# Justin Kosmides

> Justin Kosmides is the Detroit-based co-founder and CEO of Bloom, a network and software platform that connects hardware brands with manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, engineering, and after-sales partners. His route into industrial operations began far from a factory floor: after consulting and nearly a decade in investment banking, a bicycle commute and a chance meeting led him to Vela Bikes. When Vela's overseas production failed, he helped move assembly to Detroit. Bloom grew from the conviction that the operational fixes one small e-bike company had painfully assembled could become shared infrastructure for many hardware businesses.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Bloom
- **Organizations:** Bloom, Vela Bikes, Barclays Investment Bank, Accenture, ODF, iMentor, University of Vermont
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate studies; degree not publicly specified, University of Vermont
- **Known for:** Helped bring Brazilian e-bike brand Vela Bikes into the United States and move its assembly from China to Detroit., Co-founded Bloom, a Detroit-based network for hardware manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, engineering, and after-sales service., Built Vela during a period when its year-to-date sales rose 6.8 times, as reported by Bicycle Retailer in 2022.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2012** — Worked in consulting before moving into investment banking.
- **2012-2021** — Worked at Barclays Investment Bank, ultimately as a vice president, with a focus that included commercial real estate, property technology, and construction technology financing.
- **2016-2017** — Met Vela Bikes founder Victor Hugo Cruz and began the path from investor and adviser to operator of the Brazilian-born e-bike brand.
- **2020** — Became co-founder and CEO of Vela Bikes in the United States.
- **2021** — Left investment banking to work on Vela full time.
- **2022** — Announced Vela's move from overseas production to assembly in Detroit with Detroit Bikes.
- **2023** — Co-founded Bloom with Chris Nolte to provide shared manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, and service infrastructure for hardware brands.
- **2024** — Bloom publicly launched its Detroit-centered operations network and announced a contract-manufacturing partnership with Edison Manufacturing.
- **2025** — Bloom evolved toward a broader marketplace model for matching hardware companies with vetted service providers, with financing, billing, and logistics automation.
- **2026** — Bloom rebranded its web presence to bloomnetwork.ai and described itself as an AI-native operations marketplace.

## Achievements

- Helped bring Brazilian e-bike brand Vela Bikes into the United States and move its assembly from China to Detroit.
- Co-founded Bloom, a Detroit-based network for hardware manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, engineering, and after-sales service.
- Built Vela during a period when its year-to-date sales rose 6.8 times, as reported by Bicycle Retailer in 2022.
- Serves on the board of the Southeast Michigan Grants Coalition associated with the Global Epicenter of Mobility initiative.
- Served as an iMentor student mentor from November 2019 to August 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Bloom announced that BRP's engineering-services business joined its provider network for electrification programs.
- **2026-02** — Kosmides announced Bloom's move from togetherwebloom.us to bloomnetwork.ai as the company presented its next phase.
- **2025-12** — Bloom marked two years in business and described its evolution into an AI-native operations marketplace.
- **2025-08** — Kosmides and co-founder Chris Nolte appeared in a Financial Times video about the revival of American manufacturing.
- **2025-07** — Kosmides discussed scaling hardware and reindustrializing Michigan on the Michigan VCtalk podcast.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bloomnetwork.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinkosmides
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kosmides/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/justin-kosmides
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26