# Melissa Wong

> Melissa Wong is the CEO and co-founder of Zipline, the operations platform that fixes the broken communication chain between retail headquarters and store floors. Before building the product, she lived the problem — spending over a decade at Gap and Old Navy trying to get stores to actually execute corporate strategy. She started Zipline in 2014, raised $39.6 million, grew the customer base to 150+ brands including Sephora, American Eagle, and 7-Eleven, and co-authored 'Stores Don't Suck: The 5 Principles of Amazing Retail Execution.' In 2026 she was named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 and won RetailTech Company CEO of the Year.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at Zipline
- **Organizations:** Zipline, Forbes Technology Council
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree, Bates College
- **Known for:** Named to Inc. 2026 Female Founders 500, RetailTech Company CEO of the Year — RetailTech Breakthrough Awards 2026, Named Business Insider's Brick and Mortar Power Player (2022)

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Account Coordinator then Account Executive at Horn Group, a PR agency in San Francisco
- **~2005-2012** — Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at Gap Inc. / Old Navy — oversaw store communications working under four brand presidents
- **2014** — Co-founded Zipline with Jeremy Baker to solve the retail store execution problem she lived firsthand
- **2018-2019** — Member, Forbes Technology Council
- **2021** — Raised $30M Series B led by Fifth Wall, bringing total funding to $39.6M; company doubled its customer base during pandemic
- **2023** — Published 'Stores Don't Suck: The 5 Principles of Amazing Retail Execution' with co-founder Jeremy Baker
- **2023** — Named 2023 Top Retail Influencer
- **2022** — Named Business Insider Brick and Mortar Power Player
- **2021** — Named one of Retail's Top Movers and Shakers by RIS News
- **2026** — Named to Inc. Female Founders 500 and RetailTech Company CEO of the Year (RetailTech Breakthrough Awards)

## Achievements

- Named to Inc. 2026 Female Founders 500
- RetailTech Company CEO of the Year — RetailTech Breakthrough Awards 2026
- Named Business Insider's Brick and Mortar Power Player (2022)
- Named 'Bridge Builder' at NRF Vendors in Partnership Awards
- Named 2023 Top Retail Influencer
- Named one of Retail's Top Movers and Shakers — RIS News 2021
- Grew Zipline to 150+ retail brand customers including Sephora, Gap, AEO, 7-Eleven, O'Reilly Auto Parts
- Raised $39.6M in venture funding including $30M Series B
- Achieved NPS of 89 — described as 'nearly unheard of in SaaS'
- Co-authored 'Stores Don't Suck: The 5 Principles of Amazing Retail Execution'
- Fast Company honorable mention for World-Changing Ideas
- Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies
- CB Insights: one of 100 most promising B2B retail tech companies in the world

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500, celebrating most inspiring and innovative women in business across America
- **2026-01** — Named RetailTech Company CEO of the Year at RetailTech Breakthrough Awards 2026
- **2024-09** — Announced new technology partnership or product expansion (LinkedIn post referenced)
- **2023-06** — Published 'Stores Don't Suck: The 5 Principles of Amazing Retail Execution' with Jeremy Baker

## Links

- Website: https://getzipline.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaawong
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/retailzipline
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retailzipline

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/melissa-wong
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25