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
Techstars arrival: Find that ‘ride or die’ investor who answers your 3 am calls, founder says
Even in a startup’s early stages, founders need both a roadmap and destination, said Zerryn Gines. “You don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing every step of the way, but if you know where you want to go — then you can connect to the right people and ask the right questions,” explained Gines,…
New in KC: How two OU alumni secured over $1M from NASA, US Air Force for 3D printing startup
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Replicating the founding…
Flyover Capital closes its Tech Fund II over $60M, targeting new seed, post-seed startups
Tech startups raising seed and post-seed funding will benefit most from the close of Flyover Capital Fund II, the venture capital firm said, announcing Thursday its oversubscribed close. “The oversubscribed fund brings Flyover Capital’s total assets under management to approximately $110 million,” the Overland Park-based venture capital firm said in a release, outlining plans for…
It’s ‘Teacher Appreciation Year’ as blooom launches 12 months of free services for educators
After an especially difficult year for teachers — navigating safety protocols and virtual classrooms, among other pandemic challenges — a Kansas City startup plans to offer its finance and retirement services free to educators for 12 months and at any price level, said Chris Costello. “Many [traditional] plans are needlessly expensive and complicated, which is why…

