This BrandYourself profile is automatically optimized to show up high in Google

Alan Jones

Hi, I'm Alan Jones, also known as 'bigyahu'.

Since 1995, Alan Jones has consulted to early-stage companies and new product development teams, helping with online strategy for communications, product development and marketing. Alan draws on hands-on experience founding and co-founding web and mobile startups, as well as senior management experience in larger companies including Yahoo!, News Digital Media and Microsoft. Alan Jones advises and invests in new Australian startups through Startmate and Pollenizer Ventures. He's a co-founder of digital agency The New Agency, a director of Bugherd, a co-founder of PilatesSource, and one of the co-founders of Trainerplatform. He's also the Social Media and Web Director for TEDxSydney. Alan is great at product strategy, pitch-doctoring, social media, community-building, online marketing and content licensing. He can: Help you create a brand Help you create a tagline, elevator pitch, investor summary, presentation deck, landing page, About Us page, Learn More Page Help you improve your pitch for various audiences and settings Help you learn how to write great blog posts and tweets Connect you to other potential mentors, investors, co-founders and suppliers Introduce you to SAAS tools that might help you run your business Pick you up when you’re feeling down Reach things on the top shelf Alan Jones only ever writes about Alan Jones in the third-person when he's trying to get ahead of Alan Jones the broadcaster in Google search results. Sorry 'bout that.

Alan Jones's Background

Alan Jones's Experience

Co-Founder at Silverback Media Systems

August 2010 - July 2011

Consulting Director of Product Development at Mixin

December 2008 - December 2010

Advising this small early-stage team with a social calendaring product in beta on product strategy, interface design and focus.

Consulting Web Strategist at Pollenizer

July 2008 - September 2010

Advising early-stage startups on product strategy, marketing communications and social media.

chief hindsight officer at Littoral Records

2004 - 2010

Community Manager (contract) at Bluepulse

January 2008 - March 2008

Fostering the growth of a community of bluepulse users through social networking platforms, blogs, industry and consumer groups. Working with product team to fold user feedback into future product functionality.

editor, social media manager at CARSguide.com.au

April 2007 - January 2008

Reducing the cost of acquiring and retaining new customers by giving them more great reasons to return often. Building a platform to help you learn, share and interact more about the second-biggest financial commitment you'll ever make.

Advisor at Bluepulse.com

October 2005 - 2007

Advising the CEO and team in online communications, media relations, industry relations, product strategy.

Project Manager, Carsguide at News Digital Media

September 2006 - December 2006

Contract role on www.carsguide.com.au - Managing the implementation of new 'browsable search' technology - Managing the delivery of live and on-demand video - Advising on Web 2.0 and mobile strategy

Chief Product Officer and Co-founder at HomeScreen Entertainment

January 2003 - December 2005

Management of the product design and development process, online marketing and strategic alliances, content licensing. Company spokesperson for consumer and industry media. Buys donuts for everybody on Thursdays.

Managing Director at Go Man Go Productions

January 2003 - October 2003

Acquired this award-winning Australian online and interactive marketing agency, assisted the founders in restructuring the business to improve profitability and reposition the agency for future new business growth. Achieved goals and sold the business back to its founders. www.gomango.com.au

Product Director, Yahoo! South Asia at Yahoo! Inc.

December 2001 - January 2003

Management of strategic product and service development for Yahoo!'s consumer services in English-language Asia.

Product Director, Yahoo! Australia & NZ at Yahoo! Australia & NZ

November 2000 - December 2001

Planning product strategy and managing the product development teams for Yahoo!'s business in Australia & NZ.

Senior Producer at Yahoo! Australia & NZ

September 1997 - November 2000

Yahoo!'s second employee in Australia, founding member of the local management team. Worked with Yahoo! Inc. to localise US online consumer products for Australian & NZ audience. Worked with local development team to design and build unique local services.

Producer, Sydney Sidewalk at Microsoft

January 1996 - September 1997

Producer on the startup team of Microsoft's venture into online city guide publishing. Led planning for editorial production, managed relationships with content publishers.

Founder, Director at Doing Words P/L

January 1995 - March 1996

Project management, editorial, design, PR and marketing services for clients including MSN Australia, Telstra On Australia, Macromedia Asia Pacific, and Intel Australia.

Account Director at Blackie McDonald

1993 - 1995

Managed media relations and public affairs account teams for Australian and international technology clients including Bay Networks, Macromedia, Avid Technology, IBM, Austrade and Intel.

Editor, Australian Macworld Magazine at IDG Communications

1991 - 1993

Managed a production and editorial team of three, represented the publication to industry and advertisers, set the editorial direction of the magazine.

PR Manager at WordPerfect Pacific

1990 - 1991

Account Executive at Hill & Knowlton Australia

1988 - 1990

2nd Alan Rogers Chair for Higher Awesome Studies at The Awesome Foundation

August 2011

The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is an ever-growing, worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe. Created in the long hot summer days of 2009 in Boston, the Foundation distributes a series of monthly $1,000 grants to projects and their creators. The money is given upfront in cash, check, or gold doubloons by groups of ten or so self-organizing “micro-trustees,” who form autonomous chapters around geographic areas or topics of interest. The Foundation provides these grants with no strings attached and claims no ownership over the projects it supports. It is, in the words of one of our trustees, a micro-genius grant for flashes of micro-brilliance. Since its humble beginnings, many Awesome Foundation chapters have sprung up globally to conserve, sustain, and support the worldwide ecosystem of awesomeness. Projects have included efforts in a wide range of areas including technology, arts, social good, and beyond.

Chief Hindsight Officer at Doing Words

January 1995

Doing Words is my consulting business, which I established in 1995, and sometimes paused while I’ve co-founded startups and worked for corporates such as Microsoft, Yahoo! and News Digital Media. I do product strategy, web 2.0 community, marketing communications, content licensing, and the leadership and management of design, creative and technical teams. My clients are startups and the investors who back them.

Mentor and Investor at Startmate.com.au

August 2010

Startmate is a group of startup executives offering mentorship and seed financing to founders of Internet and Software businesses based in Australia. We want to help the most exceptional technically-focused founders create world-class companies that solve customer problems.

Co-Founder at The New Agency

October 2010

I help build web businesses.

Social Media Director at TEDxSydney

2010

Manage the marketing, communications and customer service aspects of TEDxSydney's relationship with its audience, working with a team of dedicated volunteer social media practitioners to provide 24x7 coverage leading up to and after the event.

Co-Founder at Pilates Source

January 2010

PilatesSource.com.au brings together all things related to the Australian Pilates industry for the first time. I manage web design, development and online marketing.

Board observer, investor, advisor at BugHerd Pty Ltd

July 2011

BugHerd is the world's simplest bug tracker for web designers, software developers, product managers, project managers, and their internal and external clients. It embeds directly into a website so bugs are flagged and managed visually without the need to fill out lengthy forms. You can try a free live demo of the product by visiting http://bugherd.com.

Investor, Advisor at OtherLevels

November 2011

Alan Jones's Education

University of Western Sydney

1986 – 1989

Ba (Applied Communication Studies)


Alan Jones's Interests & Activities

Endurance events, kayaking, bushwalking, trekking, guitars, singing, bodysurfing, stand-up paddling, sci-fi, science, apps, content.

© 2025 BrandYourself - Manage your online reputation