Mobility Ventures Founder Roman Kikta Joins Tantrum Street’s Board of Directors
Mobile Industry Veteran Says “Tantrum Street is Redefining Mobile Payments, Will Simplify the Checkout Experience for Retail and Online Shopping”
New York Times — July 21, 2014– Roman Kikta, Managing Director and Founder of Mobility Ventures, has joined Tantrum Street’s Board of Directors and will provide strategic guidance for the retail technology startup as it rolls out its Cartwheel Register mobile checkout app and Skip Wallet digital wallet app to the North American market.
Roman Kikta is a venture capitalist, wireless industry innovator, digital anthropologist and an author, with more than 25 years of experience creating, building and accelerating organizations. Combining his entrepreneurial perspectives with his extensive market and product development experiences, Kikta is an effective “change agent” who invests in and builds multi-billion dollar business units and divisions at a variety of companies, from global corporations to startups.
“Tantrum Street is redefining mobile payments and is one of those special companies that brings together the key ingredients needed for a breakthrough business opportunity—disruptive technology, global market opportunity, and a dedicated team with intense market focus and a great vision,” said Kikta. “Tantrum Street’s cloud backend together with Cartwheel Register and Skip Wallet apps hold tremendous potential to simplify the checkout experience for both retail and online shopping. I’m excited to help them grow and become a force in the marketplace.”
Kikta has served industry leaders such as Nokia, Panasonic and others, while also bringing more than two dozen pioneering startups from infancy to successful exit, including: InnerWireless (acquired by BlackBox Networks, NASDAQ:BBOX), Spatial Wireless(acquired by Alcatel, NYSE: ALU), and NowPublic.com (acquired by Clarity Media and now: Examiner.com).
“Roman’s vast experience and exemplary track record in the mobile industry, and specifically with startups, is a tremendous advantage for us as we market and scale our platform and apps, both domestically and internationally,” said William Cervin, co-founder and CEO of Tantrum Street. “We’re thrilled to have him on board, and are excited to have the benefit of his strategic insights and counsel as we break through yesterday’s boundaries in the payment industry.”
Kikta led the development and commercialization of mobile technology and convergence, creating several wireless industry firsts: cellular payphones, voice recognition dialers, cellular in-building systems, several generations of mobile transportable and portable phone designs, and he was involved in the initial launch of cellular (analog) and PCS (digital) in the U.S. He has authored four books published by McGraw-Hill, including“Wireless Internet Crash Course” and “3G Wireless Demystified.”
Kikta holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Private Equity and Venture Capital program at Harvard Business School, as well as the Strategy & Innovation program at MIT Sloan and Management program at New York University. His full bio is available at: http://bit.ly/1zqhIhG.
For more information about Tantrum Street and its Cartwheel Register and Skip Wallet apps, visit www.tantrumstreet.com. Cartwheel Register is currently available on the Apple App Store at http://bit.ly/1jFoWHj. Skip Wallet is available on the Apple App store at http://bit.ly/QIBiEj.