# Peter Stern

> Peter Stern is a New York entrepreneur, engineer, investor and advisor whose career spans Datek Online, Zenbe, Bitly and Voyant Photonics. He co-founded Datek Online and Zenbe, served as Bitly’s CEO from 2011 to 2013, and later led Voyant’s work commercializing silicon-photonics sensing technology. He is now associated with Manhattan Distance and writes about customer discovery, engineering and startup decisions.

- **Role:** Managing Director at Manhattan Distance
- **Organizations:** Manhattan Distance, Datek Online, Zenbe, Bitly, Voyant Photonics, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, LDV Capital, Carnegie Mellon University Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund, Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
- **Education:** BS, Electrical Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Datek Online, which became the fourth-largest US online stock brokerage by 1997., Co-founded Zenbe, acquired by Facebook in 2010., Led Bitly during its 2012 $15 million financing; his 2013 speaker biography reports a tripled team and almost tenfold revenue growth.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.
- **1990** — Recounts testing a helicopter-mounted LiDAR system at Yuma, Arizona, shortly before Christmas.
- **1996** — Co-founded Datek Online.
- **2002** — Datek Online merged with Ameritrade.
- **2006** — Co-founded Zenbe, developing web and mobile collaboration products.
- **2010** — Zenbe was acquired by Facebook.
- **2011** — Became Bitly CEO in May, succeeding John Borthwick; helped launch CMU’s Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund.
- **2012** — Bitly raised $15 million in a Khosla Ventures-led financing round.
- **2013** — Resigned as Bitly CEO in March.
- **2018** — Began advising Voyant Photonics, according to LDV Capital’s account.
- **2020** — Joined Voyant full-time as president in April, later becoming CEO.
- **2022** — Voyant announced a $15.4 million Series A round and developer kits.
- **2023** — Received the Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award for work at Voyant.
- **2025** — Listed as Managing Director of Manhattan Distance for an Entrepreneurs Roundtable Tokyo event.
- **2026** — Published startup advice and reflections on Datek’s thirtieth anniversary.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Datek Online, which became the fourth-largest US online stock brokerage by 1997.
- Co-founded Zenbe, acquired by Facebook in 2010.
- Led Bitly during its 2012 $15 million financing; his 2013 speaker biography reports a tripled team and almost tenfold revenue growth.
- Helped launch and run Carnegie Mellon’s Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund.
- Received the 2023 Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award for his work commercializing photonics technology at Voyant.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Published Acknowledgements, 30 Years Later on LinkedIn, revisiting Datek’s first customer order and the unfinished Broken Trades manuscript.
- **2026-01** — Published Just Go For It! on Manhattan Distance, questioning blanket encouragement to start companies.
- **2026-01** — LinkedIn lists his article The End of Programming (As I Knew It), dated January 12.
- **2025-11** — Named as a featured investor speaker for Entrepreneurs Roundtable Tokyo 6, with the title Managing Director, Manhattan Distance.

## Links

- Website: https://www.manhattandistance.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iampeter/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/peter-stern
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20