Trevor Hinesley

Entrepreneur & Chief Technology Officer
Nashville, US.

About

Highly accomplished technology and media executive with a proven track record of building industry-defining businesses and high-performing teams. Specializing in transforming deep customer insights into scalable product strategies, Trevor excels at recruiting world-class talent, maximizing ROI through lean operations, and executing strategic technology investments. At Soundstripe, he notably led product and technology from launch to achieve a 3-year growth rate of 4,724%, securing the #68 spot on the Inc. 5000 list.

Work

Filepass
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Co-Founder & CTO

Summary

Led Filepass as the technical co-founder, building the core platform and securing an industry-recognized brand for artists, producers, and record labels.

Highlights

Architected, developed, and launched the Filepass platform as the sole engineer and technical co-founder, enabling seamless integration with Soundstripe's scaling operations and directly contributing to successful Series A funding rounds.

Established an industry-recognized brand, securing partnerships with high-profile clients including Billboard-charting artists and major record labels, driving significant market adoption.

Streamlined complex music creation workflows for artists, producers, and record labels, enhancing collaboration efficiency and accelerating project delivery.

Soundstripe
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Co-Founder & CTO

Summary

Co-founded Soundstripe, a global music licensing platform, leading product and technology from launch to achieve exponential growth and industry recognition.

Highlights

Architected and developed the Soundstripe platform as the sole technical co-founder for the initial two years, successfully bootstrapping the business to over $1M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) before securing external capital.

Formulated and executed a holistic technology strategy that scaled a disruptive business model, propelling the company to #68 on the Inc. 5000 list with a remarkable 3-year growth rate of 4,724%.

Scaled the core technology platform from zero to over 1 million users across more than 160 countries globally, ensuring robust global accessibility and performance.

Partnered in sourcing and negotiating over $17M in venture capital funding ($500k Seed, $4M Series A, $9M Series B, additional bridge rounds), leading all technical due diligence processes.

Directed all IT, Security, and Compliance operations for a geographically dispersed workforce across 12+ U.S. states and a global customer base, serving clients from individual creators to multinational Fortune enterprises.

Freelance
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Software Engineer

Summary

Delivered high-impact web applications for diverse clients, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, through independent contracts.

Highlights

Developed and deployed custom web applications for a diverse client portfolio, including startups and Fortune 500 enterprises, through independent and agency contracts.

Rapidly advanced from an entry-level developer to leading architecture and stability for full-stack consumer and administrative applications within one year of starting professional contracts.

Engineered highly scalable software solutions, often delivering functional prototypes within 2 days, capable of serving hundreds of thousands of users.

Volunteer

The Wond'ry
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Mentor

Summary

Mentoring entrepreneurs at Vanderbilt's Center for Innovation, The Wond'ry, providing guidance on business and technology development.

The Sound of A.I.
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Mentor

Summary

Mentored a startup within The Sound of A.I., a 12-week accelerator focused on music, audio, and voice A.I. technologies.

Nashville Entrepreneur Center
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Mentor

Summary

Mentored startups affiliated with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, including serving as a Q&A panelist for Project Music.

Education

Belmont University

Bachelor of Science

Computer Science and Audio Engineering

Awards

CTO of the Year

Awarded By

Nashville Tech Council

Recognized as CTO of the Year by the Nashville Tech Council for outstanding leadership and technological innovation.

40 Under 40

Awarded By

Nashville Business Journal

Honored as a '40 Under 40' recipient by the Nashville Business Journal, recognizing significant professional achievements and community impact.

Best in Leadership

Awarded By

The Tennessean

Awarded 'Best in Leadership' by The Tennessean, acknowledging exemplary leadership qualities and contributions to organizational success.

Publications

Modern CTO Podcast

Published by

Modern CTO

Summary

Invited as a guest on the Modern CTO Podcast, a leading technology podcast with over 150k active listeners, sharing insights with CTOs, lead developers, and rising tech leaders, including those from Microsoft and T-Mobile.

Skills

Team & Culture Building

Values-Driven Culture Cultivation, Thought Leadership (Internal + External), Mentorship, Conflict Resolution, Internal Promotion, Hiring, Recruiting, Firing, Performance Management, Career Track Development, Delegation.

Technology

Technology Strategy, IT, Security + Compliance, Ruby on Rails, Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus), Elixir + Phoenix, React.js, Svelte, SQL (PostgreSQL + MySQL), Search (Elasticsearch + Algolia + In-house), Cloud Providers (AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.), PaaS (Heroku, Cloud66, Fly.io, etc.), Myriad Third-Party Services, Libraries, & APIs.

Product Development

Product Strategy, Product Roadmap, Agile (Scrum + Kanban), Cross-functional Collaboration, Bottleneck Optimization/Removal, A/B Experimentation.

Partnerships

Business Development, Strategic Relationship Cultivation, Deal Negotiation.

Fundraising

Investor Relations, Deal Structure, Negotiations, Technical Due Diligence, Pitching, Fundraising Strategy.

Business

Moat Building, Vision Casting, Board Relations, Revenue Model/Strategy, Budgeting, Capital Allocation, Organizational Chart Creation.