Fizz

Electric double feature! Our CEO Teddy Solomon recently joined The Agile Brand™ with Greg Kihlström and THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast to discuss how Gen Z is reshaping retail through community-driven commerce. College students around the nation are ditching legacy commerce platforms like Facebook to use Fizz Marketplace for their everyday buying and selling needs. Listen now 👇 https://lnkd.in/gHpt2r6M   https://lnkd.in/gjtUkJqJ

Today marks a pivotal milestone for Fizz: I am passing the CEO torch to our co-founder, Teddy Solomon. From our early days at Stanford University, Teddy’s entrepreneurial spirit and deep understanding of how his generation connects and builds community were evident. These insights have been the cornerstone of Fizz’s journey, transforming it from a Stanford sensation to a platform now reaching students on over 250 college campuses. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing Teddy’s impressive growth as a leader. Starting as a sophomore with an unmatched perspective on Gen Z social media, he quickly sharpened his skills and vision. Over just a couple of years, he has developed the capabilities that define leaders in high-value, user-focused tech companies. Today, there’s no one better suited to lead Fizz through its next chapter of growth. While I’ve had success founding companies over the past two decades, my greatest successes have been in mentoring and empowering talented leaders to serve as CEOs. I’m especially grateful to these leaders who have built, invested in, and led remarkable companies, including Beerud Sheth at Gupshup, which is heading for an incredible 2025. This journey began with my outstanding co-founders Anand Rajaraman, Ashish Gupta and Venky Harinarayan, as we built Junglee, which became an integral part of Amazon in 1998. Many successful startups and a robust tech ecosystem have since emerged from that team and others I’ve had the good fortune to work alongside. As Chairman of Fizz’s Board, I’ll remain actively involved, supporting Teddy, Ashton Cofer, our management team, board, and shareholders. This transition feels natural—it’s the perfect time for Fizz to be led by the generation it was created to serve. To our team, users, and partners, thank you for your trust and support on this journey. Please join me in congratulating Teddy as he steps into this new role! @Amanda Silberling from TechCrunch has the story ⬇️

I’m honored to announce that the Fizz Board of Directors has named me as the next CEO of Fizz. Story time. Over the past 4 years, I’ve become known for the question I ask every person I meet: “What’s your story?” I figured now would be a good time to share mine, and why this day is so meaningful to me. My story began at Stanford University in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic. I got on a Zoom call, met a guy named Ashton Cofer, and convinced 25 Stanford freshmen to move to Arizona. Those 25 stories inspired a platform called Fizz, built to encompass the 99% of their lives that didn’t make it onto Instagram or TikTok. My Stanford peers were not happy with the curated highlight reels of legacy social media, and Ashton and I knew there had to be a better way. A place to share their real stories, if you will: the good, the bad, and everything in between. My story then took an unexpected turn when Fizz took over Stanford, becoming the go-to place for information, jokes, commerce, and so much more. As fate would have it, I met the daughter of our future CEO (Rakesh Mathur) at a frat party, and I consequently dropped out of Stanford to build Fizz into a business. I proceeded to step foot on over 150 college campuses, where I asked tens of thousands of students that simple question: “What’s your story?” From Eastern Kentucky seniors raised on top of coal mines to kids of celebrities at Dartmouth, I heard it all. Lucky for me, they let me share my story too, and why I'm so passionate about what we’re building here at Fizz. There have been tremendous curveballs in my story since. Lots of highs—from raising over $40M to further Fizz’s mission, to being named to Forbes 30 under 30, to the lifelong friends I’ve made at campuses across the country. Lots of lows—from the personal struggles that come with dedicating everything to a startup (and dropping out at 19), to the quest to become an effective leader, to the inevitable ups and downs of life. Most recently, a car crash left me severely concussed, reminding me to cherish every moment, and that no story’s perfect. Every good story has heroes. The members of the Fizz team are the most heroic of them all. Rakesh has guided and mentored me. Ashton has stood by my side through the highs and lows. Each and every person on the Fizz team has inspired me, helping to mold the person I am today, which is very different from who I was 3 years ago. Fizz’s story is nothing short of incredible—now a national phenomenon and a staple of college life. We’re in rapid growth mode: expanding to new colleges faster than ever, exploring new domains like commerce through our marketplace, and beginning to work with prominent advertisers who want to reach our incredible users. I’m so grateful and excited to be taking the helm as CEO of Fizz, and I know our story’s just getting started. Amanda Silberling from TechCrunch has the story ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/g-9pcguA

The Fizz Marketplace continues to make headlines 🚀 As Fizz co-founder Teddy Solomon tells Fortune, "It all boils down to the fact that there were peer-to-peer commerce platforms before...they no longer exist within Gen-Z." Check out Fortune's newest feature from Sasha Rogelberg (which dubs us the 'anti-Facebook' startup) to find out more about how Fizz is disrupting e-commerce for Gen-Z. https://lnkd.in/gnUzPEv4

Fizz Marketplace is reshaping how college students buy and sell within their campus community, and the world is watching! Our co-founder, Teddy Solomon, joined Amber Mac and Michael Bancroft on #TheFeed on SiriusXM to discuss how Fizz is making student commerce more secure and convenient as legacy peer-to-peer commerce platforms become a thing of the past. Listen to the full episode here (skip ahead to Teddy at 9:15!) https://lnkd.in/g2-83ASu

Legacy consumer-to-consumer commerce platforms are a thing of the past! Gen-Z wants a safe and trusted space to buy & sell from their peers. That’s why we launched Fizz Marketplace, which is exploding across America 🚀 Now available on 240 college campuses, Fizz Marketplace has already seen ~50K listings & ~150K DMs in its short lifespan. Students are finding everything they need for campus life, from clothing, to collectibles, to TVs and textbooks! And the journey is just beginning 👀 TechCrunch’s Amanda Silberling covers the story: https://lnkd.in/gE5qgyVd 

Forbes 30 Under 30 has two familiar names this year… Congratulations to our co-founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer, who have been recognized in the social media category. 🎉 Join us in celebrating the future of Fizz, and check out the complete list here 👉https://bit.ly/3sWCeg0 #Forbes #Forbes30Under30 #SocialMedia CC: Rakesh Mathur, Alexandra Levine, Emmy Lucas, Richard Nieva, Emily Bennett, Owl Ventures, Danielle Lay, New Enterprise Associates (NEA)