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Alex Zaccaria

Alex Zaccaria is the co-founder and CEO of Linktree, a co-founder of Bolster and a venture partner at Side Stage Ventures.

Contents26 sections
Key facts

Secondary Education

His public professional profile lists attendance at Southwood Boys Grammar from 2000 to 2006.⁠[1]

Co-founding Bolster

Co-founding Linktree

Alex, his brother Anthony and their friend Nick Humphreys developed LinktreeLinktreeLinktree is a link-in-bio platform that brings together content, websites, social accounts and commercial destinations. It provides creators, brands and businesses with sharing, audience-management, analytics and monetization tools.Open the full entry within Bolster. Music clients needed to promote tours, releases and merchandise through Instagram’s single profile link. They commissioned a developer to build a page collecting several links; Alex recalled that the first version took about six hours.⁠[3]

B&T Entrepreneurship Recognition

Alex was a winner in the Entrepreneurship category of B&T’s 30 Under 30 awards.⁠[4]

Launch of LNWY.CO

Bolster and Laneway Festival launched the music publication LNWY.CO. As a Bolster co-director, Alex demonstrated video browsing, Apple Music previews and content navigation. Darren Levin led its editorial work, centered on long-form profiles, videos and playlists, with brand-supported content partnerships among its commercial plans.⁠[5]

Music and Technology Speaking Engagements

His speaking engagements included an Australian innovation discussion at SXSW, a data-and-music-marketing session at CHANGES, and a discussion of data use at BIGSOUND. These appearances continued his work on digital strategy in the music industry. He was also a finalist in B&T’s 30 Under 30 that year.⁠[4]

Discussing Creator Growth With Gary Vaynerchuk

Discussing Remote Work and Routines

In a Startup Victoria webinar, Alex described routines for working from home: walks that replaced commuting, regular breaks from his desk and an evening cutoff. He encouraged similar routines within the team and presented looking after oneself as part of sustaining a business.⁠[7]

Meeting Insight Partners

Alex met Insight Partners in early May. The firm subsequently examined Linktree’s product experience and distribution, citing the founders’ attention to users as part of its investment rationale. The company was moving from a bootstrapped business toward institutional funding.⁠[8]

Product Design Interview Released

Alex discussed Linktree’s product thinking with Chris Do. The episode introduction describes his earlier emphasis on paid go-to-market campaigns for music and entertainment clients and connects Linktree’s design to his experience repeatedly managing Instagram profile links.⁠[9][10]

First Funding

Linktree raised US$10.7 million.⁠[11]

Discussing Product and Team Management

In The Startup Playbook, Alex discussed customer needs, product simplicity, collaboration between a non-technical founder and engineers, and choosing investment partners. The episode also addressed learning, scaling challenges and maintaining culture as the team expanded.⁠[12]

Participating in the Passion Fund

Alex served as a judge for the Passion Fund launched by Linktree and Square. The program planned to distribute US$250,000 among 25–40 creators, artists, side-project operators and small businesses. Other judges included Karamo and Grace Beverley.⁠[13]

Further Linktree Funding

Linktree raised US$110 million at a US$1.3 billion valuation, led by Index Ventures and Coatue. Alex emphasized users’ cross-platform digital identities; the company also appointed Mike Olson president.⁠[14]

Launching Side Stage Ventures

In April 2022, Alex helped launch the Side Stage Ventures investment syndicate.⁠[15]

His fellow launch participants included Anthony Zaccaria, Jaddan Comerford, Matt Allen, Kieran Rivett, Ben Grabiner and Emily Casey. Alex described its investment focus as early-stage companies at the intersection of technology, creativity and culture.⁠[16]

Layoffs

Alex announced a 17% workforce reduction.⁠[17]

Explaining His Management Approach

Alex published an article on his transition from founder to CEO. He advocated giving specialist teams autonomy over execution and described Linktree’s use of OKRs, 30-day planning cycles, internal profit-and-loss information and board-meeting summaries to inform employee decisions.⁠[18]

Team Changes

Alex announced an approximately 27% workforce reduction and the relocation of some roles to the United States.⁠[19]

Side Stage’s Venture Fund

By August 2023, Side Stage Ventures had developed from a syndicate into a venture fund. Its earlier network had more than 100 members and invested in companies including Heaps Normal, Mr Yum and Delegate Connect.⁠[15]

Welcoming the Fingertip Team

Alex welcomed the Fingertip team to Linktree, highlighting their shared emphasis on design, simplicity and usability.⁠[20]

Audience Relationships

In a company product article, Alex emphasized direct, creator-owned audience relationships.⁠[21]

Early Background

Alex Zaccaria grew up around his parents’ music shop. He organized parties while still underage and subsequently worked in events, a label and a booking agency. He also helped establish White Sky Hub, a coworking space for music professionals.⁠[22]

He studied entrepreneurship at university before dropping out to work in artist management and promotion.⁠[23]

Management Practice: Product Simplicity and AI

In Netwealth’s Between Meetings interview, Alex discussed balancing simplicity with functionality, customer feedback and values alignment with investors. He also addressed embedding automation in operations, including internal AI workflows and giving staff more time for their craft.⁠[24]

Business Ventures and Current Roles

As Linktree grew, Bolster’s founders passed the business to James Clarke, who acquired it before the pandemic.⁠[2]

His public personal page identifies him as Linktree’s co-founder and CEO.⁠[25]

Side Stage Ventures lists him as a venture partner. The firm backs early-stage companies and supports founders with hiring, fundraising and product-market fit.⁠[26]

Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts

Alex Zaccaria: Personal website: https://linktr.ee/alex (opens in a new window).⁠[25]

Bolster: Official website: https://blstr.co/ (opens in a new window).⁠[27]

Linktree: Official website: https://linktr.ee/ (opens in a new window).⁠[25]

Side Stage Ventures: Official website: https://www.sidestage.vc/ (opens in a new window).⁠[26]

Tintern Grammar’s alumni community includes former Southwood students.⁠[28]

Southwood Boys Grammar: Official website: https://www.tintern.vic.edu.au/ (opens in a new window).⁠[28]

Sources

  1. Alex Zaccaria (opens in a new window)
  2. Marketing agency that spawned Linktree signs full-service partnership with Untitled Group (opens in a new window)
  3. 5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful App or SaaS, With Alex Zaccaria of Linktree (opens in a new window)
  4. Alex Zaccaria (opens in a new window)
  5. Exclusive: Inside lnwy.co, Laneway’s new venture into digital publishing (opens in a new window)
  6. Marketing Pros: Gary Vaynerchuk chats to Linktree's founder (opens in a new window)
  7. Why taking care of your mental health is taking care of your business, says Linktree’s Alex Zaccaria (opens in a new window)
  8. Behind the Investment: How Linktree is Creating a Universal Point of Access for the Expression and Discovery of Online Identity (opens in a new window)
  9. Problem Solving and Product Design (opens in a new window)
  10. Problem Solving and Product Design — with Alex Zaccaria (opens in a new window)
  11. Linktree raises $10.7m USD (opens in a new window)
  12. Ep141 – Alex Zaccaria (Co-founder & CEO – Linktree) on viral growth, customer focus and intuition (opens in a new window)
  13. Linktree’s Alex Zaccaria: ‘Now We’re In A Position To Be Able To Give Back’ (opens in a new window)
  14. Linktree Raises $110 Million USD Led by Index and Coatue to Power Next Phase of Growth for Creators, Consumers and Brands (opens in a new window)
  15. Linktree cofounders back new $15 million VC fund (opens in a new window)
  16. Linktree founders and music boss front start-up investment syndicate (opens in a new window)
  17. Changes to the Linktree Team (opens in a new window)
  18. The power of a people-first philosophy (opens in a new window)
  19. Operational and Team Updates (opens in a new window)
  20. Today we’re welcoming Fingertip.com to Linktree (opens in a new window)
  21. How YouTube creators can build stronger audience relationships (opens in a new window)
  22. Alex Zaccaria (opens in a new window)
  23. Balancing the Grind With Alex Zaccaria, Co-Founder of Linktree (opens in a new window)
  24. Innovation through simplicity | Alex Zaccaria | Linktree (opens in a new window)
  25. Alex Zaccaria | Linktree Co-Founder and CEO (opens in a new window)
  26. Side Stage Ventures (opens in a new window)
  27. Bolster | Entertainment & culture marketing specialists (opens in a new window)
  28. Avenue of Excellence (opens in a new window)