Todd has mad skills in the retail, consumer products, travel, and technology industries as operator, analyst, advisor, and entrepreneur. Todd is currently Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Washlava, an IoT technology services startup bringing shared laundries into the digital economy. He was previously co-founder of mobile-enabled car rental startup, Silvercar, which was acquired by Audi in 2017. Todd is named as inventor on 6 patents for the technologies enabling these upgraded consumer experiences. 

Silvercar, now Silvercar by Audi, was established in Austin in 2012. Silvercar by Audi operates a business model based on offering one type of vehicle and enabling customers to book and complete rentals, even unlocking the cars, with a smartphone. During Todd’s tenure, the company raised more than $30 million dollars from some of the world’s most influential investors including Austin Ventures LP, Michael Arrington’s CrunchFund, Ron Conway’s SV Angel Fund, and Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Velos Partners. The company exited in 2017 in a cash acquisition by Audi AG. 

Prior to the startups, Todd worked with more than 50 corporate clients in various advisory and consulting capacities with Kurt Salmon (Accenture), Interbrand, and Alvarez & Marsal. Todd holds a graduate degree in Finance from NYU (Class of 1997), and an undergraduate degree in History from Vanderbilt University (Class of 1990). He was a member of the Tennessee Nu Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, whose members Todd is proud to still call his closest friends to this day. 

After four unforgettable college years in Nashville, Todd began a business career with luxury goods retailer Tiffany & Co., where he also worked during summers to help pay for school. His various summer seasonal gigs there included elevator operator, sales in the china and crystal department (yes, I know, seems odd ) where he broke every seasonal sales record under the mentorship of Ms. Claudette Sein. Madame Sein was born in Paris and enjoyed a more than sixty-year career on the third floor of Tiffany’s New York store. Todd was asked to come back to work by Tiffany all four summers leading up to and during college, along with one slightly longer stretch into Fall for let’s just say, not meeting the “scholarship” expectations. We’ll leave that there . Three of those fun summers working alongside other young seasonal employees were spent on sitting across from Ms. Sein, a true legend in salesmanship. Todd is proud of the fact that he is the only summer temp that Ms. Stein ever allowed to sit across the table from her. He found out later, that in classic Parisian fashion she would never admit, Ms. Stein had repeatedly requested Todd be assigned back to her position each year. 

It was during his final summer at Tiffany’s, when Todd met Tiffany’s then Senior Vice President of Operations. The by chance meeting on an employee elevator, ultimately led to him being offered a management position after graduation and rejoining the company on a permanent basis. During his first tenure there, Todd became the youngest Operations Manager in company history, and opened stores in Beverly Hills, San Diego, and Hawaii. After the Hawaii launch Todd resigned and left the company to pursue his graduate degree but got a call from the COO, the same gentleman he met in the elevator four years prior. Todd was asked if he would return if they would pay for business school at NYU, alma mater of Tiffany’s then CEO. He gladly accepted the became Director of the Second Floor, or the “Silver Floor” as it was called at the time, in the flagship store at 727 Fifth Avenue, where it has stood for well over a century. He was 26 at the time and earned his MBA during off work hours. 

His mother, Linda Gibbs, now deceased, was Head of School at four private schools, including Hewitt in New York where she finished her career. She began her career as an English teacher at Berkeley Prep in Tampa at the age of 22. His sister, Shannon Reid, is currently a Senior Vice President at Raymond James in Tampa Bay. She is a graduate of Duke and Columbia, spouse to Colin Reid, and mother to Todd’s twin niece and nephew, Cayleigh, and Conor, both now sophomores at Berkeley Prep. Todd also attended Berkeley, part of the Class of 1986. 

Lifestyle-wise, Todd splits his time between Atlanta and Tampa, always accompanied by his beloved companion Zooey, an 8-year-old female golden retriever. He is an avid sports fan and handicapper, with a somewhat fanatical emphasis on professional football in the form of the Atlanta Falcons, but he loves the Saturday game as well. The Commodores are just a little harder to watch sometimes, as they were winless last season and have been to just five bowl games in 110 years of football. Before hanging up his whistle in 2017, Todd was also a top soccer referee for 15 years at the amateur level with experience in both college and club matches. 

Professionally, Todd is known as somewhat of a contrarian- both fearless and unapologetic as an innovator. He never planned on founding a startup, much less two, as he was perfectly happy in the corporate world. Those experiences let him see the world, work with great people, and dozens of great companies. He credits the transition to the unbridled power of fundamentally strong ideas and “subconscious inspiration”- his word for the thing that happens when an idea gets in your head and sets up permanent residence. His belief is that this is really the definition of a “dream” in the working world and sits in opposition to fantasy. 

His favorite movie of all time is Moneyball, and he still gets misty when Scott Hatteberg hits the walk off. So much so he makes everyone that works with him watch it if they have not already. 

His favorite piece of advice to startup founders? Do your research. Research builds belief. Belief builds confidence. Confidence turns ideas into action, and dreams into reality. You must believe in your idea more than you even believe in yourself, as ideas, do not suffer from stress, fatigue, self-doubt, or daily insecurities. We do.