# Ryan Gaertner

> Ryan Alexander Gaertner is a DubClub cofounder and former CEO, now chief operating officer at Memories.ai. A former Stanford football player with a 2017 undergraduate degree and a 2023 Stanford MBA, he built DubClub alongside Lewis Burik and Andrew Daschbach, then handed the CEO role to Burik in September 2025. His public reflections focus on team accountability, creator businesses, and founder alignment.

- **Role:** Chief Operating Officer at Memories.ai
- **Organizations:** Memories.ai, DubClub, Stanford University, Spectrum Equity
- **From:** Greenwich, United States
- **Education:** BS; public policy listed as major in athletics biography, Stanford University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Sacred Heart Prep
- **Known for:** Cofounded and led DubClub through its 2024 Series A., Reported more than $100 million in DubClub GMV at the September 2025 CEO transition; company metric, not personal wealth., Earned a Stanford MBA while building DubClub.

## Career timeline

- **2013-2016** — Stanford football player; senior game appearances in 2016.
- **2017** — Completed Stanford undergraduate degree.
- **Post-college, before DubClub** — Worked in investing, with a focus on consumer product-led SaaS and later AI-enabled products.
- **2021** — Cofounded DubClub with Lewis Burik and Andrew Daschbach.
- **2023** — Completed Stanford MBA while building DubClub.
- **2024-09** — DubClub announced a $7.5 million Series A led by Renegade Partners.
- **2025-09** — Announced departure as CEO, naming Lewis Burik as successor and retaining shareholder and board support involvement.
- **2026-05** — Shawn Shen announced his arrival at Memories.ai as founding go-to-market member.
- **2026-10** — Memories.ai team page lists him as Chief Operating Officer.

## Achievements

- Cofounded and led DubClub through its 2024 Series A.
- Reported more than $100 million in DubClub GMV at the September 2025 CEO transition; company metric, not personal wealth.
- Earned a Stanford MBA while building DubClub.
- Sacred Heart Prep senior football captain; 1,098 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in his senior season.
- Member of a school-record 4x100-meter relay team.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Announced DubClub CEO handoff to Lewis Burik.
- **2025-12** — Published a reflection on manual referral payouts and learning from early operational systems.
- **2026-05** — Welcomed to Memories.ai as founding go-to-market member.
- **2026-10** — Current Memories.ai team page identifies him as COO; observation date rather than appointment date.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ryangaertner.me/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-gaertner/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/Ryan_Gaertner
- GitHub: https://github.com/rag-me

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