Users above all else
Relentless innovator. Product architect.
Builder of markets, platforms & moments that didn't exist before.
30+ Years
of turning unconventional ideas into thriving businesses.
About Ari
At 18, I joined Smith Barney’s retail mentorship program—an early education in how markets move, how people decide, and how industries evolve.
By 19, I’d been offered a seat on a trading desk, but chose a different path. While at the bank, I noticed something unusual: cosmetics often had better margins than pharmaceuticals, and many companies were quietly burying customer-acquisition costs in broad “branding” budgets.
That insight led to my first business—helping a cosmetics manufacturer give away free products online in exchange for magazine trial sign-ups. It became one of the earliest co-registration models. I exited before turning 21.
Since then, my focus has been constant: building rewarded experiences that use third-party ad budgets as an economic engine to create value for both consumers and companies.
If you obsess over the consumer experience - and make people love your product - profits and enterprise value will follow.
Act Two: Platforming Rewards
To scale that insight, I built a rewards engine designed to reach new demographics and expand customer universes. That company was later acquired by XL Marketing, which became Zeta Global.
As the ecosystem grew, a familiar constraint emerged: every rewards platform eventually runs out of advertisers. Solving that meant rethinking the model.
Solving the hardest problem: unlimited demand
Every rewards ecosystem eventually hits the same wall: you run out of I developed embedded search—injecting search monetization directly into reward flows. The result: unlimited advertisers, unlimited budgets, and a perpetual demand engine.
That innovation became the foundation for OpenMail (later System1), helping transform Fluent into a high-growth company and contributing to multiple liquidity events exceeding $1B.
Act Three: From Dipping Sauce to Earned Incentives
One of my lighter ventures, Sauce Caddy, started with a simple frustration: dipping fries in the car without making a mess. It’s now used by most major quick-service restaurants in the U.S.—proof that even small ideas can scale when they solve real problems.
The most exciting project yet: Earned Incentives
The latest and largest chapter is RCART—a loyalty platform built on the principle of Earned Incentives. Shoppers earn spending power by engaging with new brands, games, and services, all funded by third-party advertisers. Earned Incentives is emerging as a new category within commerce media—reshaping how brands think about promotions, loyalty, and acquisition.
Learn more
Peers
I’ve learned from those who built with me—and from those who took from me. Both shaped how I see people, business, and trust.
Steven Gerber
President/COO, Zeta Global
"I've been friends and colleagues with Ari for almost 30 years. I've watched him build extraordinary businesses and create billion dollar products that no one thought had a chance."
Dr. Clarence B Jones
Lawyer and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; co-author of “I Have a Dream”; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
"Ari is rare spirit, surprisingly funny, and not surprisingly warm and kind. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met"
Don Smith
CEO, Burger King, Owner Perkins/Friendly's
"Ari fixed the Internet at my house and then we flew my plane to meet with the CEO of Wendy's for Sauce Caddy, which is now used billions of times each year."
There’s only one way to take responsibility, but a millions ways to defer it.
Father. Husband. Son.
My compass is simple:
Build without regard for the possible, lead with clarity, and make the people you love the center of your mission.
Ari Kassman
Creating companies that challenge assumptions and collapse old models.
Copyright© 2025 AK. All Rights Reserved.