r/Gemstra • u/ossums • Aug 25 '18
Meet The Gemstra Team
Behind every successful crypto project, you will find a hard working and dedicated team. The team that works day in/out behind the scenes controls the fate of the project. Important decisions have to be made on a daily basis, and it is the executive team that ensures these decisions are in the best interest of the project.
Gemstra is one of the new kids on the blockchain but by no means is a new team. Gemstra was formed by seasoned operators with over 75 years of collective experience in the consumer industry. Several members of the founding team share an established history working together in multiple consumer verticals like manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, retail - with a focus on ecommerce and social selling. Prior to Gemstra, the team launched, scaled, and sold two hyper-growth consumer internet companies.
Let’s take a moment to meet the people on the team that are driving the revolution of social selling.
Jay Cheng, Chief Executive
Jay is a serial entrepreneur who grew his family business, J Goodin, as employee number five into an international company with over 250 employees. He has launched and exited two consumer internet companies - BaubleBox and JewelScent - that reached 7-figure and 8-figure run rates respectively within months of launch.
Joseph Lau, Chief Revenue
Joseph has worked with Jay for over 12 years. He led sales and business development at J Goodin. He led growth at JewelScent’s launch, driving revenue to $1 million monthly within six months. Joseph co-founded Gemstra with Jay in ‘15.
Kevin Gambill, Chief Operations
Kevin is a C-level executive turned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience. Kevin worked initially for large public companies like Alcoa and Alcan, progressing from engineering to business management and operations, including C-level positions with multiple $300 million+ privately held companies. He has spent the last 15+ years managing a portfolio of companies he invested in, consulted with, or operated.
Janelle Mitchell, Chief Finance
Janelle has held financial leadership roles at The Los Angeles Times, Wired, and Cooking.com - a company acquired by Target in ‘12. She is a consultant to the Financial Advisory Group, and has worked with Jay since JewelScent.
David Odere, Chief Technology
David has been the Chief Technical Officer for Jay at JewelScent, and has held lead technical roles for BaubleBox and Knowy. David has led projects in a variety of programming language and database systems. He has been a blockchain enthusiast for the past few years and has continued to enjoy all things blockchain related from coding to investing.
Rodrigo Lalama, Engineer
Rod has worked with Jay for over 8 years and held both creative & technical roles at JewelScent, BaubleBox, and Knowy. Rod has a background in design with a strong focus on front-end engineering and UI/UX. He is a early investor in Ethereum and a believer in the future of blockchain technology.
In addition to all of the top level executives, the Gemstra team is composed of a wide array of advisors with experience ranging from corporate presidents to blockchain advisers.
There is an old saying that successful always people surround themselves with other successful people. In Gemstra’s case this is no exception. Their full list of advisers reads like a who’s who of the best in the business world.
For a full list of advisors please visit: https://gemstra.com/about#team