Francis Lyons

With over 25 years of experience as a serial founder, patent-holder, educator, and Emmy Award-winning producer, Francis Lyons has long imagined creating a better media world for the next generation. As a founding partner of Truepic, the leader in digital content authentication, and as the founder and CEO of ooPoll, Inc., an innovative branded content and contest marketing platform, he is working to bring his vision to life.

Francis has spent most of his personal and professional life at the intersection of media and youth, whether through his work on the MTV show “Made,” teaching film and media to high school kids, educating William and Mary business students in the power of digital storytelling and the intricacies of entrepreneurship, or raising his own teenagers in the digital age. Francis believes the current media model of engagement-based feeds and behavioral ad targeting has diminished the promise of media. He has also seen firsthand the disillusionment and cynicism with which our younger generations filter all media, and he believes they deserve better.