Designer • Developer • Entrepreneur

April Carter Grant’s career started at a small full-service agency in Chicago’s advertising industry.

In 1999, April declined an employment offer from Starbelly, Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell’s previous venture, to join the creative team of a games manufacturer. Soon after, Starbelly sold for $100 million in cash and $140 million in stock, making their small staff small fortunes... and she realized the allure of the startup.

Lesson learned, April moved to Miami to establish the creative department of a startup travel agency, which expanded from 15 to over 50 employees within 18 months.

The fatigue of back-to-back hurricanes Wilma and Katrina prompted a 2005 move to LA, where she eventually joined startup Escom as the first employee. The domain alone sold three years later, in November 2010, for a record $13 million.

In addition to founding Sugarsock, a creative consultancy focused on helping small businesses launch, April is co-founder of NYC-based Stylene—a B2C discovery, marketing, and sales platform—and a creative advisor for Acclarus Ventures.

In 2012, an interview with April was featured in Piece of the Fame: Rockstar Social Media Marketing Strategy for Everyone to Ignite Your Business, Career and Personal Brand, a social media marketing handbook written by Jaunique Sealey, former digital media marketing executive to Lady Gaga (and client).

She also has been a featured speaker for UCLA Summer Discovery and was invited to demonstrate Adobe CS3 products at the Adobe Creative License Conference. A published author, editor, photographer, and illustrator, April also writes music and makes a damn fine pie.