He is also the founder of Spring Capital. Are has more than 20 years of experience in mobile and digital technology. Prior to Crisp, Traasdahl was the Founder and CEO of Tapad, a marketing technology firm based in New York specializing in cross-device advertising solutions, which was later acquired for $360 million, making it the fifth largest venture-backed M&A exit in New York at the time.

Prior to Tapad, he founded Thumbplay, a mobile entertainment service that he grew to more than $100 million in revenue in less than three years. Thumbplay, later acquired by Clear Channel, is now called iHeartRadio. Are is a frequent contributor for outlets such as CNBC and Bloomberg News, and he has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Ad Age and other major news publications. He was named Global Startup Awards™ Founder of the Year in 2016 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.