Who We Are

In Japanese, the word “ronin” translates literally as “a person of the waves.” In feudal Japan,  ronin were “masterless samurai.” Without ties to lord or clan, ronin were mercenaries who could go where the opportunities were best. They were often unconventional thinkers – and always fierce warriors. 

Ronin’s founder is Phil Carpenter, a serial start-up CMO who has led multiple young companies to successful exits. Most recently, Phil served as CMO for ALICE Technologies, which is using AI to decrease costs, trim schedules and reduce risks for large and complex construction projects. During his work with ALICE, Phil and his team created an influential contech brand and developed a robust demand generation engine that tripled sales.

He also built the marketing function from the ground up at other successful startups, such as Yalo, Latin America’s leading conversational commerce company, and SideStep, which created the travel search engine category and was purchased by Kayak for $200M. In addition, Phil served as senior partner for Allison+Partners, the global marketing services agency, where he ran the firm’s six west coast offices. He also co-founded Whiskey Creek Properties, a real estate development company that builds multi-family rental properties in Phoenix, AZ. 

Phil is the author of two books, “eBrands” (Harvard Business School Press) and “Marketing Yourself to The Top Business Schools” (John Wiley and Sons.) He received his BA from Stanford University and MBA from Harvard University

In addition to running Ronin, Phil teaches marketing at UC Santa Barbara and is the board chair for Ventech, a Santa Barbara-based non-profit focused on promoting tech entrepreneurship on California’s central coast.