Company description
Auctionopia is a first of its kind direct social commerce marketplace. We're excited to offer our next generation embedded instant messenger technology that allows retailers to negotiate shipping & price points with potential customers, promote to their fans, and close deals live, all within our proprietary chat interface (OpiaTalk).
Team
Team 'Opia
Tom Popomaronis: Founder & CEO - Bachelor of Arts, Virginia Wesleyan College - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-popomaronis/9/2a/250
My background is what you would expect of entrepreneurs that spark at a young age. In my teens, I recall those summer days where others would be enjoying the weather, I'd be making the rounds in my neighborhoods promoting my full-service car detailing company, called 'Before & After', and it was the happiest I could have ever been.
At the time, I may not have fully understood the implications of my long-term path & where ultimate happiness would lead me, but it set the perfect foundation that often left me thinking, "What else can I do?".
Since my teens, I've been an early adopter of a multitude of products, and have carefully watched the transitional periods in technology we've had the pleasure in being a part of. I yearn for innovation and I'm unquenchably passionate about what I do. Most importantly I want to be a part of solving something “missing” in the world and at a massive, legacy leaving, level. I've surrounded myself with like-minded partners & advisors, and all around a great team of pure-blooded innovators in their respective fields. There are no inside the box ideas with my team.
I spent the latter years of college affiliating myself with the likes of Elance.com & Guru.com. To date, I've successfully executed over 100 projects. Some of which, I met unbelievable talent that continue to assist us in our mission and of course, some that inevitably turn into those horror stories. Even those occurrences served to teach me leadership. However, over those years, I've honed on what I like to deem as "productive innovation" trying to ask the right questions and concise profitable business decisions. It's clear that the path to success is not a straight line, but the line gets straighter with every new day’s experience.
The Auctionopia vision came to fruition during my college years. I was an avid eBay buyer & seller, and saw significant flaws in how communication was conducted & with their fee structure, but then it turned into something new. I began to see the evolution of the internet and did not see the same from eBay. I chose to be that evolution.
Joe Seibert - Chief Advisor -http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joseph-seibert/7/4a3/83
Former Chief Information Officer at The New York Times
Former Chief Information Officer at Viacom/CBS
Former Chief Information Officer at GSI Commerce
“I have been a leader in technology driven organizations for the past 30 years and deeply involved with the best e-commerce companies in the world for the past 12 years. The e-commerce industry has reached its next challenge: how do we engage consumers that are more mobile, more engaged with social technologies and are demanding a higher-level personalized experience. I am excited to be an advisor to the team at Auctionopia, a team dedicated to building the best social commerce technology in the world. I am impressed with both the team and the platform and I believe we are positioned to lead the social e-commerce space. The solution will provide companies with a platform and information to understand their customers, engage them in social shopping and deliver a level of personal engagement that others cannot in this new world.”
Dave Wilson: Co-Founder & CFO - Bachelor of Arts, Virginia Wesleyan College. Masters, Economic Policy and Finance, Cornell University -
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-wilson/19/357/359
Dave is a financial guru and co-founder of Auctionopia. Dave started trading options and commodity futures as a graduate student at Cornell, where he was taught by former industry leaders. He has developed numerous financial models and has had his work on finance and entrepreneurship published in Penninsula Life Magazine.
Clayton is a born strategist. The son of an entrepreneur, Clayton started
early on upon his own path. He began his career working as a third party research analyst and prospector for the Tokyo government’s tech focused econ
omic development agency, Cyberport. He was later recruited to work for the UK government on their prestigious investor development program. Within this role, he consulted with some of North America’s top tech companies securing existing inward investment in the United Kingdom.
Clayton founded his own cooperative association of worldwide consultants located from Hong Kong to Ireland and disciplined in fields as diverse as e-commerce to hospitality.
Today, he continues as a strategic advisor to a number of promising young tech companies, but places his passion and his focus on Auctionopia where he serves as a full-time employee overseeing growth strategy, marketing, and business development.
Richard Evins - Architect

Richard has worked for software and hardware infrastructure for the last 35 years. From core technology providers like Adaptec and Emulex, to world consumer giants like Sony AIWA, Richard has led and managed development and research groups across all disciplines. Richard received his BS in Computer Science Architecture at the University of West Florida, Pensacola.
Business model
Problem: Shopping cart abandonment, lack of real-time interaction with eCommerce retailers, and inability to monetize social networks.
Solution: Social commerce technology specifically developed to more deeply engage social networks provide an unparalleled level of live-engagement for online buyers & retailers.
Auctionopia is a first of its kind direct social commerce marketplace. We're excited to offer our next generation embedded instant messenger technology that allows buyers & sellers to communicate in real-time, negotiate, and close deals, all within our proprietary chat interface (OpiaTalk).
Auctionopia has a three phase process as we secure additional retailers on our marketplace:
1) Three to six month trial with a negotiable back-end fee for specific big box retailers. We want them utilizing our service and seeing the immediate impact & ROI of OpiaTalk.
2) Isolated integration of OpiaTalk technology on a segment of a retailer's eCommerce website. For example, our technology would only be shown on their "men's pants" category.
3) Full integration of OpiaTalk on retailer's eCommerce website.
Competitive advantage
Our proprietary, licensable, instant messaging platform (OpiaTalk) allows retailers & sellers to negotiate price points, update shipping, and leverages the real-time engagement of social media fans to facilitate group buying.
OpiaTalk Promo Deck:
The Auctionopia marketplace itself charges 5% of sales. Our competitors charge between 7-15%. With our competitive pricing along with an unparalleled social platform, our model serves as an appealing distribution outlet for a variety of buyers & sellers.