Dimitriy V. Masterov

I am an economist who develops tactics that drive rapid and abiding growth in your marketplace using models and data.

Science empowers companies to make better business decisions. Enlisting a fractional chief economist imparts that competitive advantage.

Get in touch

Available 10hrs/week

San Francisco, CA, USA

20 years experience

monetization

Designed, tested, and launched the first pricing strategy for an events marketplace.

service industry

Designed an auction-based compensation platform for a short-term medical staffing platform.

crowdfunding

Implemented a novel approach to crowdfunding for a public safety product.

My Services

My approach is hands-on or embedded when you need it. This flexibility allows us to make rapid progress on your goals together.

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Leveraging Network Effects
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Platform Experimentation
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Causal Inference and ML
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Marketing Measurement
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Building Trust
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Data and Metric/KPI Development
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Data Hiring
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Synthetic AI Survey Panels, Focus Groups, and Experiments
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What I Don't Do

Fractional Tech Economist

Fractional Tech Economist
I was one of the first economists to go into tech and have spent 13 years understanding, designing, and improving the efficiency of marketplaces. I am now applying the skills I’ve developed to help startups reach their potential. These techniques aren’t just for the big companies: they can unlock value at every stage. 

Outside the office, I enjoy camping among the redwoods, paddling my kayak around the SF Bay, and telling people at parties that I was into data before it was big.
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Diversified professional experience

Past companies and roles where I’ve gained experience.
Thumbtack
Thumbtack

Lead Economist

2017-2022

San Francisco, California, United States

Designed and prototyped a marketplace experimentation platform suitable for a two-sided platform setting and used it to advise executives on key product, policy, monetization, and operational decisions across the company. Expanded the use of experimentation beyond product to marketing, adding millions in profit from adjustments enabled by rigorous cost-benefit analyses of OTT, TV, SEM and other channels.  Grew a team of Ph.D. economists and embedded them in key company initiatives.
experiments marketing
eBay Research Labs
eBay Research Labs

Economist

2012-2017

San Jose, CA

Engaged with a wide range of internal teams and an interdisciplinary group of scientists to improve the efficiency of eBay's marketplace and to conduct academic research using its rich data. Areas of work included the reputation system and trust policy engineering, measuring the long-run effects of poor experiences for buyers and sellers using non-experimental data, and measuring advertising and marketing effectiveness. I also ran the applied research seminar and other L&D initiatives.
ecommerce reputation trust advertising research
Domino's
Domino's

Economist

2010-2012

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

I built the siting model for Domino’s Pizza, which enabled US store growth of 35% over the next ten years.
real estate restaurants qsr
University of Chicago
University of Chicago

Research Fellow

2002-2005

Chicago, Illinois, United States

I conducted empirical studies of determinants of human capital formation and their relationship to labor market outcomes in the US and abroad. I wrote computer programs necessary for these analyses and co-authored several published papers and book chapters with Nobel Laureate James J. Heckman and other economists.
research education policy

Open to

project based

remote work

open to travel

expert calls

company advisor

monthly retainers

collaborations

hourly work

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