Blake Van Leer is known as the co-founder of Padlist, a map-based website for home and apartment rental searching.
Early life and education
Blake Van Leer’s passion for marketing and technology started as a teenager with online video game development, involving fictional-donation currency, complex ecosystems, economics, and guerilla marketing.
He earned a BBA from the University of Maryland. After graduating from college, Van Leer provided marketing and management services to land development companies where he assisted with the siting, permitting, marketing and technology of various commercial, residential, heavy construction, solid waste and gas to energy projects.
Early career
In 2002, Van Leer worked as a marketing manager at Garnet Inc., a construction, engineering, and development company. Garnet produced various commercial, residential, big constructions, gas to energy and solid waste plans in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Atlanta. Van Leer supervised data analytics for trash production calculations, population growth, and marketing. Van Leer also helped with siting, permitting, and technology implementation. Van Leer served the company until 2009.
In 2009, Van Leer co-founded Van Leer Realty, a Commercial & Residential Real Estate Sales and Investments; Consulting for Land Development and Industrial Real Estate Development. The largest rental property locator in the district has announced that it would be rebranded as Padfinders.com.
In 2016, Van Leer co-founded Padfinders, an apartment locator service offering free personalized matchmaking to renters and performance-based lead generation to multi-family buildings, along with wife Lindsay Van Leer. Aside from being a co-founder, Van Leer is also an advisor, along with Kathy Ireland.
In 2017, Van Leer co-founded BLVD, a digital marketing company offering the following services: AI Empowered Marketing, Growth Consulting, Creative Branding, SEO, Blockchain Consulting, Social Media Management, Event Amplification, Online Reputation Management, Lead Generation, Influencer Campaigns, Web Design, and App Development. Van Leer serves as CEO of the company.
Padlist
In February 2019, Van Leer co-founded Padlist, with his wife Lindsay Van Leer. Padlist is considered a leader in a map-based apartment and home rental searching. The brand includes destinations for rents in the metro regions of the US, which are popular destinations for many looking to move. Padlist is powered by AI, local experts, and localization. Using data and technology, Padlist moves away from the static vibe of existing ILSs to connect landlords and renters faster and easier.
Padlist has raised $250,000 in a seed round funding. The company values at approximately worth $10 million. During this round, Pierre Calzadilla serves as an advisor, and Kathy Ireland as an advisor, Chief Editor, and ambassador.
Boards and Advisor
Since September 2016, Van Leer has been an advisor at Kure Corp. As an advisor, Van Leer was responsible for creating and launching a new marketing strategy for Kure. Van Leer helped craft a new brand identity, curated assets, integrate new technologies, provided sophisticated market surveys, data analytics, North Star metrics, and increased customer retention rates.
Van Leer is also an advisor at cbdMD, a consumer products brand offering a large selection of cbdMD branded CBD products primarily through its e-commerce. Van Leer and his group were in charge for organizing cbdMD NYSE: YCBD (formerly Level Brands Inc.) with an IPO roadshow strategy, marketing campaigns, sales funnels, pitch decks, client negations, data analytics and more. Van Leer held numerous boardroom meetings and contributed to strategic business development.
In 2017, Van Leer became a personal advisor to Kathy Ireland, an American model, and actress, turned author and entrepreneur, at Kathy Ireland Worldwide. It is a design and marketing company. He contributes to numerous board meetings, provides strategic planning directly to Kathy, C-level team and partners. As an advisor, he is responsible for online sales growth, identifying new sources of revenue, developing new products, technology operations, negotiations, and data analytics.
Aside from these, Van Leer also holds another four board and advisor roles including Advisor for DreamFearlessly at American Family Insurance, and advisor at Level Brands, Best Buddies International, and Padfinders.