TRAPPER MARKELZ
HUSBAND. FATHER OF FOUR.
POET. MUSICIAN. CYCLIST.
SOFTWARE STARTUP LEADER
About Me
HUSBAND. FATHER OF FOUR. POET. MUSICIAN. CYCLIST.
SOFTWARE STARTUP LEADER
Trapper was born in Alaska, educated at RIT in New York, worked enterprise IT in Chicago, and entered the consumer web/mobile/startup scene via Boston. He completed the Harvard GMP program in 2015, and has lived the ups and downs (mostly ups!) of a startup CEO. He appreciates a good bourbon, cycles when he can, writes techno music when inspired, writes poetry, plays video games when there's time, and reads/watches anything science fiction.
Trapper has over 20 years of direct experience building teams, companies, and shipping consumer-facing software products and experiences, many built around online communities. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Beamable, a gaming development technology company based in Boston, MA.
Prior to Beamable, Trapper was Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Disruptor Beam where he served as Game Director on Star Trek Timelines, worked with blockchain gaming technology, and managed studio production across multiple AAA mobile IP licenses game titles.
Prior to Disruptor Beam, Trapper was the CEO of MeYou Health, working with large employers, small employers, health plans, benefits brokers, and consultants to deliver a wide range of clinically validated online communities that helped people move more, quit smoking, and improve their overall well-being.
Prior to MeYou Health, Trapper helped found GamerDNA, a digital gaming media company that derived insights on the gaming community. This intelligence was applied to many businesses in social media, online content, and advertising solutions for publishers and brands.
Prior to GamerDNA, Trapper co-founded 360voice.com, an online Xbox gaming community that pioneered auto-blogging technology to drive new ways of interacting around games using data. As part of that project, he designed and coded a data-driven competitive gaming system for Proctor & Gamble that integrated into the Xbox 360 game console as part of a large media campaign that handed out over $100k in prizes.
Trapper also worked in Chicago, IL for Spencer Stuart and Associates for over 8 years, pioneering agile development methods and adoption of RSS, search, and other "enterprise 2.0" patterns and technology.
Trapper lives in Arlington, MA with his wife Maureen, three daughters Hannah, Lucy, Alice, and his son Jack.
Poetry
I've been writing since 2019 and publishing since 2020. Published works are available online and in print.
First Snow is available in the Winter 2021 issue of The Baltimore Review
Published January 2021
End of the Road is forthcoming in The Stillwater Review
Expected Spring 2021
Walls is forthcoming in The Dillydoun Review
Expected Spring 2021
Boundaries is available online and in the compilation Words of Power edited by Kevin Watt
Published October 2020
Various new work is available on Medium and through the online publication Loose Words.
Older work and earlier versions of certain poems are available at AllPoetry.com
Music
Projects
A few things I'm always working on...
My Company @ Beamable
Beamable's mission is to enable Unity game developers to easily add social, commerce, and content management features to their games. If you are a game maker, come check us out! Maybe we can help!
ClearIce.Life
I'm a huge bourbon/tequila enthusiast. I'm also a huge fan of the quality and experience of ice used when pouring and drinking high end spirits. At ClearIce.Life, I chronicle this adventure and the various makers and enthusiasts around the world.
My TEDx Talk @ Youtube
Fulfillment Mechanics
In 2010, I gave a TEDx Nashville talk on the role of gamification in product design. It was an amazing experience.
Drop Me a Line
Want to connect? Shoot me an email...
© 2019