Inside the mind of Tom Gonser, visionary founder of the $3 billion startup DocuSign

Join Tom Gonser for an intimate conversation about his entrepreneurial journey, the rise of DocuSign from startup to global standard, and his current vision for the future.

Apply today! Get a seat at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s invite-only Founders’ Leadership Series event with Tom Gonser on Wednesday 9/7 at 5:30pm in San Francisco.

Imagine it’s 2003 and everything around you is going digital. Apple launches the iTunes Music Store. Google launches an early version of Google Books. Digital cameras are becoming ubiquitous. You wonder what’s next — and then, you spot an opportunity.

In the midst of a digital media revolution, Tom Gonser — a seasoned executive and entrepreneur who was dealing with contracts on a regular basis — asked a simple question: What if people could sign documents digitally, too?

Today, this concept seems almost painfully simple because e-signatures are seamlessly integrated into the way we do business worldwide. But DocuSign didn’t go from startup to global standard overnight — after all, changing the way business has been done for thousands of years doesn’t come without its challenges.

Most notably, Tom found himself facing a question that entrepreneurs encounter time and again: How do you ask customers to trust you with their most valuable information using new technology they still don’t fully understand?

For Tom, it began with a slow client-by-client climb, fighting for each adoption by explaining his vision. By creating a product that saves time and resources. By giving businesses greater control of a bureaucratic process. By assuring customers and demonstrating to them that security was a top priority for DocuSign, from authoring to completion throughout the entire life cycle for a document.

In a little over a decade, Tom was able to grow a handful of real estate customers into a base of over 225,000 companies and 85 million users — in 188 countries and 43 different languages. Today, DocuSign is valued at $3 billion. It’s hard to imagine a workplace or world without electronic signatures.

Interested in learning more about Tom and DocuSign’s herculean rise? Apply here for a spot at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s invite-only Founders’ Leadership Series event on Wednesday 9/7 at 5:30pm, featuring a candid behind-the-scenes conversation with Tom led by Nasdaq Vice Chairman Bruce Aust.

Tom will be discussing his journey as an entrepreneur (which began with mowing lawns at the age of 12), as well as his vision for the future. Learn more about his approach to growth over the course of founding six companies, why he didn’t sell a single product during DocuSign’s first three years, and why his biggest fear isn’t running out of money — it’s not moving fast enough.

This event is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to ask questions and discuss exciting new ideas and technologies with a visionary business leader. We look forward to seeing you @theCenter.

Tom Gonser, Founder and Chief Strategy Office at DocuSign:
Tom Gonser is the founder of DocuSign. A well-regarded thought leader, Tom is considered by many to be the father of electronic signatures. Prior to starting DocuSign, Tom was founder and CEO of NetUPDATE, a leading online transaction management system that handled millions of mortgage transactions yearly. NetUPDATE was recognized as one of the Pacific Northwest’s ‘Hot Companies’ in 2001.

Prior to NetUPDATE, Tom served as senior vice president of business development at Point.com, where he led large-scale portal relationships and developed strategic partnerships, growing web traffic from a few thousand unique visits per month to more than 700,000.

Prior to working with startup companies, Tom held senior management positions at AT&T Wireless Services and McCaw Cellular Wireless Data Division. He also spent six years with Apple Computer in business development. Tom earned a BA in Economics with an emphasis in Business Systems Analysis and Design from the University of Washington.

Bruce Aust, Vice Chairman of Nasdaq and President of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center: Bruce E. Aust is Vice Chairman of Nasdaq. In this role, Mr. Aust works closely with Nasdaq’s Global Listing Services unit to assist clients and prospects worldwide. Mr. Aust also serves as President of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, located in San Francisco, and will play an integral role in the creation and launch of the Center, which is slated to open in 2015. The Entrepreneurial Center is a new non-profit organization funded by the Nasdaq Educational Foundation designed to engage emerging entrepreneurs through events, hands-on mentorship and education.

Previously, Mr. Aust served as Executive Vice President, Global Listing Services, a role in which he oversaw Nasdaq’s new listings and capital market business as well as global business development and relationship management with the companies listed on Nasdaq’s 16 listing markets worldwide.

The Founders’ Leadership Series hosted @theCenter is a movement by leaders for leaders that gets to the heart of the drive, ambition, and skills needed to overcome challenges and fuel a personal journey to success.