Jeff Pieta
Profile
CEO
Bio
Jeff was born and raised in the Chicago southwest suburbs. His first entrepreneurial endeavor was selling greeting cards and stationary door-to-door at age 12. During teenage years, an interest in technology led to informal sales of computer hardware and consulting. At age 17, recommended by his high-school technology teacher, Jeff was selected to lead tech support for a local school district. His second customer was a local accounting firm, the owner of which became a key mentor, providing advice that led Jeff to bootstrap his first company, AIS, Inc. The first of his family to enter college, Jeff was accepted into University of Illinois' College of Engineering, where he met future business partner Sean Casey. Jeff dropped out after the first semester to focus time and financial resources on growing AIS without outside capital for the next 9 years, building an experienced executive team to continue strong growth as Jeff transitioned out of an operational role. In 2011, Jeff saw how the iPhone and Android allowed for innovative private transportation solutions. Therefore, he co-founded Shiftgig to leverage the iPhone and Android to create solutions for better choice, convenience, and flexibility for Light Industrial Staffing. Jeff was then inducted into the University of Illinois' Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2013. By 2017, Shiftgig had raised nearly $60 Million outside capital, an experienced executive team, over 200 internal employees and tens of thousands of people using the Shiftgig mobile app to work when, where, and how they wanted. As Shiftgig scaled far beyond original expectations, Jeff noticed a new wave of innovation. Later in 2017, Jeff transitioned out of an operational role at Shiftgig to focus on building IT Security and Infrastructure Solutions that provide Enterprise features and functionality to the SMB Market. Always enjoying a challenge, Jeff completed the Chicago Marathon without training and races cars in his spare time.