Jerry Jao

CEO, Retention Science

Jerry started his path to entrepreneurship at the age 8, making $3 a day by recycling his classmates’ plastic cans after school. Years later, he moved on to e-Commerce and started selling comic books and video games online. He’s been an online entrepreneur ever since and is now the CEO and founder of Retention Science. Prior to founding Retention Science, Jerry founded two other e-Commerce marketing technologies. He was an analyst with Morgan Stanley, and an engagement manager with BearingPoint Management Consulting (KPMG Advisory), where he advised FORTUNE 50 companies. He was most recently an advisor to the CFO of Clear Channel, working on digital sales initiatives and iHeartRadio. Jerry currently serves on the Board of Directors of Penango, an enterprise email & cloud security company. Jerry is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration and a full-tuition scholarship as an Alumni Scholar, and Yale School of Management.

Articles by Jerry Jao

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions

Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...

How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov

Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...

Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris

Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...