Jeff Knauss

Jeff Knauss is a serial entrepreneur & angel investor. In 2021, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from SUNY Oswego after graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations with a concentration in marketing.

His entrepreneurial journey started as the CEO & Co-founder of Digital Hyve, a full-service digital marketing agency with offices in Syracuse and Rochester, NY.

Digital Hyve was named the 52nd fastest private growing company in the United States by Inc. Magazine in their annual Inc. 5,000 edition and were also named the 5th fastest growing Marketing & Advertising Company in the nation. They were listed on the Inc. 5,000 list 4 years in a row.

Jeff has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Adweek, Fortune Magazine, Facebook.com Success Stories, Statista, and multiple television news networks.

In 2021, Jeff sold Digital Hyve to a large, independently owned ad agency, Butler Till, which resulted in DH’s 56 employees becoming employee-owners of the business through an ESOP. This has been Jeff’s proudest professional moment as it honored the employees that helped build Digital Hyve.

He is currently a co-founder, partner and/or investor in twelve businesses ranging from various startups focused on medical research, professional networking, mobile payment apps, restaurants, recruitment, and e-commerce.

Prior to starting Digital Hyve, Jeff spent 8 years in broadcast television.

He is also very engaged with his community. Currently, Jeff serves on multiple Board of Directors including Community Bank, N.A. and Community Bank Systems, Inc., United Way of CNY, CenterState CEO, and SUNY Oswego Foundation.

In 2021, Jeff and his wife started the Knauss Foundation which focuses on helping break generational poverty cycles through children’s health and well-being, education, and career pathing.

Jeff lives in Skaneateles, NY with his wife, Heta, and 2 children, Max and Lila.