Amber Atherton

Amber Atherton, currently the Head of Strategic Communities at Discord, has had a remarkable career. Prior to joining Discord, she founded her own community software startup called Zyper, which was later acquired in January 2021. Atherton's achievements have not gone unnoticed, as she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016 and was recognized as the "5th-Most Powerful Person in Digital Fashion" by British Vogue. She has established herself as an expert in building grass-roots communities and predicting social trends, frequently appearing on television and speaking at global conferences. Atherton's journey as an entrepreneur began at a young age. She started her career as a model during her teenage years and was featured in prestigious publications such as Love magazine, i-D magazine, and Tatler. Alongside her modeling career, Atherton also developed a passion for coding and created various online ventures, ranging from e-cards to a visual recognition app. At the age of 17, she founded My Flash Trash, a successful jewelry e-commerce marketplace. After exiting My Flash Trash through a merger in 2016, Atherton went on to establish Zyper and was accepted into Y Combinator's Winter 2018 Batch. Although Atherton initially gained recognition through her appearances on the British reality TV show Made in Chelsea, she has since shifted her focus to enterprise. She has appeared as a Business Buddy on the BBC's Young Dragon's Den show, Pocket Money Pitch, and has served as a judge for the UK's national enterprise challenge. Currently, Atherton is based full time in San Francisco, where she continues to make significant contributions to the business world. Apart from her professional accomplishments, Atherton has generously shared her expertise through various videos and speeches. One of her notable speech topics is "Getting Ahead of the Gen Z Consumer," in which she explores the importance of storytelling and connecting with passion in building a brand. She also dives into the complexities of building communities, identifying genuine brand influencers, understanding Gen Z consumer behavior, and aligning brand objectives with customer needs. Atherton has also contributed to the discourse on virtual communities through her work titled "The Rise of Virtual Communities: In Conversation with Virtual World Pioneers."