How Growing Up In A Small Town Shaped Chris Cunningham’s Success

Chris Cunningham graduated from Virginia Tech with a double major in Business Management and Global Business. He started his tech career at Cvent, where he became one of their youngest managers and helped them grow as they went public (NYSE). Currently, he’s Vice President of Business Development at Elevator Studio and runs massive influencer marketing campaigns for Dan Blitzerian’s Ignite, LYFT, 1st Phorm, and many more!

Chris Cunningham began his tech career at Cvent, where he became one of the youngest managers and helped them grow as they went public (NYSE). He moved on to help start ClickUp in San Francisco and head Business Development there. Now he’s Vice President of Business Development at Elevator Studio and runs massive influencer marketing campaigns for Dan Blitzerian’s Ignite, LYFT, and 1st Phorm.

Chris Cunningham is the Vice President of Business Development at Elevator Studio and runs massive influencer marketing campaigns for Dan Blitzerian’s Ignite, LYFT, 1st Phorm, and more. Growing up in a small town in Vermont, Cunningham went on to graduate from Virginia Tech with a double major in Business Management and Global Business. He started ClickUp in San Francisco and helped grow Cvent as they went public (NYSE).

What makes you stand out from others in your field?

Being from a small town. I love that I grew up with a much more simple life and was away from all the glamour during my younger years. People are quick to notice my accent and ask where I’m from. I love being different and the perspective I keep with me from growing up where I did will always be an advantage in my eyes.

What was a major challenge you had to overcome in getting to where you are today?

When building ClickUp (clickup.com), there was a lot of dev time prior in which I was unable to sell for the company. During this time I was struggling to find a way to add value to the company we were starting. Being a lean company that was dev focused, I began to learn everything I could about marketing and the industry. I would later realize this was an amazing growth period for me in which I become so much more of an asset.

Is there anyone who helped you get to where you are today?

Zeb Evans, CEO of ClickUp. He’s my best friend and also my toughest boss. He knew how to make me and the entire team the best employees we could be. Working under him had me surprised at what I could accomplish and learn daily. I’ll never be able to truly thank or repay him for that.

And Dan Fleyshman, CEO of Elevator Studio, has connected me to more people and taught me so many lessons not by telling me, but by showing me. He’s truly one of the real good guys and doesn’t really care about money — he cares about so much more. I couldn’t be more proud to have the opportunity to work with him.

Be sure to follow Chris on Instagram and YouTube.

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