Chris Herndon

Entrepreneur

Apartment List, Philanthropedia, 40 Acres Group

I want to change the world.

Square, AirBNB, Highlight, Karma, Uber, Thumbtack, Optimizely

Chris Herndon is the president and co-founder of the San Francisco-based start up Vertical Brands which fully owns and operates ApartmentList.com. A finance geek turned entrepreneur turned product guy, Herndon has spent the last three years building and leading Apartment List to profitability, a 2012 Webby award in real estate and the status as fastest-growing apartment search engine serving 500,000 renters each month. Today he is deeply ingrained in all aspects of the business including product vision, business development and sales. Along with his co-founder John Kobs, Herndon moved to Silicon Valley to solve big pain points for consumers, beginning with apartment search. Herndon spent 5 years prior to Apartment List as an investor with GTCR Golder Rauner and Goldman Sachs. Chris has also co-founded the 40 Acres Group, an Austin-based real estate investment firm and Philanthropedia, a site that helps donors make smarter giving decisions (acquired by GuideStar in 2011). He serves on the Bay Area Leadership Council of Year Up, an organization that provides professional training and job placement to urban youth. Chris has an MBA from Stanford University and B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Hook 'em Horns!