliate Program

The current public program Drew helped bring to market — not his exact 2025 product or a claim he built every current feature.

Popfly’s current affiliate-program page, showing program setup and affiliate product fulfillment interfaces.
Featured case: Zpacks
09Co-Founder & COO

Co-founded a startup.
Built its beta with AI.

Tested assumptions through customer interviews, then shifted from a studio-first approach to an instructor-led strategy.

  1. Original assumptionStudios / Boxes
  2. Customer evidenceReality pushed back
  3. DecisionChanged the approach.
  4. Instructor-led wedgePrioritized instructors

The throughline

How I work

  1. Source

    Find signals worth investigating.

  2. Understand

    Learn customers, products, markets, competition and economics quickly.

  3. Decide

    Form conviction — and update it when evidence demands it.

  4. Mobilize

    Get executives, teams, customers or partners moving.

  5. Build

    Stay close enough to execution to find out if the thesis was right.

See the proof
Source
Venture scoutingSwift Solar diligenceGoogle
Understand
AppDirectCartaDigimarc
Decide
Swift Solar diligenceAppDirectLedBy
Mobilize
CartaGooglePopflySalesforce
Build
AppDirectCartaPopflySalesforceLedBy