# Josh Wand

> Josh Wand is the founder and executive chair of ForceBrands and a general partner at The Family Fund & Founder Community. A UNLV hotel administration graduate with an early career in beverage sales and Montecristo Rum, he founded ForceBrands in 2007, launched PINATA in 2016 and developed CreatorForce in 2023 to connect creator and celebrity brands with executives and partners. Rob Ganjon succeeded him as ForceBrands CEO in June 2025.

- **Role:** General Partner at The Family Fund & Founder Community; Founder & Executive Chair at ForceBrands
- **Organizations:** ForceBrands, CreatorForce, PINATA, The Family Fund & Founder Community, Montecristo Rum, Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada
- **Education:** BS, Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- **Known for:** Built ForceBrands from a beverage recruiting business into a consumer-sector talent company., UNLV reported more than 55 ForceBrands employees across eight US locations in January 2018., Launched PINATA in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **During college** — Met Tim Haughinberry while working in a Las Vegas cigar shop; Haughinberry hired him to help build a cigar division at Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada.
- **2000** — Graduated from UNLV with a BS in Hotel Administration.
- **2004** — UNLV profiled him as national sales director for Montecristo Rum, a division of Sidebar Spirits.
- **2007** — Founded BevForce, which grew into ForceBrands.
- **2014** — Expanded recruiting into food with FoodForce.
- **2016** — Launched PINATA to address field marketing and activation coordination.
- **2021** — Co-founded The Family Fund & Founder Community, according to his ForceBrands biography.
- **2023-03** — The Family Fund publicly debuted with a $25 million fund and general partners Wand, Sean Kelly and Kurt Seidensticker.
- **2023-04** — Developed and launched CreatorForce through ForceBrands, with Daniella McBride leading creator partnerships.
- **2025-01** — Published the introductory Make Magic newsletter post.
- **2025-06** — Appointed Rob Ganjon ForceBrands CEO and remained on the board; the current team page lists him as founder and executive chair.
- **2026-01** — Appeared with Sean Kelly on the Startup CPG Podcast to discuss investor evaluation and fundraising.
- **2025** — Cr8tify describes CreatorForce as merging into its agency; Daniella McBride founded Cr8tify.

## Achievements

- Built ForceBrands from a beverage recruiting business into a consumer-sector talent company.
- UNLV reported more than 55 ForceBrands employees across eight US locations in January 2018.
- Launched PINATA in 2016.
- Developed CreatorForce after ForceBrands had worked with roughly 70 creator or celebrity brands.
- Helped establish The Family Fund, which publicly launched a $25 million fund in March 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — The Startup CPG Podcast published an interview with Wand and Sean Kelly on January 3 about researching investors, fundraising terms and alignment.
- **2025-07** — Make Magic published a conversation with Springdale Ventures co-founder Genevieve Gilbreath on July 1.
- **2025-06** — Rob Ganjon succeeded Wand as ForceBrands CEO; Wand remained on the board.

## Links

- Website: https://www.familyfund.vc/team/josh-wand/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshwandforcebrands
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/JoshMagicWand

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/josh-wand
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26