# Michael Martocci

> Michael C. Martocci is the founder of SwagUp and the founder of Backroad, an enthusiast-car market intelligence and community venture. He launched SwagUp in 2017, built its branded merchandise and fulfilment operation, and remained with the business after BDA announced its acquisition in December 2024. His SwagUp chapter ended in June 2026. In his departure update, he reported close to $300 million in cumulative sales and more than 10,000 companies served over nine years. He is based in Austin, Texas.

- **Role:** Founder at Backroad
- **Organizations:** Backroad, SwagUp (founder; departed June 2026), Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (acquirer of SwagUp), Hampton (founding member), Brand New Matter (former analyst), Clique - Find Yours (co-founder), Weatherford Fit (former co-founder)
- **Education:** William & Mary
- **Known for:** Founded and built SwagUp, acquired by BDA in December 2024., Reported close to $300 million in cumulative SwagUp sales and more than 10,000 companies served across his nine-year tenure; these are his own retrospective figures., Forbes 30 Under 30, class of 2021, Retail & Ecommerce.

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Entered William & Mary; initially considered finance and wealth management.
- **2014–2016** — Co-founded the campus activity app Clique; its promotional needs led to sourcing custom flags and fraternity merchandise.
- **2015–2016** — Left William & Mary during his junior year to pursue a business partnership with former NFL punter Steve Weatherford.
- **2017** — Worked briefly at Brand New Matter in New York before launching SwagUp.
- **2017-05** — Founded SwagUp; early operations ran from his mother’s house in New Jersey.
- **2017** — Focused SwagUp’s positioning on complete swag packs after early customer requests.
- **2020–2021** — Expanded SwagUp’s fulfilment operations and built a Miami team.
- **2021** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Retail & Ecommerce and received an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year New Jersey award; SwagUp ranked No. 23 on the Inc. 5000.
- **2022** — Became a founding member of Hampton, according to his public professional biographies.
- **2023-03** — SwagUp received non-equity, revenue-based financing from Decathlon Capital Partners.
- **2024-12** — BDA announced its acquisition of SwagUp on December 4; Martocci was identified as Chief Swag Officer.
- **2026-06** — Ended his nine-year SwagUp chapter, as announced in his later departure update.
- **2026** — Started Backroad, a venture for enthusiast-car market intelligence and connections, while based in Austin.

## Achievements

- Founded and built SwagUp, acquired by BDA in December 2024.
- Reported close to $300 million in cumulative SwagUp sales and more than 10,000 companies served across his nine-year tenure; these are his own retrospective figures.
- Forbes 30 Under 30, class of 2021, Retail & Ecommerce.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 New Jersey award recipient.
- Led SwagUp as it reached No. 23 on the 2021 Inc. 5000.
- SwagUp reported shipping 2,147,157 packs and adding 2,048 new clients in 2021.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — In the departure update identified as September 2026 in the task brief, said his SwagUp journey ended in June 2026, confirmed Austin as his base and announced Backroad.
- **2026-06** — Departed SwagUp after nine years, according to his subsequent first-person update.
- **2026-02** — Discussed SwagUp’s culture, distributed work and the acquisition in a Culture Uncovered interview published February 4.

## Links

- Website: https://www.thebackroad.io/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-c-martocci-29a7188a/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MichaelMartocci
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmartocci/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-martocci
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27