Michael Bruno (entrepreneur)

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Michael Bruno is an American entrepreneur and the founder of 1stdibs, an online marketplace for antiques, furniture, jewellery, and art.[1] He is also the founder of the home design app Housepad,[2] Tuxedo Hudson Company[3] and Tuxedo Hudson Realty,[4] and Art-Design-Carta.[5]

Early life

Michael Bruno was the fourth of six children. He was born and raised in Larchmont, New York.[6] He is a former competitive swimmer and Junior Olympics winner.[1]

Bruno studied business at

San Francisco, California, where he worked as a real estate broker.[7]

Business ventures

During the dot-com boom of the 1990s, Bruno worked as a real estate agent for Sotheby's real-estate division in San Francisco.[8][9] Bruno says he was inspired to get his real estate license at age 19 after reading Napoleon Hill's 1937 self-improvement book Think and Grow Rich.[10]

In 2001, after moving to

Clignancourt flea market in Paris.[12]

In 2011, Bruno accepted a $60 million investment from venture capital firm, Benchmark, and stepped down from his role as CEO of 1stdibs but stayed on as chief creative officer.[13] In late 2012, 1stdibs received an additional $42 million in Series B funding from Index Ventures and Spark Capital.[14]

In January 2014, the Chinese

ecommerce company Alibaba Group invested $15 million in 1stdibs to help the company expand its business in Asia.[14] By 2015, 1stdibs offered services in 17 countries, including the United States, several European countries, and Australia.[15]

In 2015, Bruno launched an interior design app called HousePad, a digital household management tool that allows homeowners to communicate with family, guests, interior designers, and staff.[16]

In 2016, Bruno launched Design Carta, a private marketplace for art and design professionals. The site allows dealers to offer their latest finds to professional buyers before they post them on any open market sites.[17]

Real estate and historic building preservation

Bruno is a collector of historic properties and has been purchasing and restoring historic homes and properties since the 1990s.[18] He says his passion for historic preservation began with the purchase of a 1920s-era villa designed by William Templeton Johnson.[2]

In 2012, Bruno bought a 12,000-square-foot mansion in Tuxedo Park, New York. The mansion was designed in the early 1900s by John Russell Pope. Bruno also owns a historic park adjacent to the Tuxedo Park property. The 55-acre park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City.[19] The Tuxedo Park home was featured in a July 2015 photo tour in design magazine Elle Décor.[10]

Bruno owns several additional historic properties in and around Tuxedo Park, including Loomis Laboratory, a stone castle built in 1901.[4] The Loomis Laboratory building serves as headquarters for Bruno's Housepad app.[4]

Bruno and his partner Alexander Jakowec purchased a 14,000 square-foot mansion on Coopers Neck Lane in Southampton, New York in 2015.[20] The mansion was built in the early 20th century by American architect and urban planner Grosvenor Atterbury.[20]

Revitalization of the towns of Tuxedo and Sloatsburg, New York

As of early 2016, Bruno owns $15 million worth of property in Tuxedo, New York. Bruno announced plans to revitalize the town with an emphasis on New Urbanist principles, and in January 2016 he stated that his future projects and business endeavors in the area would include a farmers' market, a restaurant, an inn, and an antiques store.[4] In August 2016, Bruno opened Blue Barn, a new organic farmstand in Sloatsburg.[21][22]

In 2016, Bruno started Tuxedo Hudson Realty, a commercial and residential real estate company focused on the town of Tuxedo.[4]

Awards

In May 2012, New York-based charity organization

Carolina Herrera for being "fashion visionaries."[23] Bruno was also a recipient of the 2012 "Innovators" award from the Sir John Sloane Museum Foundation.[24]

In October 2014, Bruno was the recipient of design and decorating magazine Traditional Home's first Trailblazer Award.[7]

Personal life

Bruno lives with his partner Alexander Jakowec, a former antiques dealer. They have two English cream golden retrievers, Natasha and Boris.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Hay, R. Couri. “1stdibs Founder Michael Bruno Focuses on Stewardship.” Hamptons Magazine. [dead link]
  2. ^ a b King, Barbara. “First Buy What You Love.” Robb Report. n.d.
  3. ^ "Incan Ruins Inspired this Modern Furniture Collection". Galerie. 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Heidi “This fat cat is creating his own Hudson Valley kingdom” New York Post. January 28, 2016.
  5. ^ Waddoups, Ryan (2017-01-09). "Michael Bruno Launches Trade-Exclusive Marketplace Art-Design-Carta". Interior Design. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  6. ^ Tilton, Sarah (21 April 2013). "1stdibs Founder Takes a Collector's Approach to Property - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  7. ^ a b Christian, Rebecca and Loos, Ted “Traditional Home 25th Anniversary Award Recipients” Traditional Homes [dead link]
  8. ^ Tang, Dennis. (December 15, 2010) "10 essentials: Michael Bruno." GQ.
  9. ^ Murphy, K. (2007, Month 1)
  10. ^ a b Barbour, Celia. (July 16, 2015) "House Tour: An Internet Mogul's Georgian-Style Manse Is a Dream Come True" HOUSE TOUR: AN INTERNET MOGUL'S GEORGIAN-STYLE MANSE IS A DREAM COME TRUE” Elle Décor.
  11. ^ a b Rosman K. (2014, February 13) "The Treasures of 1stdibs's Michael Bruno." The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ Cooperman, Jackie. (November 20, 2010). “The Art of the Deal”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Arnst, Catherine “1stdibs Raises $42 Million in Series B Round” Xconomy [dead link]
  14. ^ a b He, Amy. (January 28, 2014). “Alibaba invests in high-end US website”. China Daily. Accessed July 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Ankeny, Jason. (July 27, 2015). “How This Site Became the Go-To Marketplace for Rare and Antique Goods” Entrepreneur. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "Michael Bruno Launches Housepad App". Architecture Digest. May 31, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  17. ^ Olson, Katy B. (October 19, 2016). "After a hiatus, Michael Bruno returns to the antiques world". Business of Home. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  18. ^ Tilton, Sarah. (April 21, 2013). “A Collector's Approach to Property.” The Wall Street Journal.
  19. ^ “First Digs: Michael Bruno's Tuxedo Park Mansion” The Wall Street Journal.
  20. ^ a b Watson, Dawn. (August 5, 2015). “A Trip Down Memory Lanes”. Cottages and Gardens. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "Sloatsburg Farmstand Offers Taste Of What's To Come". Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  22. ^ Gould, Jennifer (2016-08-22). "Mogul sees organic farm as first step to reviving lost towns". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  23. ^ WWD Staff “Out of Sight” WWD
  24. ^ Woo, Ken. (July 4, 2012) “Michael Bruno, founder of 1stdibs.com”. Another Mag. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
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