Blaine Vess

Founder

Los Angeles, California, United States28 yrs 8 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Bootstrapped a company to $58.5M acquisition.
Co-founded a startup acquired by Blacklane.
Produced award-winning films addressing human rights.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor in technology and media sectors.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Venture CapitalStartup InvestmentFilm ProductionStorytellingTravel TechnologyProduct InnovationBootstrappingEdtechWeb DevelopmentSoftware SolutionsInternet Software

Other Skills

Technological InnovationBusiness StrategyStartup MentorshipStart-up LeadershipStart-up VenturesSocial ImpactHuman RightsCreative DirectionEntrepreneurshipCustomer ExperienceStartup AcquisitionBootstrapped EntrepreneurshipBusiness DevelopmentGlobal OperationsIT Consulting

About

Bootstrapped a profitable company from a dorm-room startup to a $58.5M acquisition by Barnes & Noble Education after 18 years of growth. Co-founded Solve (YC S17), acquired by Blacklane. Investor in 50+ startups and multiple venture funds across the United States, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and China. Over 25 years building and investing in companies across technology, media, and international markets. As co-founder of Student Brands, I built and scaled a global education platform to 2M+ daily active users through organic growth, generating over $100M in profitable revenue without outside funding. Through Immeasurable, my family office, I invest in early-stage companies and venture funds, with a focus on technology, space, fintech, and emerging markets. I also founded Four Henrys Productions, supporting films addressing international human rights and geopolitical issues, including Beyond Utopia (Sundance 2023) and Assassins (Sundance 2020). I build, invest, and support ideas that scale across borders.

Experience

28 yrs 8 mos

Total Experience

10 yrs 3 mos

Average Tenure

16 yrs 4 mos

Current Experience

Solve (yc s17) (acquired by blacklane)

Co-Founder & CEO

Jun 2016 – Oct 2017 · 1 yr 4 mos · Los Angeles, CA

Launched travel technology platform to streamline international airport immigration and customs. Participated in Y Combinator (S17). Acquired by Blacklane and integrated as Blacklane PASS. Later, Blacklane was acquired by Uber.

Travel TechnologyProduct InnovationEntrepreneurshipCustomer ExperienceStartup Acquisition

Immeasurable

Founder

Sep 2011 – Present · 14 yrs 8 mos · Los Angeles, CA

Founder of Immeasurable, a Los Angeles–based family office. We invest in technology companies and build AI-driven products. We've backed founders and fund managers across the U.S., Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Korea, and China.
Portfolio includes Human Interest, Albedo, Turion Space, clicOH, and Fathom Video.

Venture CapitalStartup InvestmentTechnological InnovationBusiness StrategyStartup MentorshipStart-up Leadership+1

Four henrys productions

Founder

Jan 2010 – Present · 16 yrs 4 mos · Los Angeles, CA

Founded a film and television production company focused on international human rights, geopolitical history, and social impact storytelling.
Executive produced and supported award-winning films including "Beyond Utopia" (Sundance 2023), documenting North Korean escape networks; "Assassins" (Sundance 2020), examining geopolitical intrigue and state-sponsored violence; and "I Am Sun Mu" (Netflix), profiling a North Korean defector artist. Additional projects include "Ms. Purple" (Sundance 2019), "Gook" (Sundance 2017), and "Where’s My Roy Cohn?" (Sundance 2019).
Co-created "I’m Married to a…" (VH1), a documentary-style television series exploring unconventional relationships and evolving cultural norms in American society.
Projects have screened at major international festivals and contributed to global conversations around human rights, authoritarian regimes, and cross-cultural understanding.

Film ProductionStorytellingSocial ImpactHuman RightsCreative Direction

New line cinema

Internet Marketing Consultant

Jan 2005 – Aug 2008 · 3 yrs 7 mos · Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

Consulted to the EVP of Marketing on early digital and viral campaigns, including Wedding Crashers and Snakes on a Plane.
Built internal web tools to streamline marketing operations and coordinated with external vendors to execute online film campaigns.

Web DevelopmentSoftware SolutionsIT ConsultingPHPMySQL

Student brands (a learneo business)

Co-Founder & CEO (1999–2015) | Chairman (2015–2017)

Oct 1999 – Aug 2017 · 17 yrs 10 mos · Los Angeles, CA

Co-founded as a dorm-room startup in 1999 and bootstrapped without outside funding into a global education technology platform.
Scaled to 2M+ daily active users through primarily organic growth, without paid acquisition.
Built and led international teams in Los Angeles and Bangalore; expanded into Brazil, France, and Spanish-speaking markets; and completed 10+ acquisitions.
Transitioned leadership to a President/CEO in 2015 and served as Chairman through the company’s $58.5M acquisition by Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE: BNED) in 2017.

BootstrappingEdtechBootstrapped EntrepreneurshipBusiness DevelopmentGlobal Operations

Technotribe communications

Web Developer

Sep 1997 – Jun 2005 · 7 yrs 9 mos

Self-taught web developer specializing in PHP/MySQL. Built custom web applications and e-commerce systems for corporate clients as part of a remote team.

Internet SoftwareSoftware SolutionsClient Relations