PayIt hires former Uber disruptive marketing leader as KC govtech startup’s first CMO
August 6, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Kansas City-based govtech startup PayIt is downloading executive expertise from the West Coast, John Thomson said Tuesday, announcing PayIt’s first chief marketing officer — a former leader at Uber.
PayIt’s Elevator Pitch
PayIt is simplifying doing business with state, local, and federal government through its award-winning digital government and payment platform. Along with our government partners, we are transforming the customer experience and making government more modern, convenient, and mobile.
Based in San Francisco, Alexandru Otrezov will lead PayIt’s marketing organization and continue to accelerate the company’s brand and growth efforts, said Thomson, co-founder and CEO of PayIt, a headline-grabbing digital government and payment platform.
“Alex is a world-class marketing executive that cares deeply about PayIt’s mission to ‘Simplify Government,’” he added. “We’re thrilled to have Alex join us at this exciting time as we continue to accelerate the pace of innovation in digitizing government services.”
Otrezov most recently served as head of search and experimentation at Uber, where he led teams responsible for growth across all Uber brands, according to a PayIt press release. He previously worked as senior director of search operations at Expedia, and served in numerous leadership roles at several startups which exited through strategic acquisitions.
“I am extremely excited about the disruptive solution PayIt brings to simplify the customer experience with our government partners,” Otrezov said. “With the help of our experienced leadership team, I am looking forward to introducing our award winning platform into every consumer’s life. I believe that by improving accessibility to government services, we can improve the quality of life for many.”
Led by Thomson and Mike Plunkett, co-founder and COO/CFO, PayIt secured a more than $100 million investment from New York-based Insight Partners in March. Just two months later, the startup received $25 million in follow-on investment by Tampa-based Weatherford Capital.
Thomson indicated in March the company would focus on growing its team to better meet PayIt’s goal to be a transformative force in the govtech space.
Click here to read more about PayIt’s big investment.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
MO cannabis, MO workers: Businesses staff up as Show-Me marijuana market glows cherry
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon. Click here to read the original story. COLUMBIA, Missouri — Marijuana employers across the state are hiring a flood of new…
KC-created comic’s evolution in motion as ‘Scarlet Knight’ quests toward animated streaming series
Kansas City comic book creator Juaquan Herron is adding another chapter to his ongoing graphic novel series, “The Scarlet Knight,” though this next iteration will be even more animated. Describing the coming move as a long-expected next step, Herron announced he’s begun working on a five-episode animated video series — each about 10 minutes long…
Venboo heads to market(s), hoping to make local vendors the next Crumbl Cookies with its event booking tech
The Venboo app — which connects individual vendors and event organizers on a single platform — will soon gain a dashboard that allows all parties to connect more seamlessly, detailed Juaquan Herron. The dashboard is expected to further streamline the user’s booking experience of Venboo, which lets vendors set criteria for events that match their…
Behind the blooom deal: How Morgan Stanley at Work boosted its robo-advising tech with startup buy, but kept a human touch
Editor’s note: Morgan Stanley is a financial supporter of Startland News. The investment management and financial services company has branches in Leawood and on the Country Club Plaza. Acquisition is scaling blooom’s tech ‘beyond our wildest dreams’ Integrating a Kansas City startup’s tech into its globe-spanning robo-advising portfolio — along with securing a soft landing…

