99Designs prepares for year of accelerated growth
99Designs is preparing for another year of significant growth by doubling staff numbers and with the hire of two key executives.
The four-year-old crowdsourced graphic design business has held over 115,000 design contests to date and doubled the run rate of new contests in the past 12 months. It expects to surpass 200,000 design contests by the end of 2012 and pay out $25 million to its designer community by year-end.
To meet this growing demand for its services, 99Designs has doubled its staff numbers to over 50 and employed Jeff Titterton as chief marketing officer and Caroline Moon as chief financial officer. According to CEO Patrick Llewellyn, 2012 is shaping up as another “stand-out year for 99Designs.”
“In 2012 we’re focused on continuous improvement of our services as crowdsourced graphic design enters the mainstream. Caroline and Jeff not only have the experience we need at this next stage of growth, they are also passionate about design, which makes them a great fit for our team and community,” he said.
Titterton joins 99designs with strong brand management, marketing and international experience, including his most recent post as VP of marketing at social dating company Zoosk. He’s also served as VP of Marketing at IMVU and SVP of consumer marketing and services at PlanetOut, Inc.
Moon brings financial and analytical leadership, with particular expertise in online marketplace strategy. She previously served as CFO of independent ad exchange AdBrite and prior to that worked in a series of marketplace strategy and analysis roles at online marketplace eBay and Credit Suisse First Boston.
