# Josh McFarland

> Josh McFarland is the Executive Chairman of Boom Supersonic, the Colorado-based company racing to bring commercial supersonic flight back to the skies. The son of a Wyoming coal miner who grew up building rockets and flying Piper Cubs with his dad, McFarland parlayed a Stanford economics degree into a career arc that touched Google's earliest advertising infrastructure, the $500M-plus sale of his AI marketing startup TellApart to Twitter, a VP role running Twitter's revenue products, and a partnership seat at Greylock Partners - before landing back in the world he loved as a boy: aviation. As Executive Chairman, he leads fundraising and go-to-market strategy for Boom, whose XB-1 demonstrator broke the sound barrier in 2025 and whose Overture airliner promises Mach 1.7 travel on sustainable aviation fuel.

- **Role:** Executive Chairman at Boom Supersonic
- **Organizations:** Boom Supersonic, Greylock Partners, TellApart (acquired by Twitter), Twitter, Google, Family Giving Tree, MyTwoFrontTeeth.org
- **From:** Gillette, Wyoming, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Economics with Distinction; Mayfield Fellow, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded TellApart, growing it from $7M to $170M+ in annual revenue, Sold TellApart to Twitter for $500M+, Twitter's largest-ever acquisition at the time, Led Twitter's revenue product suite as VP of Product covering advertising, data services, and customer support

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Arrived in Silicon Valley during the dotcom bubble; began interning at startups while at Stanford
- **2001** — Graduated Stanford University with BA in Economics with Distinction; launched a rocket off his mortarboard at graduation
- **2003** — Joined Google as Senior Business Product Manager; co-founded the AdWords API team with Mark Ayzenshtat (team won Google's Founder's Award)
- **2008** — Left Google after five years; 23 interviews over 18 months prior to Google joining
- **2009** — Co-founded TellApart as Entrepreneur in Residence at Greylock; pioneering AI-driven marketing technology for e-commerce retargeting
- **2013** — TellApart raised $13M Series B from Greylock, Bain Capital, and Harrison Metal; clients include Neiman Marcus, Warby Parker, Sur La Table
- **2015** — TellApart acquired by Twitter for $500M+, Twitter's largest acquisition; McFarland becomes Twitter VP of Product overseeing all revenue platforms
- **2016** — Left Twitter; joined Greylock Partners as full Partner; became early investor and strategic partner at Boom Supersonic
- **2017** — Officially named Partner at Greylock Partners in June
- **2024** — XB-1 supersonic demonstrator completed first flight in March 2024
- **2025** — XB-1 broke the sound barrier; McFarland stepped up as Executive Chairman of Boom Supersonic, leading fundraising and go-to-market strategy

## Achievements

- Co-founded TellApart, growing it from $7M to $170M+ in annual revenue
- Sold TellApart to Twitter for $500M+, Twitter's largest-ever acquisition at the time
- Led Twitter's revenue product suite as VP of Product covering advertising, data services, and customer support
- Co-founded the AdWords API team at Google, which won Google's Founder's Award
- Led investments at Greylock in companies including Coinbase, Atomic Finance, Frec, Splitwise, Wisetack, and PayJoy
- Became Executive Chairman of Boom Supersonic, supporting XB-1 breaking the sound barrier in 2025
- Founded the digital arm of Family Giving Tree nonprofit
- Completed 23 interviews over 18 months before joining Google - legendary persistence
- Claims to be the only Stanford graduate to successfully launch a rocket off his mortarboard at graduation
- Finalist presentation at 2025 Robert J. Collier Trophy for Boom's XB-1 supersonic demonstrator

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Boom Supersonic raised $300M in latest funding round, valuing the company in the billions
- **2025-05** — Presented Boom's XB-1 as 2025 Robert J. Collier Trophy finalist to the National Aeronautic Association alongside Blake Scholl
- **2025-03** — XB-1 demonstrator broke the sound barrier, validating Boom's core supersonic technology
- **2025-01** — Executive Order lifted 52-year ban on civil supersonic flight over the US, a major regulatory win for Boom
- **2024-03** — XB-1 completed its first flight, a major milestone for Boom Supersonic

## Links

- Website: https://boomsupersonic.com/team-members/josh-mcfarland
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshmcfarland

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/josh-mcfarland
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-09