# Dillon Woods

> Dillon Woods is an Idaho-born software engineer and the co-founder of Tackle.io. After a decade working across database and analytics companies, he and longtime friend Brian Denker began experimenting above a Boise bakery with ways to make enterprise software easier to sell through AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud marketplaces. Their search for product-market fit led to Tackle, a remote-first cloud go-to-market platform that raised more than $148 million and supported more than $20 billion in marketplace transactions before joining AppDirect.

- **Role:** Founder and CTO at Tackle.io; marketplace strategy leader following Tackle's acquisition by AppDirect
- **Organizations:** Tackle.io, AppDirect, zData, Alpine Data Labs, Boise State University
- **From:** Idaho, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, minor in Philosophy, Boise State University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Tackle.io and helped define its cloud go-to-market product category., Built a platform used by hundreds of software vendors across AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud marketplaces., Helped scale Tackle through more than $148 million in disclosed venture funding.

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Graduated from Boise State University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a minor in philosophy.
- **2005-2015** — Worked across database and analytics companies in California, including technical leadership at Alpine Data Labs and zData, and experienced multiple acquisitions.
- **2014** — Woods and Brian Denker began noticing large companies buying software more like cloud infrastructure, an observation that became the basis for Tackle.
- **2016** — Co-founded Tackle.io with Brian Denker in Boise to simplify selling enterprise software through cloud marketplaces.
- **2018** — John Jahnke joined the company full time and became CEO, completing Tackle's founding leadership trio.
- **2020** — Tackle announced its Series A; at the time the company served more than 200 software vendors and had more than 60 employees.
- **2021** — Tackle raised a $100 million Series C, bringing disclosed funding to more than $148 million.
- **2024** — Tackle reported facilitating more than $10 billion in cloud marketplace transactions.
- **2025** — AppDirect announced an agreement to acquire Tackle, which by then supported more than $20 billion in cloud marketplace transactions; Woods said he would stay to help lead marketplace strategy.
- **2026** — Woods publicly welcomed AppDirect's acquisition of PartnerStack and the prospect of linking partner demand, co-sell systems, marketplaces, and commerce.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Tackle.io and helped define its cloud go-to-market product category.
- Built a platform used by hundreds of software vendors across AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud marketplaces.
- Helped scale Tackle through more than $148 million in disclosed venture funding.
- Helped Tackle reach more than $20 billion in supported cloud marketplace transactions before its acquisition by AppDirect.
- Developed and published open-source Greenplum operators while working in database analytics.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Woods welcomed PartnerStack into AppDirect and highlighted plans to connect demand generation, partner lead routing, cloud co-sell, marketplace fulfillment, and AI-era discovery.
- **2025-12** — Tackle.io joined AppDirect after supporting more than $20 billion in cloud marketplace transactions; Woods said he would remain to help lead marketplace strategy.
- **2024-05** — Woods presented lessons from more than $9 billion in transactions and previewed Tackle's Cosell Copilot at Cloud GTM XP.

## Links

- Website: https://dewoods.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dewoods
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/tackleio
- GitHub: https://github.com/dewoods

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/dillon-woods
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27