TED Community » Mitch Thrower

About Me

Mitch Thrower is an entrepreneur, financier, business strategist, author and triathlete.

Thrower is currently serving as founder and CEO of BUMP.com, a safety, marketing, membership and communications platform that allows users to connect online and offline via unique identifiers, including license plates, mobile phones and online profiles.
Thrower also serves as Chairman of The La Jolla Foundation, a 501c3 foundation whose primary initiative is Project Active, providing money, mentoring, encouragement and education to areas of world tension. Specifically – sending sports equipment to children in war zones.
Thrower spoke at his university graduation at Saint Lawrence University, and has lectured at many colleges such as Stanford University, Anderson School at UCLA, UCSD and the University of San Diego where he served as the "Entrepreneur in Residence" teaching Entrepreneurship.
Thrower is the Co-Founder of one of the fastest growing companies in the US. In 1997, he co-founded Active.com - a software, marketing and registration powerhouse that delivers integrated technology solutions, marketing services and online media properties that encourage and enable participation in activities and events. In 2001 he left Active.com to launch ActiveEurope.com (Active Europe Network) as Co-Founder and CEO. This company licensed and operated Active’s business model in Europe, the Middle East and Africa until 2005.
Thrower was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Triathlete Magazine, the world’s largest triathlon magazine where he also served as Chairman. He has also served as the New Media Officer, Strategist & Senior Correspondent for the Competitor Group, a media and event entertainment company serving the endurance sports industry including events such as marathons, running, cycling, mountain biking, rock ‘n’ roll marathons, and triathlons. Competitor owns and operates 33 nationally-branded endurance events with over 500,000 participants. Competitor publishes four magazine titles: VeloNews, Triathlete, Inside Triathlon and its namesake publication, Competitor, delivering a combined monthly circulation of almost 1 million readers. Its website platform, Competitor.com, produces and distributes content in radio, television and wireless platforms.
Thrower is an active member of TED.com and the Executive Producer of TEDxLaJolla, an independently organized TED event. He is the Author of "The Attention Deficit Workplace: Winning Strategies for Success in Today’s Fast-Paced Business Environment," published by Lyons Press and he has authored of the popular monthly column, "Starting Lines" in Triathlete Magazine for more than a decade. He was also the co-author of the travel guide The Passport which, for several years was distributed to 50,000 college students before traveling abroad each year.
In 1990, Thrower co-founded his first company and served as CEO of The College/Rail Connection, Inc., serving American Express, AT&T, and Eurail until he sold the venture in 1997.
Thrower holds a bachelor's degree from Saint Lawrence University and an MBA from the University of San Diego. He has competed in 20 Ironman Triathlons, including 11 World Championships. He is the only photo journalist to ever photograph and video the Ironman Triathlon World Championships while competing in the event. Currently a resident of La Jolla, CA, Thrower is an East Coast native whose father, Fred Thrower was a television pioneer as Vice President of NBC, and also as president of WPIX-TV in New York City and is known for his holiday creation of the televised "Yule Log." Thrower’s mother, Lori, worked as an assistant for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.