Marcus Nelson

“Working with Marcus at Xos was truly a pleasure. His extensive knowledge of the marketing world and transformative storytelling ability were incredibly valuable additions to the team. Marcus is a natural leader with a contagiously positive attitude and can-do spirit. His team building capabilities and growth mindset not only helped with the hiring process, but were also instrumental in the internal growth of our team. I would love the opportunity to work with Marcus again in the future.”

“Marcus is one of those rare people you meet in life that can see the future as bright as day. He is one of my favorite people and I would highly recommend him!”

“While short, I had a great experience working with Marcus at FF. With a diverse set of skills and knowledge base, he has no hesitation jumping in and getting stuff done. Marcus is also a great leader, fostering ideas from everyone on the team in a very open and productive environment. I definitely recommend Marcus and would welcome the chance to work together again. ”

“I love working with Marcus. He is smart, connected and thinks differently. He is someone you can rely upon to innovate, to create and to get things done. However his "special sauce" is that he can connect with people, influence and persuade people and get them to see his magic! I have no hesitation in recommending Marcus to anyone who needs to see results. Alan Cherry, VP Human Resources, FF.”

“Marcus is a savvy tech/digital marketing leader who hits the ground running. Having lived in the start-up world, he has a strong entrepreneurial spirt that drives him to roll up his sleeves and get things done. He is a collaborative with and supportive of those who work with him. A pleasure to work with!”

“My path has crossed Marcus' several times throughout my career, and I've been better for each interaction. Whether it was when he was running social at Salesforce (and established a playbook to which I played very, very close attention) or when he was an entrepreneur and I an early beta user (I admired the insights he conveyed in our casual strategy sessions), Marcus has always been a refreshingly clear voice in the noisy social web. ”

“Marcus and I worked on SMB and our then new product Chatter in the marketing department at Salesforce. Marcus brought great insight with a startup/scrappy perspective. That same attitude got him entrenched early as a social media thought leader in the company where he was able to carve out a role as the lead for social at a time when Salesforce and the industry was scratching the surface on do's and don'ts for big corporate entities. His sense of humor and willingness to roll up his sleeves to get the job done made him enjoyable to work with. I hope to cross paths again and do some amazing things again with him!”

“Marcus is a creative and energetic leader and a true asset to any team. I enjoyed collaborating with Marcus on a number of projects. I found his insights, ideas, and drive were critical in making our projects successful. I would happily work with Marcus again in the future.”

“Marcus is an excellent speaker. Ragan Communications hired him repeatedly as our attendees gained critical insights regarding content curation and engagement for internal communications. Marcus is one of Ragan’s highest-rated speakers. His subject matter expertise proved invaluable to our events. Not only is he a gifted speaker but he was a pleasure to work with, in fact, I looked forward to working with him each time.”

“Marcus has always been leading edge with his innovative thinking and unconventional approach to business problems. He finds creative ways to solve things that most people wouldn't even know how to approach. At Salesforce I saw Marcus time and again come up with fun ways to engage customers, try new things, and put Salesforce in a leadership position.”

“Over the course of my 15 year career, I have yet to come across a CEO who was more savvy in terms of dealing with multiple audiences - from Bloomberg to Fortune to VentureBeat - Marcus is always a consummate professional. This stems from Marcus' ability to connect with people on a human level, which is shockingly refreshing in the technology industry. I would not hesitate to recommend Marcus for any high-profile leadership position.”

“It was always fun to work with Marcus, because he not only "got it" in terms of what's interesting to the media, but takes a perspective that centers about what matters to people, rather than the latest and greatest machines. Marcus's insights deserve to be seen, read and heard.”

“When it comes to Social Media Best Practice, Marcus is a "Light on the Hill" for me and his views on how Social Media should be executed, and the principles behind that, have guided and informed me like a beacon since we first started working together at Salesforce.com. He instinctively understands the power of Social and how it should best be harnessed and this is what underpins his authority. Furthermore, his entrepreneurial zeal is also an inspiration to me.”

“I recruited Marcus to speak at the Social Media Strategies Summit-LV while working as the Conference Producer for Global Strategic Management Institute. Marcus was without a doubt one of the best speaker's at the 3 day conference and received the highest ratings from attendee's. Aside from his charismatic public speaking skills, Marcus is a true expert in his field and I would consider him a pioneer in the digital media space.”

“Marcus is a brilliant, vibrant and uniquely talented individual whom I have had the great pleasure of working with. This man can see opportunity a mile away and has the resources to prove it. A man of many talents.”

“Marcus was key to salesforce.com's early focus on Social Media within the Marketing organisation. He was instrumental in driving the company's strategy of enabling every employee to be social advocates of our brand - in fact he developed such a passion for this that he went and built his own product and company around this idea! Marcus is incredibly driven, full of big ideas and a lot of fun to work with. I hope to work with him again in the future.”

“I've collaborated with Marcus during his days at Salesforce and Addvocate - and he has always been fantastic to work with and passionate about solving business problems. He's a great product marketer at heart, a huge proponent of the power of social media and a forward thinking digital strategist. I look forward to continue to work with Marcus - no matter his next venture.”

“Marcus and his team at Addvocate were great to work with. I appreciate the way he thinks about social media and his perspective is always on point. We were able to collaborate and developed some great content together for SXSW in a lightning fast turnaround. His professionalism and communication skills are top notch.”

“Marcus is an amazing brand builder, and a man who instinctively "gets" social. His entire philosophy is creating a "win-win" and being the kind of guy people want to engage with because they like him. He transfers his personal power to the brands with which he works, so he has to be careful to choose something in which he believes. He is a marketer in the classic sense of marketing -- he sees a need and fills it, rather than being interruptive. It's hard to believe any company wouldn't hire him.”

“Marcus was great at questioning standard processes and bringing solutions to help solve the inefficiency. He was always looking for innovative ways to look at problems and appreciated his blocking and tackling of day to day tasks.”

“Positivity and creativity are the two things that come to mind when I think of Marcus. I worked with him at Salesforce for about 2 years and during that time he showed me that he thinks outside of the box and comes up with unique solutions to problems. He's got an addiction to clean design, likes taking risks and working as a team. I've learned a lot from Marcus and he's inspired me to continue to grow and take calculated risks in my own career and life. I hope you truly get a chance to work with Marcus in the future!”

“Marcus did a great job at Salesforce and is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about the Social Media industry.”

“Marcus is a social & new media visionary with a killer entrepreneurial mindset and ability to pull the right people together to make things happen. He was one of the leading change agents who took salesforce.com's social strategy from a sleepy operation to *the* model for business engagement via social channels. Did I also mention he's amazing to work with and an all-around honorable, straightforward and stand-up guy? I learned quite a lot from Marcus during my years working with him and look forward to seeing the next great items on his list of accomplishments.”

“Marcus is the epitome of an amazing social and digital strategist. His work at Salesforce completely changed the landscape of social media influence and direction at the company.”

“Marcus' work at Salesforce was admired throughout the company's partner network, of which my employer, Eloqua, was a prominent member. We modeled much of our social strategy after the work Marcus had implemented at Salesforce. On a personal level, I was always impressed by how open and transparent he was, and, moreover, how accessible he was. Always one of my favorite collaborators.”

“Marcus is a true visionary and an expert on how companies can leverage social technology. He's well known for his ability to take a concept, evangelize that to the right audience, and then build a product and even a company with that momentum. Marcus brought me on to the team at Addvocate to help start up the sales efforts and consult on the ongoing engagement. I really enjoyed working with Marcus and totally appreciate his advice and mentoring. I look forward to being on his team again in the future!”

“Marcus is a true social media guru and visionary. He knows how companies need to organize themselves and incent their employees to promote brand awareness, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve that elusive goal of customer engagement. I'd say he's an evil genius of social media -- except he's anything but evil. He *is*, however, a genius.”

“I worked with Marcus for 2+ years while at salesforce - he is an absolute expert on all things social media related. His innovative, cutting edge approach on how companies, big and small, should run their social media efforts will be instrumental as he makes his next move as CEO. He is someone that I will watch as this space continues to evolve in the years to come.”

“Marcus is one of the few people who truly "gets" social media at salesforce.com. It's hard to instigate change at a big company. Yet, Marcus is one of the few people tirelessly spearheading the transformation of the company into a truly "social" enterprise. It's been a pleasure to collaborate with Marcus on a number of social media & video projects. Not only is Marcus a web visionary - he that fun partner in crime that you want on your team.”

“Marcus is a consummate professional when it comes to web design. He knows exactly how to take a client's needs and desires for a site and translate it into a workable spec for a developer to implement. He is patient, task-oriented, and very easy to work with.”

“Marcus is perhaps the most creative yet commonsensical man I have ever encountered. We first met more than a decade ago and he immediately persuaded me to begin volunteering for a new youth focused non-profit he and his brother established in Wausau called RockWater. While I volunteered with RockWater, Marcus was an incredibly influential mentor to me, helping to guide me personally and professionally. Although I thought I was helping the organization, Marcus was really mentoring me. I owe much of my success in non-profit management to Marcus, and I wholeheartedly endorse him!”

“Marcus is a true champion for social media. Immediately after our first 15 minute meeting at a Silicon Valley conference, Marcus emailed me his own personal guide of how to get started using Twitter. It worked. Marcus sold me on using Twitter for business and I eventually moved on to covering social solutions as an analyst for IDC.”

“I'm glad to have had a chance to work with Marcus, use the products/services that he built at UserVoice, and recommend it to colleagues and clients. Marcus has an exceptionally deep understanding of web 2.0 and how to run a startup in this environment.”

“I've been advising UserVoice for about 1.5 years, but didn't have the opportunity to work directly with Marcus until recently. For the few weeks that we overlapped I was impressed with Marcus' customer skills, understanding of social media and recall. Marcus has the ability to turn customers into advocates, they genuinely enjoy working with him. Marcus also has an outstanding memory, small account details are all at instant recall by just mentioning the name of the customer. In addition, Marcus has really embraced social marketing and new media and has a great sense of how to leverage it for company success.”

“Marcus gets it plain and simple. His experience goes back to '94 when you're talking about the web, so he's seen it all. Working with Marcus, I grew to appreciate his perspective on Uservoice and what it could do for brands that wanted to engage customers. He was the face for Uservoice and executed the role very well. If you heard or saw Uservoice; you saw Marcus. He's the true hybrid soldier in this industry - marketing + technology + business-minded ... I'd enjoy working with him anytime.”

“No one I've worked with builds and leverages relationships quite like Marcus. Marcus was a difference maker at UserVoice. His understanding of the value of personal relationships (both online and off) and ability to get "people to love us" lead to marquee customers, talented employees and even investment. He's a natural networker and spiders a conference much like a search engine would a website bringing back the valuable (social) assets to the team. In a world where everyone thinks they're a "social media guru", Marcus is the real deal. He authentically *gets* social media and what's it's about (hint: it's not about the number of friends or followers you have).”

“I admire Marcus for his intelligence, personality, passion for his work, and genuine caring for others. He is simultaneously an exceptional marketer, tactical salesman, and pragmatic strategist.”

“Marcus is passionate, intelligent and business savvy. He has a deep understanding and vision around the use of social concepts and software to transform businesses. Marcus really "gets" the social enterprise.”

“Marcus has been a great thought partner and business partner for me and Intuit. Not only has he provided us with a great product, but also provided guidance on how to effectively leverage it. I highly recommend User Voice and Marcus!”

“This man could sell anything to anyone, but he would never stand behind something he didn't honestly have a passion and excitement about. This is the kind of guy that could make a state trooper at the DMV laugh. Personally, he makes for a great friend. Professionally, you want him on your team because he makes business happen.”

“Marcus was nothing short of fantastic to work with. His work ethic was OBVIOUS and his ability to communicate and facilitate was great. Above all else, and yes this sounds cheesy, I truly believe Marcus is a wonderful person and I consider him a friend.”

“Marcus gets my seal of approval, one of the best sales / biz guys I know. Tireless worker, knows how to get it done and an amazingly nice guy to boot. I've seen him masterly work a conference. Everyone seems to know him, and love him. I've been on 2am calls with him beat tired from startup life with a joy in his voice. I've seen him courting investors, making all the right moves and closing the deal. That is his theme, close the deal. He gets it done. If anyone has questions I would be glad to answer them.”

“The National Academy worked with Marcus to launch the UserVoice platform as part of our internal study methodology. He was extremely effective at marketing the product, truly taking the time to understand and answer our questions about it, and explain how it worked and could help us, rather than simply providing a standard sales pitch. He is obviously passionate about UserVoice, and that passion was a big asset for us in helping to convince senior political officials that using a tool like this was worth the potential risks. I would absolutely use the product again, and hope that I am able to work with Marcus and continue receiving the high quality of service that he consistently provided.”

“I have a sweet spot for entrepreneurs... those brave souls who think different. Marcus is an amazing thinker and brilliant founder of UserVoice. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge in this new world... the wild, wild west of social media. He is a gem to work with and a pleasure to do business with.”

“Marcus has a knack for business development that comes from within. He makes friends easily and gives excellent service with a smile. He encourages connections and collaboration, is responsive and thoughtful. Those are things that can't be taught, and they're a real differentiator. They are part of a person's character and can give a personality to a brand. He also has the writing skills and design abilities of an experienced marketer.”

“Marcus is such a pleasure to work with, both personally and professionally. The way he handles business is quite remarkable, and always a pleasure to watch. Always wish him the best of luck!”

“I have worked with Marcus for the better part of a decade, on dozens of projects. His work, and his leadership in the area of marketing and design is clearly proactive, clearly progressive, and clearly unique. Along with his work, the presence of Marcus is reflected in his family, and his faith in both the world and his fellow man. He is a brave, creative, risk taking, networker. His work is a tremendous asset to anyone he is involved with, including myself.”

“Marcus has a unique global vision about design, web development and business, which provides a unique breadth and depth of understanding and knowledge to clients and colleagues alike. And if that weren't enough, Marcus is a fun, friendly, professional guy you just love working with.”

“Marcus has a great eye for design and has a good sense of what a client wants and how to give it to them.”

“Like all effective community leaders, Marcus has a clear vision for the future and the skills needed to effect positive change. His innovative ideas will make Wausau a better place to live and work. I also appreciate Marcus' willingness to share his technical knowledge and network of skilled professionals with other start-up companies who need help or advice.”

“Marcus is a visionary and community builder, both online and in our town. He brings ideas, people and resources together and dedicates enormous energy to accomplishing tasks. Spend a few minutes speaking with Marcus and you'll be impressed by his enthusiasm, optimism and lack of guile.”

“I was incredibly impressed how quickly and professionally Marcus set up the Citizen Desk and Citizen Wausau projects. He's a true community leader.”

“I've known Marcus for years! He's a great friend, creative mind and dedicated visionary. But unlike a lot of visionaries - he actually gets things done! I think the world of Marcus and always recommend him!”

“Marcus is a very talented innovator, designer, and organizer. I'm very impressed with his passion and desire for change.”

“In my years of working with web designers, Marcus is probably one of the most talented graphics/web designer I have worked with. His command of colors and layouts to communicate what is required is masterful. Even the draft permutations he produced in the process are are close to the quality of finished products from other designers. Marcus is also very professional and responsive, he is a great resource to have for any company. I would recommend Marcus without reservation.”