Discover what makes a great CPO, their key responsibilities, necessary skills, and innovative hiring models for your business's growth.
Devin Young
Fractional Creative Director, CPO, CMO, CSO | 3X founder | Fmr. Co-founder and President at Classcraft (sold to HMH) | On Deck, Climate Vine, Future of Storytelling Fellow
I'm a creative executive specializing in growth, product development, and marketing currently working on a fractional basis with select startups and coaching founders with strategy and their fundraising efforts.
I recently worked at Games for Change, a nonprofit advocating for video games, VR, and AR as powerful mediums to drive social change. As their Chief Creative and Strategy Officer, I oversaw organization-wide strategy and led the production and marketing / comms departments. Notably,…
Work
AI Learnings & Explorations
https://www.devinyoung.co/work/ai-app-experimentsI'm very curious about AI. There are a bunch of new tools coming out all the time. It feels like we're getting new Lego blocks to play with. I'm excited to see how they can be put together to build new and interesting products and services. I've been building various prototypes with low-code tools and completed a mini-mba in AI strategy at Section looking at how organizations can best leverage this technology to unlock better performance and new services or products.
Games For Change
https://www.devinyoung.co/work/games-for-changeGames for Change (G4C) leads a global community of creators, developers, and innovators using games and immersive media to drive real-world change. It partners with technology and gaming companies, nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions, and government agencies to run a wide array of programming, from world-class events and educational programs, to executive and impact production of best in-class games and XR (VR/AR) projects. I was brought in as Chief Creative and Strategy Officer to lead the strategy for the organization and the production and marketing/comms departments.
Classcraft
https://www.devinyoung.co/I co-founded a company called Classcraft, an award-winning behavioral management SaaS platform focused on using gamification to drive students' motivation and develop their social-emotional skills. As its President for over eight years, I was led many aspects of the business, from business strategy and fundraising to creative direction, product design, marketing, and business development.
The Flux Agency
https://www.devinyoung.co/work/fluxThe Flux was a boutique creative agency I founded and ran in NYC. Projects ranged from websites and apps to video production and live events. Clients included Chanel, See.me, The Future of Storytelling, Gust, The Feast Summit, Dr. Frank Lipman, the National Museum of the American Indian, Dubspot, Fonderie 47, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Below you will find some featured projects we worked on.
Experience
Young Advisors
Fractional CMO / CPO / Creative Director and advisor
Sep 2023 - Present
Working with select startups in the AI, education, gaming, and climate spaces.
- Working with founders and their teams to bolster product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, and fundraising efforts.
- Advising on how to leverage the latest AI methodologies and technologies into their operations and product roadmap.
Games for Change
Chief Strategy and Creative Officer
Feb 2022 - Sep 2023
Best-in-class non-profit advocating games and XR (VR,AR) as powerful drivers for social impact.
- Worked with the President and COO to lead the organization.
- Led organization-wide strategy.
- Led marketing and production departments.
- Oversaw the planning and execution of their 20th year anniversary festival which comprised of 10 events in 8 days in NYC, welcomed 200+ speakers from around the world, and included organizations like the United Nations, Playstation, XBox, and Niantic.
Classcraft
Co-founder and President
Feb 2013 - Sep 2021
Edtech SaaS platform that uses gamification to drive students' motivation and develop social-emotional skills. We raised $18M, scaled to +9M users, and exited to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2023.
- Management - Led strategy, fundraising, budgeting, board meeting prep, implemented OKRs company wide
- Markeitng - Led the marketing department and owned the company’s go-to-market strategy. Oversaw: branding, performance marketing, PR and comms, SEO, social, content marketing, and all marketing tech.
- Product - Personally designed and architected the core platform from the ground up. Led design teams and oversaw product efforts weekly once a Chief Product Officer was put in place.
- Creative Direction - Led the in-house storytelling department comprised of illustrators, animators, and writers. We developed a unique fantasy IP that was core to the brand identity.
- Business Development - Managed relationships with key partners like Google and Microsoft.
- Public speaking - Spoke at conferences like SXSW, ISTE, ASU+GSV, and Games for Change. - Advised the White House and guest lectured at Harvard University.
The Flux
Founder and CEO
Apr 2007 - Feb 2013
Boutique creative agency. We worked with brands like Chanel, Microsoft, Intel, See.Me, The Future of Storytelling Summit, Feast on Good Summit, Urban Wellness Clinic, Dr. Frank Lipman...
- Managed the business, from client relations and project management to creative direction and design.
- Built out a team of 10 freelance developers and designers to assist in production.
Bridge to Music
Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer
Mar 2007 - Jan 2010
Bootstrapped a music education startup designed to connect students with various music education resources.
- Led creative direction, product team, marketing efforts, business development, and operations.
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