Leo Raderman — Category Creator
Five companies founded, launched, and scaled into categories that didn't exist yet — and never stopped.
5 Companies Founded | $100M+ Largest Exit | $65M+ Capital Raised | 5,000+ Retail Locations
The Pattern: Five Companies That Entered Their Categories Before the Categories Existed
IFILM (1998–2005) — Founder, CEO
"What's internet video?"
Industry: Internet video / digital media
IFILM.com sold to Viacom for $49M. Total IFILM enterprise exceeded $100M. DreamWorks' PopCom (Katzenberg, Geffen, Spielberg) and Imagine Entertainment (Grazer, Howard) folded their online video efforts into IFILM. Six years before YouTube existed.
Obscura Digital (2000–2017) — Co-Founder, CEO
"What's architectural projection mapping?"
Industry: Immersive video / experiential technology
Sold to Madison Square Garden Company. Technology now powers The Sphere, Las Vegas.
Veeker (2006–2008) — Co-Founder, Chief Market & Product Officer
"What's mobile video communication?"
Industry: Cell phone photo and video platform
First to enable user-generated video clips for NBC News. Pre-FaceTime, pre-Instagram.
Nukotoys (2008–2013) — Co-Founder, Co-CEO
"What's a physical-digital play pattern?"
Industry: Apps/video game and physical toys integration
5,000+ retail locations including Apple, Walmart, Target, Toys-R-Us, Barnes & Noble. VentureBeat Best Mobile App 2012. Parenting Magazine Best Toy 2012.
MiracleFeet (2010–Present) — Co-Founder, Board Member
"How can kids in developing countries be cured of clubfoot?"
Industry: Non-profit / global healthcare
100,000+ children treated worldwide.
Additional Experience
Saatchi & Saatchi Darwin Digital (1997–1999) — Managing Director & Creative Director
Employee #3. "How does a leading advertising company move into the digital world?"
Pretty Well Fit (2023–Present) — Managing Partner
Strategic advisory for founders building what comes next. "How do I help founders make their vision a reality?"
Capital Formation
$65M+ raised across multiple rounds from investors including Sony Corporation, Yahoo!, Independent Film Channel, Roy Disney's Steamboat Ventures, Eastman Kodak, Rainbow Media (AMC Networks), Liberty Digital, Axiom Venture Partners, Meritage Funds, and OddLot Entertainment.
Presented to the full partnership at Kleiner Perkins. Pitched Sequoia, Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, NEA, DFJ, Bessemer, and nearly every major fund on Sand Hill Road.
Areas of Expertise
Fundraising & Capital Formation
Company/round structuring, angel investor identification, VC targeting & sequencing, data room preparation, valuation negotiation, board management & governance.
Product Development & Go-to-Market
New category creation, category education/market creation, hardware/software integration, razor/razorblade model design, manufacturing partner management, SKU strategy & product line architecture.
Marketing, Sales & Partnerships
Pre-launch brand building, trade show strategy, D2C e-commerce, social media & community, brand creation & naming, creative direction, content marketing & SEO, enterprise/B2B sales, retail buyer relationships, channel conflict management, strategic partnership structuring, licensing & revenue share models.
Legal, Operations & Company Building
Co-founder agreements & equity splits, joint venture structuring, IP protection strategy, hiring & team building.
Retail Distribution at Scale
National retail channel entry (Apple, Walmart, Target, Toys-R-Us, Barnes & Noble), retail buyer pitch development, simultaneous multi-channel launch, retail marketing & in-store strategy.
Press & Media
Featured in: New York Times, Variety, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Wired, CNET, LA Times, Ad Age, GamesBeat, Communication Arts, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, PBS, Fox News, GQ.
Honors & Recognition
Hollywood Reporter 35 Under 35. GQ Man of the Month. Red Herring / Newton Award. IFILM Day proclaimed by the City of Los Angeles.
The Difference
Rare in pieces. Singular in combination.
Cross-Industry Range
Digital media, experiential tech, mobile, toys, global health. Five categories, five industries, one consistent pattern of creating what didn't exist yet.
Formation to Exit
From founding through IPO/M&A at scale. Not theory — lived operational experience across the full company lifecycle, from first dollar raised to nine-figure exits.
Category Creation
Building markets when there are no benchmarks, no comparables, and no existing customer mental models. Educating markets that don't yet know they need what you're building.