Erik Blachford

Independent Director & Board Chairman | ex-CEO Expedia/IAC Travel | open to Independent Director, Operating Partner, Interim Exec & Advisory roles - connect at intro.co/ErikBlachford

📍 United States🔄 Updated October 2026💼 9 investments📅 21 years investing🗓 Last invested May 2025
VC🌍 United States
9
Total investments
2
Early stage
1
Mid stage
2
Late stage
21y
Years active

Portfolio

8 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Member
May 2025
Forget everything you thought you knew about being a travel advisor. At Fora, were redefining the role and powering the next generation of travel advisors. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Evan Frank, Henley Vazquez, and Jake Peters, we welcome those who want to build a career in travel on their own terms. We provide the platform and support needed to turn a passion for travel into a flexible job, embracing remote work, hybrid models, and the rise of digital opportunities. Foras Advisor Community is at our core. We believe we can all go further when we operate together, using our combined leverage to unlock better opportunities and outcomes for our advisors, partners, and travelers. We are driving change in the travel industry.
Board Member
Sep 2021
The ATTA serves as a strategic membership organization for companies in the Adventure Travel arena. The ATTA is dedicated to raising the profile of Adventure Travel in the world travel market and provides valuable services, knowledge and connections that will help Members succeed in their businesses, thereby contributing to industry-wide growth. The ATTA is actually about you, the member. Without your support and involvement, the ATTA will not succeed or even exist. The ATTA will work tirelessly to serve the industry both in the short and the long term. In the short term, we’ll work to bring you opportunities that drive new customers, lower your costs and increase your return on the existing business activities you pursue. In the long term, we’ll help implement industry standards, attack the thorny insurance issues, tackle initiatives that get adventure travel in front of the mainstream culture and work to get big corporations who should be investing in this industry educated about who the adventure traveler is. We’ll work to help build up a library of valuable research, work to define the industry or at least sections of it, and help bring unity to this exciting sector. As a support organization, the ATTA exists to: Promote and grow the adventure travel market Provide exclusive professional support, development, marketing, business building and cost-saving resources to ATTA members Provide a unifying voice for the industry that promotes and facilitates knowledge sharing, networking and a common vision Research, anticipate, interpret and share travel, consumer and industry trends Identify, understand and rally industry leaders to tackle pressing issues, while propelling growth initiatives Define “adventure travel” and establish “best practices” and operating standards Encourage sustainable and environmentally and culturally sensitive adventure travel practices
Board Member, Compensation Committee
Jan 2020
dcbel develops technology and designs products that put people at the center of the modern energy ecosystem. The company was founded in 2015 on the principle that everyone deserves clean, reliable and sustainable energy to live a life without compromise. dcbel Home Energy Station perfects the art and science of smart home energy, allowing people to take ownership over their energy supply with one small device. Homeowners can supply their home and EV with solar power, use vehicle-to-home charging to make power outages a thing of the past, and reduce energy costs with artificial intelligence.
Board Member, Compensation/HR Committee
Jul 2017
Your bus and train booking experts. Search, compare and book tickets in over 80 countries and choose from more than 3900 companies.
Board Member, Various Committees
Oct 2015
Nerdy (NYSE: NRDY) is a leading platform for live online learning, with a mission to transform the way people learn through technology. The Company’s purpose-built proprietary platform leverages technology, including AI, to connect learners of all ages to experts, delivering superior value on both sides of the network. Nerdy’s comprehensive learning destination provides learning experiences across 3,000+ subjects and multiple formats—including one-on-one instruction, small group classes, large format group classes, and adaptive self-study. Nerdy’s flagship business, Varsity Tutors, is one of the nation’s largest platforms for live online tutoring and classes. Its solutions are available directly to students and consumers, as well as through schools and other institutions.
Board Member, Various Committees
Jan 2014
SiteMinder Limited (ASX:SDR) is the name behind SiteMinder, the only software platform that unlocks the full revenue potential of hotels, and Little Hotelier, an all-in-one hotel management software that makes the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Our global company is headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London, Manila and Mexico City. Through our technology and the largest partner ecosystem in the global hotel industry, we generate more than 120M bookings and AU$75b+ / US$50b+ revenue for our hotel customers each year.
Board Member, Various Committees
Jan 2008
On Glassdoor, you can connect anonymously with coworkers and professionals like you and get answers to your career questions. Plus, search for jobs, company reviews, salaries, and more—so you can make your next move with confidence.
Board Member, Various Committees
Mar 2005
Join our mission to give the people power to unlock life’s next chapter. We’re looking for smart, passionate people to join our largely distributed workforce as we reimagine the real estate transaction and change the way people buy, sell, rent and finance their homes. Our homes are the heartbeat of our lives, and we believe that finding a home shouldn’t be so hard in today’s always-on world. That’s why we’re reimagining the traditional rules of real estate to make it easier than ever to move from one home to the next. Our journey began nearly 15 years ago with a handful of employees and one big idea: to make it radically easier for people to move. We began by helping people understand and track their homes’ values with the Zestimate, our proprietary algorithm, and then with advanced technology and valuable connections with real estate professionals. Today, Zillow has become a household name; “Zillow” is Googled more frequently than “real estate.” We believe that the time for a seamless and convenient real estate experience is now. This is Zillow’s next chapter.
early stageReal Estate
Experience · 11 entries
All (11)
Investments (9)
Founder (1)
Board (9)
2025
Board Member
May 2025
Forget everything you thought you knew about being a travel advisor. At Fora, were redefining the role and powering the next generation of travel advisors. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Evan Frank, Henley Vazquez, and Jake Peters, we welcome those who want to build a career in travel on their own terms. We provide the platform and support needed to turn a passion for travel into a flexible job, embracing remote work, hybrid models, and the rise of digital opportunities. Foras Advisor Community is at our core. We believe we can all go further when we operate together, using our combined leverage to unlock better opportunities and outcomes for our advisors, partners, and travelers. We are driving change in the travel industry.
Board Member
Feb 2025
Hipcamp is the #1 app to discover and book incredible campsites. Over the past decade, Hipcamp has unified the world’s best camping options across peaceful private spots, iconic public lands and well-equipped campgrounds. Hipcamp has grown into a community of over 7 million campers who use our app to explore all of their options in one place — tent sites, RV spots or glamping — and find the perfect site to match their style. Each year, Hipcamp helps millions of campers sleep happily under the stars, boosting local economies and biodiversity along the way. To see a full list of our job openings, https://www.hipcamp.com/careers
2021
Board Member
Sep 2021
The ATTA serves as a strategic membership organization for companies in the Adventure Travel arena. The ATTA is dedicated to raising the profile of Adventure Travel in the world travel market and provides valuable services, knowledge and connections that will help Members succeed in their businesses, thereby contributing to industry-wide growth. The ATTA is actually about you, the member. Without your support and involvement, the ATTA will not succeed or even exist. The ATTA will work tirelessly to serve the industry both in the short and the long term. In the short term, we’ll work to bring you opportunities that drive new customers, lower your costs and increase your return on the existing business activities you pursue. In the long term, we’ll help implement industry standards, attack the thorny insurance issues, tackle initiatives that get adventure travel in front of the mainstream culture and work to get big corporations who should be investing in this industry educated about who the adventure traveler is. We’ll work to help build up a library of valuable research, work to define the industry or at least sections of it, and help bring unity to this exciting sector. As a support organization, the ATTA exists to: Promote and grow the adventure travel market Provide exclusive professional support, development, marketing, business building and cost-saving resources to ATTA members Provide a unifying voice for the industry that promotes and facilitates knowledge sharing, networking and a common vision Research, anticipate, interpret and share travel, consumer and industry trends Identify, understand and rally industry leaders to tackle pressing issues, while propelling growth initiatives Define “adventure travel” and establish “best practices” and operating standards Encourage sustainable and environmentally and culturally sensitive adventure travel practices
2020
Board Member, Compensation Committee
Jan 2020
dcbel develops technology and designs products that put people at the center of the modern energy ecosystem. The company was founded in 2015 on the principle that everyone deserves clean, reliable and sustainable energy to live a life without compromise. dcbel Home Energy Station perfects the art and science of smart home energy, allowing people to take ownership over their energy supply with one small device. Homeowners can supply their home and EV with solar power, use vehicle-to-home charging to make power outages a thing of the past, and reduce energy costs with artificial intelligence.
2017
Board Member, Compensation/HR Committee
Jul 2017
Your bus and train booking experts. Search, compare and book tickets in over 80 countries and choose from more than 3900 companies.
Show all 11 entries ↓
Investment activity
2005–2025 · 9 investments
2005120081201412015120171202012021120252
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