# Jon Ferrara

> Jon Ferrara is the founder and CEO of Nimble and co-founder of GoldMine, an early team contact-management and CRM software business. His career connects software engineering, sales, reseller distribution, and a conviction that shared relationship history should help everyone in a business serve customers. Away from work, he maintains a public archive of decades of concerts.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Nimble CRM
- **Organizations:** Nimble, GoldMine Software, Banyan Systems
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Computer science degree, California State University, Northridge
- **Known for:** Co-founded GoldMine, an early pioneer in team contact management, sales force automation, and CRM., Bootstrapped GoldMine without venture capital or bank loans, according to his public interviews., Received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition in 1997.

## Career timeline

- **1980s** — Worked in enterprise sales at Banyan, using paper leads, a Day-Timer, and spreadsheet forecasts.
- **1989** — Co-founded GoldMine with Elan Susser using approximately $5,000.
- **1997** — Received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition; GoldMine ranked 154th on the Inc. 500.
- **1999-2000** — Exited GoldMine through its acquisition; public accounts differ on the transaction year.
- **2000s** — Spent approximately a decade focused on raising three children.
- **2009** — Founded Nimble to connect contact management with email, calendar, and social interactions.
- **2026** — Announced Nimble Web Chat and shared his public concert archive.

## Achievements

- Co-founded GoldMine, an early pioneer in team contact management, sales force automation, and CRM.
- Bootstrapped GoldMine without venture capital or bank loans, according to his public interviews.
- Received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition in 1997.
- GoldMine ranked 154th on the 1997 Inc. 500.
- GoldMine earned PC Magazine Editors’ Choice awards in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997.
- Founded Nimble in 2009.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Published the Nimble Web Chat launch announcement on May 6; chats automatically create CRM contacts and log conversation history.
- **2025-09** — Appeared on Management Blueprint to discuss relationship building, the Five Fs, and workflow automation.
- **2025-04** — Discussed CRM, entrepreneurship, and the role of AI in a G2 video interview.

## Links

- Website: https://jonferrara.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonvferrara
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Jon_Ferrara
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonferrara/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jon-ferrara
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-08