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Josh Silverman

Josh Silverman is a designer, serial entrepreneur, and eternal optimist. Currently, he is the Founder & CEO of Startnership, a business that helps startups grow by delivering design and marketing tools for a fixed fee and on a fixed timeline. Previously, in 1997, he founded Schwadesign, a network of strategists, designers, and developers curated in project-specific teams to reflect client needs. 

Clients include Blue Man Group, the City of Providence RI, Friends of Dana-Farber, AIDS Action Committee of MA, MassEquality, Harvard University Systems Biology PhD Program, Brown University, Buildium.com, and Maurice Sendak. Josh has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The Boston Globe, and on rebrand.com. He is deeply passionate about new businesses and subversive ideas, and excels at helping entrepreneurs hustle to make their ideas happen.  

A passionate networker, for over 20 years he has been an active member of AIGA, was a Centennial Co-Chair, and co-founded the organization’s 48th chapter in Rhode Island. Recently, work with StartOut (a new national non-profit for LGBT entrepreneurs) inspired him to create the national Designtrepreneurs series, part of San Francisco Design Week. He is General Assembly SF’s first Visual Design Fellow, and has taught and guest lectured at RISD, MassArt, Lesley University, California College of the Arts, and others, and has served as an advisor to startups and accelerators. 

Josh enjoys anything outdoors (especially biking), and spends his free time cooking and getting "lost". He is based in San Francisco.