Gene is a marketplace founder that has extensive experience going from 0-1, bootstrapping marketplaces, and also with turnarounds. He currently runs Athletes Untapped, a marketplace connecting athletes with vetted private sports coaches for in-person lessons. Previously, he led a successful turnaround for VeryApt.

Gene has scaled Athletes Untapped to thousands of coaches, 16 sports, and a presence in every US state - fully bootstrapped. He specializes in building lean marketplaces, where automation, operational systems, and SEO drive scalable growth without over-reliance on large teams. He has deep experience in supply onboarding, pricing strategy, SEO, customer retention, and using AI to improve support and conversion.

In addition to running Athletes Untapped, Gene advises early-stage marketplace founders on how to build supply-first platforms, scale efficiently, and leverage new tools to drive growth.
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Gene can help with the following:‍‍

• Supply growth strategy: Building and retaining high-quality supply in fragmented service categories
• Lean operations: Systems and playbooks for scaling without a large team
• SEO: Even though it's been said, SEO is not dead - and Gene can help you scale in the new age
• Go-To-Market: Launching new geographies or verticals with limited resources
• ‍Marketplace metrics: Understanding CAC/LTV dynamics and flywheel activation

Marketplace content:

• Resource: 10+ guides and frameworks that we've used to scale Athletes Untapped
• Resource: Step-by-step guide for supply onboarding
• Resource: Strategies we've used to grow Athletes Untapped as a bootstrap marketplace
• Resource: Playbook to use for launching new categories when bootstrapping
• Resource: Step-by-step guide for using AI to create help & support center content
• Resource: Step-by-step guide for getting setup on Linear to optimize workflows

Links: Everything Marketplaces profile, LinkedIn

"Gene has been an instrumental strategic advisor in the early-stage development of my startup. His guidance and direct support on go-to-market strategy, strategic partnerships, community building, and marketplace operations have enabled our team to accelerate our momentum, revenue, and impact."

- Mike Pund, Founder at WingMan Mental Health

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