Bob Moore is the new president of Philly Startup Leaders

Former Philly Startup Leaders president Brock Weatherup sold his startup and split for SoCal at the beginning of April.

But two months before that, a vetting process had already begun to find his replacement at the helm of the nonprofit, which so far has had names like Cloudamize CEO Bob Moul and Arcweb Technologies CEO Chris Cera in its leadership.

Now the search is over: RJMetrics cofounder and MagentoBI Head of Analytics Robert J. Moore (aka Bob) has been named as the incoming president of the organization.

“I have always wanted to give back to PSL in a bigger way, and this is the perfect moment,” Moore told Technical.ly. “The acquisition of RJMetrics has given me some perspective on the full cycle of entrepreneurship; my ongoing involvement at Stitch is keeping me close to the early-stage startup community in Philly; and my responsibilities at Magento are giving me a real perspective on what it means to introduce a mature technology company into the Philadelphia tech ecosystem.”

Here’s why, in our  view, Moore and PSL make a good match:

• As we know, Moore can handle a crowd. Part of the org’s presidency has to do with public speaking and stumping for the local scene. He’s got that part down.
• Moore, just like previous PSL heads, has been through one coveted route in the entrepreneurial cycle as he himself notes: build a company, grow it and sell it. Likely he has lessons for those seeking that path (which we know isn’t everybody, but still).
• He’s been through the dark times as well (remember when he had to let go 20 percent of RJMetrics’ staff?) and — crucially — isn’t afraid to talk about them.
• He’s organized PSL training efforts, like PSL University back in 2012.
• He’s well connected beyond Philly: RJMetrics got funding from Silicon Valley VCs like August Capital and then was acquired by Calif.-based Magento. In other words, he’s “LinkedIn to 500 plus” and they do matter.

“Every PSL president has left a legacy,” Moore said as he enumerated each exec’s contribution. “I’m humbled and, frankly, a little intimidated by all the great things these presidents have done. If I can continue this tradition in some small way I’ll consider my term a success.”

As for next priorities, Moore said the aim is to take PSL to a place where it can be a “force multiplier” for the community. “To me, that means doing everything we can to help build successful companies here,” Moore said.

“The most exciting thing about Bob taking the role is that he’s the first entrepreneur who directly used the resources and mentorship at PSL to help grow his business,” said PSL Executive Director Yuval Yarden. She also confirmed Moore will be starting a fresh two-year term rather than just finishing the remainder of Weatherup’s, which would have concluded in December.

For now, PSL has its sights set on the traditionally crowded Entrepreneur Expo 2017, after which an official “Passing of the Gavel” celebration will be happening to bid Weatherup farewell and welcome Moore to his new gig.

RSVP