Andrew Ferenci

Bio:

Just an enthusiastic kid from Minnesota that came to New York in 2009. I'm a product driven entrepreneur and was the CEO/Co-Founder of Spinback, a social commerce platform that was recently acquired by Buddy Media.

• Title: Director of Product Development at Buddy Media
• Age: 24
• Location: Flatiron District
• Contact: @AFerenci, tumblr

In an article on Business Insider, you state that one of the reasons you decided to be acquired by Buddy Media was so that you could continue growing from a product standpoint and continue doing what you love. What is it that you love about developing products such as Spinback?

The continuation of our product was one of many important reasons that factored into our decision. We wanted to continue building the product and also join a product-focused culture. There were other critical factors that also facilitated the decision like the cultural fit and Mike Lazerow's enthusiasm and vision for the company.

One thing I love about developing products like Spinback--which is primarily an analytics platform--is the challenge of designing a product that encompasses large datasets and is both functional and aesthetic. Telling a story through analytics and making data "actionable" is a challenging concept that we really enjoy tackling. When you receive feedback from a user that you've solved a headache or helped make a discovery about their business its very rewarding.

Now that you have sold Spinback and are working with Buddy Media, do you have more time to focus on other projects? Are you currently working on anything that you can share with us?

I currently don't have much time to focus on other projects. We've still got our hands full and we're hyper focused on continuing to build out product at Buddy Media. In the past I've tended to take on weekend side projects like misotrendy.com or NYCrandom.ly for pleasure.

How do you like the east coast compared to the midwest? Was it a fun or difficult change? What do you miss most from home?

There is a great excerpt from "Here Is New York" by E.B. White that exemplifies why I love New York. It has this really palpable energy whenever I walk outside in the morning and for a transplant entrepreneur from the midwest; it was a place I always wanted to experience after I graduated.

I grew up on Medicine Lake in Minnesota and really miss how easy it was to jump on a boat and go fishing or wakeboarding (something that would probably be unsafe in the Hudson River).