Tom Austin

As a kid, Tom Austin dreamed of a job where he could wear shorts and play for a living. He didn’t make the NBA, but is currently an aspiring screenwriter and the happy, T-shirt wearing founder, co-founder of Talytica, and Managing Partner at Sumo Ant (www.sumoant.com; password ‘footprints’). By referral only, Sumo Ant helps a handful of (mostly) consumer products companies with branding, product design, sourcing, licensing, sales and visual storytelling. Tom was previously cofounder of the global ‘niche’ basketball-only brand, AND 1. In his ten years at AND 1, he was instrumental in building the brand, talking trash around the office, setting up sourcing and supplier relationships, managing the design of a host of products and crafting a number of successful market penetration strategies. For instance – in his final five years at AND 1, he led the global footwear business launch from inception to over $220 million in annual sales. Tom has a finance degree from the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude), an MA in developmental psychology (also from UPENN) and an MFA from the University of Southern California (directing and writing).