# Michael Jaconi

> Michael Jaconi is the New York-based co-founder and CEO of Button. A former Rakuten Loyalty CEO and Rakuten executive officer, he helped lead Rakuten’s 2012 Pinterest investment before building a company focused on connecting mobile shopping experiences. He also serves as vice chair of the Billion Oyster Project.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Button
- **Organizations:** Button, Rakuten, Rakuten Loyalty (formerly FreeCause), Billion Oyster Project
- **Education:** Political science studies; degree type not verified, University of Southern California, Owner/President Management (OPM), executive education program, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Helped lead Rakuten’s $100 million Pinterest investment in 2012., Co-founded and leads Button, which reported $25 billion in cumulative gross merchandise sales in December 2025., Led Button through its June 2025 strategic growth investment from PSG.

## Career timeline

- **Before Button** — Worked in public affairs and as a presidential campaign aide to John McCain.
- **Before Button** — Helped build FreeCause and continued with the business after its acquisition by Rakuten; became CEO of Rakuten Loyalty and a Rakuten executive officer.
- **2012** — Helped lead Rakuten’s $100 million investment in Pinterest.
- **2014** — Co-founded Button with Tanner Hackett, Siddhartha Dabral, Stephen Milbank, Chris Maddern and Mike Dudas.
- **2017** — Button announced a $20 million Series B.
- **2020** — Joined the Billion Oyster Project board; now listed as vice chair.
- **2025** — Button announced a Linktree integration, PSG growth investment, CuratedBy launch and $25 billion in all-time gross merchandise sales.

## Achievements

- Helped lead Rakuten’s $100 million Pinterest investment in 2012.
- Co-founded and leads Button, which reported $25 billion in cumulative gross merchandise sales in December 2025.
- Led Button through its June 2025 strategic growth investment from PSG.
- Button received Built In workplace recognition for an eighth consecutive year in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Button published the results of a commissioned Forrester Consulting study modeling 432% three-year ROI for a composite organization; results depend on the study assumptions.
- **2026-01** — Button announced Built In workplace recognition for its eighth consecutive year.
- **2025-12** — Button reported more than $25 billion in cumulative gross merchandise sales, including $10 billion in 2025.
- **2025-10** — Button launched CuratedBy for publisher commerce content.
- **2025-06** — Button announced a strategic growth investment from PSG.

## Links

- Website: https://www.usebutton.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljaconi
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/michaeljaconi

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-jaconi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11