Media kit

George Hartley

Name: nitrosend
Author: nitrosend

Three-time founder. Built and sold email & marketplace companies. Now deep in AI, building AI-native email infrastructure.

LinkedIn @gthartley Claude Email Skill @CosmoBlk

Bio

Short bio (for introductions)

George Hartley is an Australian founder and product builder. He co-founded Bluethumb, Australia's largest online art marketplace ($100M+ in sales), and SmartrMail, an email marketing platform that grew to 12,000 customers before being acquired in 2022. He's a Startmate mentor and angel investor in 30+ startups. George stepped back from running Bluethumb in 2025 to go all-in on AI. He's now building nitrosend, an AI-native email platform, and published the Email Marketing Bible, a 59,000-word open-source guide compiled from 908 sources that also works as a Claude skill.

By the numbers

Career highlights.

$100M+

Art sold via Bluethumb

12K

SmartrMail customers

$350M+

Merchant revenue driven

30+

Angel investments

908

Sources in the EMB

10B+

Emails sent (SmartrMail)

100+

Apps designed (Outware)

Years building companies

Background

Companies built.

nitrosend

2025 – Present · Co-founder

AI-native email marketing platform. Built MCP-first — control your entire email stack from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any AI agent. Transactional, campaigns, automations, and deliverability in one platform.

Bluethumb

2012 – 2025 · Co-founder & Co-CEO

Australia's largest online art marketplace. 23,000+ artists, 100,000+ collectors, $100M+ in artwork sold. Acting CMO 2023–25. Featured in Forbes Australia and The Australian Financial Review. Stepped back as Co-CEO in 2025.

SmartrMail

2016 – 2022 · Co-founder & CEO · Acquired

AI email & SMS marketing for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce merchants. Grew to 12,000 customers and drove $350M+ in merchant revenue. Sent 10B+ emails. Created Shopify Academy's email marketing course. Acquired by Relay Commerce in 2022.

Startmate & Angel Investing

2018 – Present · Mentor & Investor

Mentor at Startmate, Australia's leading startup accelerator. Angel investor in 30+ startups and LP in multiple VC funds. Specialises in marketplace growth, GTM strategy, and email marketing.

Topics

What George can talk about.

Building AI-Native Products

How nitrosend was built MCP-first — not an ESP with AI bolted on, but an AI that does your email marketing. The architecture, the trade-offs, and what "AI-native" actually means in practice.

The Broken LOI Exit Story

Selling SmartrMail: the first buyer signed an LOI but didn't have the funds to close. How George salvaged the deal, found Relay Commerce, and delivered a 5x return to investors.

Email Marketing: Data vs. Dogma

After analysing 908 sources and 4,798 data points for the Email Marketing Bible, George found that much of the conventional wisdom is wrong. What the data actually says about send times, frequency, subject lines, and personalisation.

Building a $100M Marketplace

The 13-year journey of Bluethumb from "Soundcloud but for art" to Australia's largest online art marketplace. Lessons on marketplace dynamics, growth loops, and knowing when to step back.

Open-Source as a Growth Channel

How George used a 59,000-word open-source guide as a content-led GTM strategy for nitrosend. Building in public, earning trust before asking for anything, and turning a knowledge base into a product funnel.

Repeat Founder Lessons

What changes the second (and third) time around. From angel investing in 30+ startups and mentoring at Startmate, to applying those patterns in his own companies. What George would do differently.

Previous appearances