Tom Coburn, CEO & Founder of Jebbit, Has the Best Job He Never Wanted

We could have been calling Tom Coburn, Dr. Coburn because he only wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps as a biology student at Boston College. Instead, in 2011 while still students, Tom and his buddies entered a business plan competition in hopes of winning ten thousand dollars. On their second try, they won by presenting a version of what became Jebbit based on an “aha” moment Tom had while ignoring an ad during a television show on Hulu. That led to distinctions, awards, recognition such as being named one CNBC’s Top 25 Most Promising Companies, Best Tech Culture in Boston in 2016. Coburn was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. Oh, and Jebbit succeeded in gathering $92 million in funding. Not bad for a bunch of college kids. What does Jebbit do? Its mission is to make digital experiences fun, engaging, and value driven by capturing the consumer’s data, intentions, motivations, and preferences with consent. First came the enterprise clients who needed to get in touch with their customers across all genders and demographics. Eventually, a free version was released to help non-enterprise businesses capture consumer engagement. Because privacy laws are changing, gathering usable and effective data has become a matter of consent. Coburn’s team at Jebbit has found an interactive way to get that consent that translates into real-time information companies can leverage into making marketing better now and into the future. Coburn’s story of learning CEO-manship as a “ten-year overnight success” is fascinating. He admits he made all the cliché startup mistakes but maintains that the foundation of Jebbit’s culture starts with a very basic mantra – what you put in is what you get out. Coburn relates that he’s had eight jobs over the past ten years because his role as a CEO is always changing and he’s determined to keep learning and doing better. Tom Coburn is proud of Jebbit’s position in the industry – the right side of history in helping brands engage customers directly with their permission. Learn more about Tom Coburn and JebbitYou can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on Twitter @carolbschultz or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbschultz/.