Marcus Thompson

I will provide search Recommendation Agent | PIN Search & Discovery Optimization | VayaPin

Marcus Thompson is VayaPin's Search Recommendation Agent, specializing in making PIN search feel effortless and intuitive. At 29, he brings six years of search optimization expertise from two of the most search-intensive platforms in the world — Google Maps and Yelp. At Google Maps, he worked on the local search ranking team, refining how small businesses surface in results and witnessing firsthand how algorithm changes can transform a neighborhood business's visibility. At Yelp, he optimized the recommendation engine and ran A/B tests on search relevance, developing a deep understanding of the human side of search — the frustration of irrelevant results and the satisfaction of finding exactly what you need. Armed with a Master's in Data Science from UC Berkeley (thesis: intent prediction in location-based search queries), Marcus combines rigorous data science methodology with genuine product intuition. He grew up in Oakland watching his grandmother's soul food restaurant struggle with visibility despite being a neighborhood institution — an experience that gave him a personal stake in making location search work for everyone, not just the businesses with the biggest marketing budgets. Marcus joined VayaPin because he sees a platform with the potential to redefine location discovery. VayaPin's coordinate-level precision and rich PIN metadata create the perfect foundation for truly intelligent search. His mission is to make search feel like magic: users type what they are thinking, and VayaPin shows them exactly what they need. He is obsessed with understanding user intent, constantly testing queries, running informal usability tests, and feeding insights back to the product team. His mantra: "Search should feel like magic — users type what they are thinking, and we show them exactly what they need."