Leadpages, a Minneapolis tech firm that helps develop websites for small businesses, has appointed Michael Sacca as CEO.
Sacca replaces Jeanette Dorazio, who took on the role as CEO in 2020 and stepped down from the position in October 2023.
Sacca said he was drawn to the company because of its success and legacy.
"I have known of Leadpages since its inception," Sacca said. "I was always drawn to companies founded outside of Silicon Valley. It's just an incredible success story. When I learned more about the position, it set up for an exciting future."
In his new role, Sacca will guide the Leadpages team to provide an innovative tool for engineers and users to optimize resources.
Before joining Leadpages, Sacca was CEO at Gigantic, an e-learning provider. He was previously head of sales and marketing for Crew, the parent company of Unsplash; and chief products officer at Dribbble, a self-promotion and social networking platform for digital designers. Sacca founded Tiny Factory, a web and mobile development firm, and worked with clients such as Scholastic, GE and Kobe Bryant.
"Companies go through different iterations over time, and I see [Leadpages] returning to form," Sacca said. "It was a way to avoid engineering resources as a way for companies to work faster, and we appealed to the solo-preneurs and entrepreneurs. I want to focus on marketing agencies, marketing teams, small businesses and being the best optimization tool that we can be. We want to be more than just a webpage builder, we want to be an optimizer for your business."
Sacca said starting Tiny Factory and working in different capacities throughout his career gave him an appreciation for who Leadpages helps: small businesses.
"I started as a designer and an engineer, and Tiny Factory was an extension of that," Sacca said. "Through that, I learned how to sell and develop partnerships with different entities. I've always been able to work cross-functionally within a team. I think that's what helped me excel when I got to Dribble. What helps me today is being able to speak to each function and that I've worked in those functions throughout my career with product being my core background."
Leadpages was founded in 2012 to help businesses design landing pages without the need for code or developers. It raised at least $35 million from private investors before being acquired in 2020 by Redbrick, a Canadian software firm based out of Victoria, B.C.
Leadpages has more than 50 employees.
One of the key focuses for the firm going forward will be leveraging AI for landing pages, Sacca said.
"We're moving into a more product-led company as a whole, adding features that customers have been asking for a long time. We are going to add new features, such as AI, to help optimize our core product. A lot of the long-awaited features will be released in the next year."
Sacca received a music business degree from the State University of New York in Oneonta and moved to Los Angeles to work in the music industry. However, his career path took a turn when he met a friend who worked as a software engineer. Sacca said he became fascinated with technology and learned how to code from his friend.
"It's ever-evolving and moves faster than other industries," Sacca said. "You always have to be learning, and it's an exciting process. We have a renewed momentum behind us and are excited for what we'll be able to bring into 2024."
