Joey Flores
Joey Flores is a lifelong creator with over 20 years of experience starting, building and growing companies.
In 1998, he moved to Los Angeles, landed his first technology job, and began performing politically charged spoken word. In 2002 he joined Affiliate Fuel and played a central role in the company’s success and acquisition by Experian, after which he took over management of the company. During that time, he co-founded a 10-piece jazz and hip hop ensemble as its frontman, recorded a full length album and was a supporting act for two-time Grammy winners Arrested Development. Acting as manager of the band, Joey grew frustrated with the promotional tools available to musical artists. He began to question whether models from other areas of the tech industry could be applied to music.
In 2010, Flores co-founded Earbits, a streaming music service designed to prioritize the needs of musical artists. Inspired by Google AdWords, Earbits allowed artists to bid on a per-play basis to be played more frequently in radio-style channels. As CEO, he helped the company gain entrance into Y Combinator, the world's leading accelerator program, which provides capital, mentoring, networking, and operational support to entrepreneurs. After the program, Joey raised $1.7M from top investors, grew the company to serve over 15,000 artists and 600 record labels, and led it to acquisition in 2015.
In 2018, Joey took up painting, illustrating and photography while continuing a career building startups. In 2019, he was invited to design and lead a startup accelerator for the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, investing in and mentoring nine teams of startup founders. When back in the states, he volunteered to architect and co-lead a similar program for The Hidden Genius Project, a California-based non-profit mentoring young black men in technology and entrepreneurship, where he still volunteers annually.
Participating in the world's best accelerator changed Joey’s life, as did his experience building programs to support and mentor others, but Flores's true passion has always been for the arts. In late 2020, he began exploring the idea of building an accelerator for fine art, interviewing dozens of artists, collectors, and other art world leaders in search of an investment model that would be inarguably pro-artist, while also providing great potential returns. He is now collaborating with leaders throughout the art world to leverage this accelerator model to address the complex needs of today’s most promising fine artists.