Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Spano.
Hi Tom, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After college, I spent roughly 10 years as a school teacher and was invited to North Carolina to join a business in the Furniture industry in the sales and marketing department and worked for an import export company all the way up until the housing crisis in 2007 which promptly put Furniture industry in major distress. A good friend of mine was working for Yahoo out of the New York office and offered me a position if I was willing to move out West, which of course I was. I started with With Yahoo! in 2009 in 2011. I was recruited to work for Twitter on the event marketing team as the head of events and worked for many other tech companies in California until I started my own agency in Austin Texas in 2017. And in 2019 moved to the Austin area to build this company as well as to Other departments in Live Entertainment as well as performance automotive. I was bought out of that Agency in 2023 and took on the role of vice president of Customer experience for my current company Mountain in the CTV Advertising space. I’m still very much involved in the live music and concert industry as well as other endeavors, including multiple businesses and investments in e-commerce entertainment, events, and experiential.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say it has exactly been smooth, but I have created a world of Yes and that I live by which has led me down a very resilient path. Because when an opportunity arises, I am able to find a path forward regardless of the obstacles in that path. A deep roll deck of fantastic friends and coworkers and an ironclad reputation. A deep roll deck of fantastic friends and coworkers and an ironclad reputation in the industry have helped me ensure that there are always opportunities. The two biggest obstacles in the history of my career were the 2007 housing crisis and of course Covid in 2020 but having that yes and mindset as well as partnering with very goal oriented and smart individuals has always led to success, regardless of the road bumps in front of us.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a graduate of multiple art schools and always being on a creative path, I have utilized my creative thinking abilities to assist in all endeavors in my career from Sayles, Marketing events, Entertainment, music, Film, social media and experiential. The strategy and creative design behind the work that I put out into the marketplace is definitely the most fun part of my career.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is the end results of the hard work that are put into any of the projects that I take on. Seeing people enjoy a great concert or Festival watching a film or TV show that I had a part in attending an event that I know myself and my team put many many hours of blood sweat and tears behind to create an experience. Those are the things that drive me. I tend to see myself as this great Gatsby character sort of viewing the experiences that I create from behind a window curtain and savoring the smiles and laughter.
Contact Info:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomspano
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@morethanonepiece
- Other: https://www.mountain.com
