Our Story

We believe the future of consumer brands is digital. We provide the platform that empowers brands to innovate, design, and develop products at digital speed.

In 2014, Andrew Klein — a designer at Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger — was looking for a better way for brands to make products. The traditional PLM systems he was using were arduous and rigid. His workday consisted of hours of battling a legacy IT platform from his office and wasting hours of creative design time on data entry in spreadsheets.

At the same time, his brother Matthew Klein was running large-scale industry trade shows like Magic and Project. He watched a new generation of digitally-native, direct-to-consumer fashion brands enter the market and compete against traditional apparel brands with brilliant success — and more than their fair share of challenges. While many companies were innovating in the customer acquisition and e-commerce spaces, he saw brands struggling with simply bringing their products from design to production.

Backbone PLM was born as the two brothers discussed their experiences and decided to develop a PLM platform to meet the needs of emerging modern DTC brands. From the start, Backbone was designed to be cloud-based, easy-to-use, and offer a beautiful UI that fashion designers would love using. Most of all, Backbone had to set designers free from cumbersome administrative tasks and give them what they need and want most: more time to be creative.

Today, our product development platform is still guided by these founding principles. Most designers and product developers work in chaos, but Backbone helps them simplify their work, create great products, collaborate with vendors, and grow their businesses.

Our Values

Our company culture is inspired by the values we see throughout the brands that use Backbone to grow their businesses. As a result, our values are:

Put Customers First

We measure our intended actions against the impact they have on our customers, our company, our employees, and our shareholders. But we put the Customers first.

Align & Commit

We act as a team, in alignment against a clear vision. Challenge and disagreement is vital, but once decided, we commit and move forward.

Trust in Our Team

We trust and empower each team member to make independent decisions within their roles that help drive our business forward to accomplish our stated goals.

Leadership

Jeff Fedor

CEO

Jeff has 25 years of software experience working in B2C, B2B, and marketplaces in Canada, Europe, and the USA. He has a proven track record of bringing zero-to-one products to market and scaling growth companies across multiple verticals, including finance, ad tech, entertainment, social analytics, and travel. An avid cyclist, Jeff manages a developmental cycling team that helps athletes balance the demands of elite competition while pursuing their education.

Jamie Peters

VP of Operations

Jamie’s a start up veteran helping early stage companies get to market, with over 10 years of experience in product management, operations, and marketing. Most recently, she has spent the last four years at Backbone focusing on product management and strategy. When not wearing her Backbone hat, Jamie can be found somewhere out in the wilderness hiking, fishing, or skiing with her family and 2 dogs.

Amy Sakalian

Head of Client Success

Amy has over 10 years of experience working in the apparel & beauty industry, specifically managing customer experience and operations. She has a passion for delivering the best service to customers while mentoring and leading teams to success. Recently relocated to Denver from NYC, Amy is taking advantage of Colorado’s many outdoor activities, especially skiing and hiking! In her free time, you’ll find her reading or practicing yoga.

Adam Postma

VP of Technology

Adam has served as a technology and process consultant to large enterprises and local companies, across a variety of industries. He has a passion for scaling early-stage start ups and leveling up technology teams in order to solve real-world problems. Adam can be found on weekends playing board games with his friends and family, or playing with his Shiba Inu.

Linda Davis

VP of Finance

Linda is a tenured financial leader who has worked in a assortment of industries. She loves the challenge of growing companies while tackling operational and strategic objectives. Like most people living in Colorado, Linda enjoys the outdoors, especially when it comes to skiing and biking.

Nicole Torres

VP of Revenue

Nicole brings over 20 years of experience in sales and sales leadership to Backbone. She has a passion for building sales teams and developing their talent and skills to really understand customers’ needs and objectives and deliver the right solution. When she is not working, you can find Nicole enjoying one of her creative pursuits such as drawing or painting, or in the kitchen perfecting her French Bistro cooking.

Our Founders

Mathew Klein

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

A retail industry veteran at the forefront of the direct-to-consumer movement. With decades of experience in the retail and consumer goods industries, he has extensive knowledge of getting products to market.

Andrew Klein

Co-Founder

A tenured product designer and developer, with over a decade of experience working with companies such Ralph Lauren and heading up several departments at Tommy Hilfiger, drawing critical acclaim.

Join Our Team

Backbone PLM is exploring a new way of work with an emphasis on team health and well-being. Our benefits include a four-day workweek, work-from-home flexibility, and a wellness stipend in addition to medical, dental, vision, and more.

We believe our personal lives are just as important as our professional lives, so challenge the status quo with Backbone! View our complete list of current job openings below and join our team today!