David Ciccarelli 
Chief Executive Officer | Voices
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Founder and Tech Company CEO
Biography
David has been running a web business since 2002 and has helped over 125,000 voice actors showcase their talent. Over the past 10 years, David, with the help of his team, has grown Voices from the ground up to become the leader in the industry.
A lot has happened since that dinner table brainstorm on a napkin so many years ago. In the year 2000, David graduated with honours from the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology. David’s background in audio production continues to inform Voices’ innovation in the areas of mobile recording and digital media products that contribute to Canada’s economic and cultural future.
David is wholeheartedly dedicated to growing the company. Clients like NBC, Sony, Microsoft and thousands of others use Voices to find, hire and pay professional voice actors.
As Chief Executive Officer, David is responsible for setting the vision, executing the growth strategy and managing the company on a day-to-day basis. He often writes about these experiences in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine and Forbes.
David has been happily married to his wife, Stephanie, for 10 years. They have a son and three daughters and live in London, Ontario, Canada. In his free time he enjoys listening to audiobooks, running, and biking.
Industry Expertise (10)
Advertising/Marketing
Audio Visual
Business Services
Media - Broadcast
Media Production
VC and Private Equity
Talent Management
Staffing and Recruiting
Recording
Recruiting
Areas of Expertise (17)
Corporate Culture
Start Up
Start Up Business
Start Up Companies
Product
Marketing
Sales
Voice-Over
Digital Advertising
Digital & Mobile Strategy
Digital
Technology
Business
Business & Contemporary Etiquette
Media
Media & Entertainment
Media & Culture
Accomplishments (1)
Canadian Technology Accelerator (professional)
2015-06-01
David participated in the Canadian Technology Accelerator in San Francisco / Silicon Valley in 2013, and then, in 2015, the Canadian Technology Accelerator in New York City.
Education (1)
Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology: Degree, Audio Engineering 2000
Affiliations (3)
- Chamber of Commerce
- Better Business Bureau
- C100
Links (5)
- Finding Your Spot in the Market The Wall Street Journal
- The Three Failures You Can Always Bounce Back From The Wall Street Journal
- Do-It-Yourself Marketing The Wall Street Journal
- Preparing for the Fast Lane The Wall Street Journal
- When Creating an Online Marketplace Start Local and Think Global The Wall Street Journal
Languages (2)
- English
- French
Testimonials (3)
Iréna Harris, COO and Trade Commissioner | CTA Digital Tech in NYC
“David Ciccarelli is an excellent public speaker! While taking part in the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) for Digital Technology, David spoke at many public functions such as Pitch Events, workshops and he was also interviewed by CBC TV for a segment that aired on the National on May 18, 2015. David is a great ambassador for his brand and the CTA.”
Sunil Godse, President | Radical Solutions Group Inc.
“David was an very engaging speaker who tied his experiences well with the theme of the speaking engagements he had performed for me. His entrepreneurial spirit and business success allows him to speak on a variety of topics.”
Allison Price, Director, Programs & Engagement | TechAlliance
“David is an articulate and experienced entrepreneur with valuable knowledge to share. The TechAlliance community always enjoys hearing his honest insight and expertise.”
Media Appearances (9)
Voices.com CEO Returns to Hometown, Thunder Bay, to Share Business Insights
CBC Superior Morning radio
2016-02-24
An internationally-renowned business leader will be back in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario on Feb. 23 and 24 as part of a local initiative to bring together some of North America's top keynote speakers and professionals.
Voice-Over Actors Are Talking Up The Apps That Help Them Get Work
The LA Times print
2015-09-08
"Gone are the days where voice actors were forced to zoom all over Hollywood for auditions. The digital disruption that's occurred in other professions is quickly changing the $15-billion voice-over industry, enabling actors to cut out agents and find work on movie trailers, commercials, corporate training videos and audio books."
Company Finds its (International) Voice
CANADEXPORT
2015-06-23
“Renamed Voices.com, their enterprise has grown into a successful private company that today employs 85 people, with projected billings of $15 million in 2015. Its ‘voice-match’ web platform is home to some 250,000 customers, he says, half of them voice actors and the other half business clients that hire the actors and pay Voices.com a transaction fee. ‘It’s like Airbnb for voices,’ Ciccarelli explains."
Voices.com Plans to Go Global with $2 Million in Funding
Financial Post print
2015-04-29
“Voices.com, a London, Ont.-based online marketplace for voiceover talent, is planning to make its global ambitions reality with $2 million in funding from BDC Capital announced Wednesday.”
Do-It-Yourself Marketing
Wall Street Journal online
2015-03-11
“Asking if your startup should spend money on marketing is like asking a person if they should breathe. Of course they should. It’s more of a question of where, when and how much.”
How David Ciccarelli Built a Multi-Million Dollar Online Marketplace on a Whiteboard
Mixergy online
2014-12-01
"Well you know that one of the challenges that keep people from launching tech companies in the first place is that they just can’t code, let alone be one of the best coders ever, and so they just, they just don’t do it. Well today’s guest built a multi-million dollar company starting with just a basic website. So simple static HTML that the techies might even laugh at it, but it worked and frankly his computing was done, as we’ll find out later in this interview, on a whiteboard. I invited him here to talk about how he did it."
How London, Ontario–based Voices.com Optimized its Services for Foreign Markets
Canadian Business online
2014-09-10
“There’s nothing new about the market for voice actors. But with the advent of inexpensive digital recording technology and Web-based audio streaming, Ciccarelli seized on the opportunity to do all the brokering online.”
If Advertisers Can Rise to the Mobile Challenge, the Rewards Will Be Huge
The Guardian online
2014-06-27
"The smartphone and tablet market is very fragmented, with a plethora of screen sizes that need to be supported. Even if you were to support only mobile devices from Apple, you would need to modify your landing pages to support the iPad, iPad Mini and two iPhone screen sizes. However, having a fully responsive site can be worth the effort you need to put in. Voices.com reported a 140% increase in transactions from their responsive efforts."
It’s Time to Re-think The Way We Define Innovation
The Globe and Mail print
2014-06-24
“What’s one of the biggest misperceptions on innovation? That it’s large businesses, with their vast resources, that are leading Canadian innovation. A recent survey of innovative businesses, by IDC and Salesforce.com, debunked that notion and found innovation is not being driven wholly by big investments in research centres, but rather through the everyday use of technology particularly in small businesses.”
Event Appearances (4)
“Mobile Optimization: How a B2B e-commerce company used responsive design to increase revenue by 180%”
MecLabs, Web Optimization Summit NYC
“Emerging Trends in Marketing Case Study”
Lecture Western University, London, ON
Technology Innovation
Ivey Panel Ivey Business School, London, ON
"Creating Culture"
Digital Media Summit, Keynote Thunder Bay, ON
Sample Talks (1)
Creating Culture
What makes a company special? David Ciccarelli founded Voices.com with his wife Stephanie over a decade ago. As its CEO, one of his primary roles is that of culture creator and sustainer. Listen in as David shares the story of how his company began, the reasons for its continued growth and how focusing on a vibrant company culture has played a pivotal role in attracting great candidates and positively impacting the industry he has helped to lead and transform.
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Corporate Training
Fees
Patents (1)
System for managing online transactions involving voice talent
US 2011/0125653 A1
Systems and methods for facilitating online interactions between voice talent users and employer users. The online web-based system has an online store module, a voice talent database module, an open job database module, a negotiation module, and a payment module. The online system allows the employer users to search for a suitable voice talent user, preview the specific voice talent user's demonstration voice clip, and contact the voice talent user. The online store module allows the voice talent user to upload generic pre-recorded voice clips and which may be purchased and downloaded by employer users for their own purposes. The open job database allows employer users to upload contracts and jobs for which they need voice talent. The employer user may upload requirements for the contract, a sample of the script, and a payment range for the contract. Voice talent users may search and/or browse the open jobs database and they may respond to the posted open contract with a proposal by way of the negotiation module. The voice talent user may also upload a demonstration voice clip with their proposal to the relevant employer user by way of the negotiation. The payment module allows payment for completed contracts to be exchanged between employer users and voice talent users with the system administrator/operator as a go-between and as an escrow agent.
Articles (5)
Start, Stop, Continue Tutorial
Forbes2016-02-02
“People have full jobs and full to-do lists. They all know the pain points because they feel them, but for various reasons, also feel too busy to do something, that they don’t have the authority or means to initiate change, don’t fully appreciate the impact or otherwise don’t get around to it.”
Being Resilient: Overcoming Challenges You'll Face as an Entrepreneur
The Huffington Post2015-10-22
“As the CEO and co-founder of a growing company, I've learned that many entrepreneurs face similar challenges, such as finances and building business relationships. I've also learned the hard way while building Voices.com that there's no way to avoid these challenges.”
Write a Winning Business Plan With These 8 Key Elements
Entrepreneur Magazine2015-06-23
“For everything in life, you need a plan, right? The same can be said for business. Every business, whether a startup or a full-fledged, profitable organization, needs a business plan. To know where you are going, you have to know where you came from and what came before you.”
Make Bootstrapping Your Default Position
The Wall Street Journal2015-02-12
“As someone who has bootstrapped a company from nothing to over $25 million in cumulative sales, I can tell you it’s a path that shouldn’t be dismissed. The first few years are going to be difficult, and frankly it can seem very slow going. But when things take off, like they have for us in the last year, they really begin accelerating.”
Why the Annual Performance Review Doesn’t Work
The Globe and Mail2014-10-08
“Everyone wants to receive regular, meaningful feedback from their supervisor that will help them to grow and better contribute to the company.”
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