Ari Ackerman

Ari Ackerman is a New York–based serial entrepreneur, strategic investor, and philanthropist best known as the founder and CEO of Bunk1, a technology platform that lets parents view online photos and videos of their children at summer camp and exchange emails with them. He wrote the original Bunk1 business plan as a graduate student at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management around 1999 and built it into the category leader in camp-parent communications. In March 2017 he sold Bunk1 to the private-equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners, an exit he has since discussed publicly (including on the *Built to Sell* podcast) as a case study in maximizing EBITDA and deal value.

A native New Yorker who attended the Modern Orthodox Ramaz School, Ackerman earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and an MBA with honors from the Kellogg School at Northwestern. Before founding Bunk1, he worked in product management at Procter & Gamble and in marketing at Cendant Corporation, and he spent roughly four years on Capitol Hill working for a member of Congress and on the House Banking and Financial Services Committee. He is a grandson of the late Israeli-American financier and philanthropist Meshulam Riklis (1923–2019).

Following the Bunk1 sale, Ackerman diversified into investing and new ventures. In October 2017 he became a partner and board member in the Derek Jeter–led ownership group that acquired the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball franchise. He has continued to found consumer ventures, including Tribe, a dating app for Jewish singles, and more recently a personalized matchmaking service he brands as "Matched by Ari." He also hosts a podcast, *Schmooze*, featuring conversations with prominent Jewish figures.

Beyond business, Ackerman is a prominent lay leader and philanthropist in the Jewish community. He has served on the boards of organizations including the JCRC, AIPAC, Hillel, and UJA, was elected National Young Leadership Cabinet Co-Chair of The Jewish Federations of North America, and served as a National Co-Chair of "United for Mike" during Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign. Since October 2023 he has become an outspoken pro-Israel advocate on social media (@AriAcker) and a "Jerusalem Post ambassador."

• Invests as an individual angel, typically writing personal checks at the seed stage in exchange for equity.
• Draws on an operator's background — he built and profitably exited a bootstrapped consumer-tech SaaS business — favoring founders who can demonstrate a path to real profitability and a clean exit (a recurring theme in his public commentary on selling Bunk1 for maximum EBITDA/value).
• Interests span consumer technology, sports and media/analytics, and community- or faith-based platforms, mirroring his own ventures (Bunk1, Tribe, the Miami Marlins, *Schmooze*).
• Brings strategic, hands-on value beyond capital: marketing, category-building, government/policy relationships, and a deep philanthropic and Jewish-community network.