As Raise, the online platform for buying and selling gift cards and one of the city's most high-profile startups, plans to expand its product portfolio in 2017, the company has brought on a big name in Chicago tech to help execute these initiatives.
Friday, Raise announced the hiring of Dave Hoover, the cofounder of Dev Bootcamp, one of the first immersive coding schools in the country, as its new Head of Engineering. DevBootCamp, which was founded in 2012, has additional locations in San Francisco, Seattle, NYC, DC, San Diego, and Austin and was acquired by Kaplan, Inc. in 2014.
Previously Hoover was also a Senior Engineering Manager with Groupon and a Software Resident with IDEO, as well as the Chief Craftsman at Obtiva, one of the largest software consultancies in Chicago prior to its acquisition by Groupon in 2011.
According to Raise, the company is investing heavily in retail technology in 2017, and is accelerating growth and partnerships with national retailers. Raise will be releasing a variety of products in the new year, including personalized rewards and merchant tools. The company, which earlier this year was being looked at by the Illinois Attorney General’s office after receiving multiple consumer complaints, also said that it'll be pushing out new anti-fraud technologies.
Hoover, who will be reporting to CTO Tyler Spalding, has joined the team to help spearhead the development of these new products and move Raise beyond just an online gift card exchange. In August, Raise announced that it was layoff off 15 percent of its staff, approximately 45 workers, as a result of "advancements in automation." Hoover will also lead software engineering efforts across three offices in Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco.
Launched in 2010, Raise has raised over $87M in venture funding from New Enterprise Associates and other angels and micro VC firms.
(Image via Raise)
