JT Marino '09

Co-founder of Tuft & Needle (T&N) and Chief Disruption Officer of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB), JTMarino is a passionate storyteller, facilitator and teacher, having inspired T&N's most challenging and disruptive projects. JT has been instrumental in redefining the sleep industry and retail experience through the business’s rapid nationwide expansion, award-winning company culture, evolving product offering and acclaimed advertising campaigns.

With $6,000 of personal investment in 2012, JT and his business partner, Daehee Park, have grown T&N from $1 million in their first full year of business to $200 million+ in annual revenue in less than six years.

Pioneering the disruption of the mattress industry space from brick and mortar to e-commerce, JT is now leading the charge in reinventing retail as we know it to create a true omni-channel “clicks to bricks” experience for consumers. The brand is widely known for iterating, and JT is at the helm of this retail evolution.

Prior to T&N, JT combined principles from both design and engineering to develop future-forward software products in the high-tech industry, and he has applied this same discipline to reimagining the sleep industry. JT has extensive experience building and leading teams of designers and engineers, along with researchers and scientists, to develop innovative experiential initiatives. JT started his career as an engineer at the world's leading software application consultancy, where he accelerated his experience through working amongst the foremost thought leaders and tech leaders for VC-funded startups and Fortune 500 companies.

JT has been featured on USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc., Recode, Buzzfeed, Mashable, among others, and he is a frequent keynote speaker at startup and industry events such as SXSW, Startup Grind and ShopTalk. JT has been named as one of The Recode 100, Arizona Republic’s 35 Under 35, received eTail West’s Visionary of the Year Award and appeared in McGraw Hill’s curriculum. JT studied computer science and mathematics at Penn State University.