# Craig Swanson

> Craig Swanson is a Seattle-born serial entrepreneur who co-founded CreativeLive with photographer Chase Jarvis in 2010, helping build the platform into a $60M-backed live-streaming education company that served 10 million creators before being acquired by Fiverr. Now based in San Francisco and working as CEO of a stealth-mode startup, Swanson has spent his career operating quietly behind high-profile brands - turning influencers and educators into multimillion-dollar businesses while accumulating $92.5 million in digital goods sold across all ventures.

- **Role:** CEO at NodeShift (Stealth Startup)
- **Organizations:** NodeShift, Seattle EO Accelerator, EO Seattle, CreativeLive (alumni), Emerald (consultant), KaisaFit
- **From:** Eastern Washington, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Did not complete (one quarter of college), Unknown High School (Eastern Washington/Seattle area)
- **Known for:** Co-founded CreativeLive, which raised nearly $60 million in VC funding from Greylock, Social Capital, and Richard Branson's Virgin Group, CreativeLive served 10 million creators before acquisition, Accumulated $92.5 million in digital goods sales across all ventures

## Career timeline

- **~1976** — Started first paper route at age 10 in Eastern Washington
- **~1978** — Expanded to newspaper delivery in Seattle at age 12
- **~1979** — Added ice cream cart to bicycle, obtained wholesale license at age 13
- **~1986** — Worked on high school newspaper during early laser printer era
- **~1988** — Founded Swanson Tech Support at age 18, dropped out of college after one quarter to pursue IT consulting for creative professionals
- **2008** — Co-started CreativeLive as a side project during the economic downturn with photographer Chase Jarvis
- **2010** — CreativeLive launched full-time; sold Swanson Tech Support (renamed CreativeTechs) to employees; reached $1.2M in first-year revenue
- **2012** — CreativeLive raised $7.5M Series A led by Greylock Partners
- **2013** — CreativeLive raised $25.5M Series B led by Social Capital
- **2015** — Departed CreativeLive following creative differences; CreativeLive continued to grow
- **2016** — Became partner at Sue Bryce Education, building the Portrait Masters platform
- **2017** — CreativeLive raised additional $25.3M in funding
- **2019** — Became partner at KaisaFit with fitness influencer Kaisa Keranen (800K Instagram followers)
- **2021** — Sue Bryce Education acquired by trade show company Emerald; CreativeLive acquired by Fiverr in October
- **2022** — Relocated focus to San Francisco; began building AI projects through personal startup studio
- **2023** — Serving as Chair of Seattle EO Accelerator while developing stealth startup
- **2024** — Listed as CEO of NodeShift (stealth-mode), based in San Francisco

## Achievements

- Co-founded CreativeLive, which raised nearly $60 million in VC funding from Greylock, Social Capital, and Richard Branson's Virgin Group
- CreativeLive served 10 million creators before acquisition
- Accumulated $92.5 million in digital goods sales across all ventures
- Helped grow Sue Bryce Education to $6 million in annual revenue at peak
- Helped KaisaFit sell $1 million of a single $19 mobility program in one year
- Built Swanson Tech Support for 25 years from age 18, sold to employees
- Chair of Seattle EO Accelerator, supporting early-stage entrepreneurs
- Pioneer of live-streaming educational content, years ahead of mainstream adoption

## Latest updates

- **2024-02** — Listed as CEO of NodeShift, a stealth-mode startup in San Francisco focused on information technology and financial services
- **2023-12** — Featured on The Proven Entrepreneur Show discussing his business partnership model and career journey
- **2023-06** — Active as Chair of Seattle EO Accelerator, leading entrepreneurial education program
- **2022-01** — Operating personal startup studio launching AI projects weekly, inspired by EO Accelerator work

## Links

- Website: https://craigswanson.org/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigallanswanson

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/craig-swanson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17