Market Builder | Growth Leader | Strategic Partnerships

Building Markets. Growing Businesses. Creating Opportunity.

Over the past 15+ years, I've helped organizations build new markets, scale revenue, develop strategic partnerships, and create lasting business growth across technology, SaaS, media, and advertising.

The work has taken me from leading sales organizations and launching new territories to building industry communities and creating partnerships that continue long after the deal is signed.

Tom Heaton headshot

About

Building what's next.

I've always gravitated toward opportunities where growth has to be earned. Whether it's launching a new market, rebuilding a business, or bringing an industry together, I enjoy figuring out what moves people to act and then building the partnerships, strategy, and execution to make it happen. Different industries, same mindset: leave things stronger than I found them.

$0 → $2.5M Built a new regional market
15+ Years Commercial leadership
20+ People Built and led sales teams
$30M Annual revenue strategy
President Las Vegas Innovation Marketing Association

How I Work

Builder first. Growth always.

Market Builder

Every organization reaches moments where growth requires building something new. Whether entering a new market, launching a new capability, or creating relationships where none previously existed, I've always been drawn to that stage of the business.

Building markets requires equal parts strategy, execution, and patience. The goal isn't simply to generate revenue. It's to create a foundation that continues to grow long after the initial opportunity.

Growth Leader

Growth has never been about chasing the next sale. Sustainable growth comes from building strong teams, improving execution, creating repeatable processes, and helping people succeed together.

The best organizations don't rely on individual performance. They create systems that allow great people to consistently do great work.

Strategic Partnerships

The strongest partnerships create value for everyone involved.

Throughout my career I've worked with enterprise brands, agencies, technology companies, publishers, startups, and industry organizations to develop relationships built on trust, collaboration, and long-term success rather than short-term transactions.

Selected Work

Examples of how momentum gets built.

Seedtag

Building Seedtag's Rocky Mountain Market

Opportunity: Establish a meaningful presence in a new region while building credibility with agencies, brands, and strategic partners.

Approach: Focused on executive relationships, community engagement, hiring local talent, and developing long-term partnerships before chasing short-term growth.

Impact: Built the territory from $0 to $2.5M in annual revenue within two years while helping establish the Rocky Mountain region as a meaningful growth market.

LVIMA

Growing LVIMA

Opportunity: Help a twenty-year-old organization continue evolving while creating greater value for members, sponsors, and the broader marketing community.

Approach: Expanded executive programming, strengthened sponsor partnerships, launched a podcast, and introduced new opportunities for education and networking.

Impact: Grew sponsorship packages by 25% and created five new events, helping strengthen LVIMA's value for members, sponsors, and the broader marketing community.

Colorado AdTech

Building Colorado AdTech & MarTech Community

Opportunity: Create a community where marketers, agencies, publishers, and technology partners could connect without the pressure of a traditional sales environment.

Approach: Built events centered around education, networking, and shared experiences that encouraged meaningful conversations and long-term relationships.

Impact: Grew the organization to more than 300 members in its first year, creating a strong new hub for Colorado's marketing and advertising community.

The Denver Post

Rebuilding Revenue Growth at The Denver Post

Opportunity: Turn around underperforming territories while improving organizational sales performance.

Approach: Developed new sales programs, improved forecasting, introduced incentive structures, and partnered across departments to strengthen execution.

Impact: Delivered 104% of annual revenue goals for a department that had twelve consecutive months of missed budgets, while helping launch new digital products that contributed to 10% revenue growth across the organization.

Ventura Growth

Building Ventura's Sales Foundation

Opportunity: Help a fast-growing organization create the infrastructure needed to scale.

Approach: Built the sales process, onboarding, forecasting, CRM workflow, and partnership strategy while developing new business opportunities.

Impact: Supported revenue growth from $1M to $2M in monthly revenue while creating scalable systems for continued expansion.

Tom Heaton speaking at an industry event

Leadership

Leadership beyond the job description.

Leadership has always extended beyond my day-to-day responsibilities.

Whether speaking on stage, hosting conversations through the What's Happening in Marketing podcast, organizing industry events, or coaching youth hockey, I've found the greatest opportunities often come from bringing people together.

Creating communities where people can learn, connect, and grow has become one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

Speaking

Sharing ideas with marketing, advertising, and technology audiences.

Podcast

Conversations with leaders from brands, agencies, professional sports, and technology.

Community

Building relationships through organizations like LVIMA and Colorado AdTech & MarTech.

Events

Creating experiences that connect people beyond traditional networking.

Coaching

Helping young athletes develop confidence, resilience, and teamwork.

What Happens in Marketing podcast screenshot Hockey championship banner Tom Heaton with the Stanley Cup

Experience

Condensed timeline.

2024–Present

Senior Director of Sales, Rocky Mountain Region

Seedtag

2023

Senior Director of Partnership Development

Ventura Growth

2021–Present

President | Executive Board

Las Vegas Innovation Marketing Association

2018–2023

Senior Director of Advertising

Las Vegas Review-Journal

2012–2018

Senior Director of Sales and Strategy

The Denver Post

Earlier

Account Executive Roles

5280 Magazine | Gannett / Fort Collins Coloradoan

Life Beyond Work

Family, coaching, Colorado, and staying active.

Success isn't defined entirely by work.

Some of the most rewarding moments happen away from the office. Coaching youth hockey, spending time with family, exploring Colorado by bike or trail, traveling somewhere new, or slowing down long enough to perfect a loaf of sourdough all provide perspective that carries back into leadership and business.

Staying active, continuing to learn, and making time for the people who matter most has always been an important part of maintaining balance.

Coaching Family Biking Travel Bread Hockey Colorado

Contact

Let's build something together.

Whether you're looking for a commercial leader, strategic partner, speaker, advisor, or simply want to connect, I'd love to hear from you.