Me 640

Rich Thornett

founder · product designer · software developer · mentor · investor

In a Nutshell

I build, grow, and invest in companies that evolve at human scale–where founders, not investors, drive company values, aspirations, and growth–focusing on bootstrapped and boost-strapped software startups. I’ve spent over twenty years designing and developing software at blue chips and startups, and led efforts in product design, direction, and positioning; software engineering and architecture; and hiring product teams. More recently, I've been focused on startup mentoring and investing.

Currently

Previously

Co-founder of Dribbble, a social network where designers share work, build a following, find inspiration, and get hired. It’s arguably the design industry’s most influential community, featuring premier jobs, top teams, and global meetups. I bootstrapped Dribbble with my friend Dan and ran the company for eight years until we sold a majority stake in 2017. Dribbble is still growing with over 40 employees and is one of the top 1000 most trafficked and top 250 most important (just ahead of the The New Yorker?!) websites in the world .

I’ve also built software at IBM, Fidelity, PatientsLikeMe, Bitpipe (now TechTarget), and NLG (now World Travel Holdings).

Personal

I live on Boston’s North Shore in quirky and historic Salem, Massachusetts with my supastah wife, Susanna, and our two obstreperous delightfully irreverent children. I’m passionate about: puns, podcasts, local communities, jobs, investing, and opportunities, indie startups, basketball. Once upon a time, I dunked.

Interviews & Talks